Looking into buying a 420. would like some input as to how these hold up. Any pro's or con's out there with those that own them.

 

I am assuming you are thinking of the old model as few will have the new one and any faults will not have surfaced yet. I have no experience of the auto but the FM is quite a good machine. Some farmers recon it is a bit light for towing and those who carry big loads on the rear rack prefer twin shock machines, but the engines are reliable and powerful. We were warned to avoid selling ES models as the electric shift was regarded as unreliable but those who insisted on buying one don’t seem to have had any more trouble than the old 350 ES gave. The one big Achilles heel is the rear axle. It is based on the old 300 model and was the Achilles heel of that model too. The hubs come loose, and can ruin the shaft if left too long, but also the axle shaft comes loose in the diff. This is easily checked as the spacer tube between the axle nuts and the diff should not be free to move round on the shaft, if it is left like this the shaft and crown wheel splines will wear rapidly and fail. Regular checks avoid both problems causing damage, but it spoils an otherwise good model.

 

I have a 2007 Rancher 420 ES and have not had any problems with it at all. It handles great, has plenty of power and has been very reliable. I am glad I bought the 420 instead of the bigger quad as it is lighter, quicker and easier to ride all day w/o power steering.

 

thank you fellas for the input. Wish I had been in here before getting the Rincon many years ago. I think the 420 will fit nicely.

 

Might want to get lager tires. It is kind of strange that a 420cc 4x4 comes with small 24" tires.
Even the older 350,400(395cc) and 450 (433cc) foremans came stock with 25" tires and most people upraded those to 26".