Everytime I go to the local ATV/snowmobile dealer I see another person test riding or signing the papers on another Rancher 350 ES. They are selling like the proverbial hotcakes here in MN. How about your area?

 

hey down here there gowing like nothing i have ever seen down here and i just can't wait and see how the honda rubicon will sell

 

In Texas, they go quick and for little money off....

 

We cant seem to keep a Sportsman's around the showrooms of Michigan.Two wks wait at alot of dealerships.And other dealers wont give up any of theirs if they happen to have one left.Michigan is mostly Polaris anyway.====BILL

 

Bill, I thought the guy asked about HONDA RANCHERS. (smiley faces!)

Or, are you saying Michigan dealers cannot GIVE away Honda Ranchers, while by contrast, long lines form and customers fight each other for the opportunity to buy Polaris Sportsmen (Sportsmans?)?.

Tree Farmer

 

Around here, the Ranchers are on fire. I'm talking about one dealer in my area selling 7 in one day, at or near list! I'll be honest, this is in my opinion the best thought out 4x4 offered today. While ice fishing last weekend the Rancher went in the really deep snow and slush(18" or more) better than any machine I saw out there. That includes the mighty sportsman 500, I saw it with my own eyes, my freinds Rancher was called upon to pull a guys sled loaded with gear. This guy had a 00'sp500 that couldn't go through the same snow the Rancher was going through. In fairness the Rancher didn't have an easy time either, but it got the job done. Before you Polaris lovers(Bill) get on me for this, I'm just reporting what I saw.

 

there is absolutely no question that the rancher will out perform the sp500 in the snow. this is where the polaris's weight really hurts it. I drive them both everyday and this is not a fabricated story, I haven't tried mud yet but I think the Polaris will shine over the Honda here.

 

I would have to agree with you all. We've been riding here in the deep snow with our ForemanES and Sportsman500. There were times that the Sportsman wouldn't go in the Foreman's tracks, it would just dig down, probably due to the weight. And there was also deep parts that the Foreman would glide over and the Sportsman would dig down faster and get hung up and stuck. Twice the Foreman had to pull the Sportsman out of the snow. Part of the problem with the Sportsman is the automatic would really limit the wheelspin and speed needed, and the weight was the biggest factor. I would love to have been able to ride a Rancher too, with more ground clearance than the Foreman, better front differential, and lighter. I think it would have been the best.

 

Tree Farmer,nope,im not saying or trying to suggest that Rancher's are not selling in Michigan,im meerly saying that you will see a few Ranchers laying around the dealership waiting to be sold in Mi,but you have to get real lucky to see a Sportsman in Michigan on a dealership floor.Usually a one-two wk wait for one,depending on where you go in Michigan.Im quite sure that other parts of the world are maybe just the opposite.Bob 4x4,it would be unfair for me to dis-beleive your story about the Rancher out doing the Sportsman in the snow.I have not come to that circumstance yet.100lbs of extra weight will not hurt the Sportsman in any manner in the snow.In fact,it's a benifit to it's snowing ability in the deepest of snow.With the Sportsmans AWD system and higher ground clearance,I'd sure love to see a Rancher out snow this monster though.You all do know that rider ability has alot to do with what you drive your quad thru.Now a Foreman ES?Seen a few of them not go where I go at our Local riding area with there limited slip front ends.I aint buying that one.Auto trans dont hurt the Sportsman either.I cant think of one single incidence where I was uncapable of developing enough wheel speed for the circumstance I was in.Wheel speed has never been lacking on my Sportsman.I do have one distinct advantage called Goodyear Mudrunners.They are very aggressive mud/snow tires.====BILL

 

Bill, I sure wished you could have been here riding with us. Cause then you would have seen with your own eyes that the Foreman did better in the snow. These were both stock machines. And the snow was very heavy and wet. The kind that sticks to everything. 2 days of riding and the same results. I took the Sportsman along the ditch by the road, in the real deep snow, just spinning like nuts. Got close to the house and I felt my momentum drop, so I headed for the shallower snow. Didn't make it though. Just rocked the machine and backed up, then hit the pile I was pushing and made it through. Then I hopped on the Foreman and followed the ditch where the Sportsman did. I was along side the Sportsman's tracks, in the slightly deeper snow, making my own tracks. I was in 3rd and about 3/4 throttle the whole time. When I got to the part where the Sportsman dug down, it went right by, not easily, but did without getting stuck. Do you wanna know what did it? The weight difference. Keep in mind this is the kind of snow that packs harder as you compress it, so the heavier your machine is, the harder it is to push through the snow. The heavier the machine is, the more it sinks and wants to hang up. Now in the fluffy snow, it would be a different story. There was one part on our excursion that had to get over a huge drift, and the first time through was hard. After that, we both got on the otherside of it and learned there was no way to go cause of deep snow, so we turned around. My brother was on the Foreman and I was on the Sportsman. We were of course following in the tracks we made getting in, and there was a 90 degree turn right before that drift. The Foreman made it ahead of me, and when I tried, it was almost through, needed about another foot, but it dug down. The Foreman towed it out, barely. So I don't know if you've ever ridden in deep snow with the Foremans, but from my experience, the extra weight of the Sportsman is a drawback. And about the automatic tranny. Try to get the tires on the Sportsman to turn like the ones on the Foreman in 3rd gear with the throttle pegged, it just won't happen! I think the tires you have on a stock Sportsman would be too much for the engine in this kind of snow. I wouldn't doubt a Foreman would get smoked in the mud, but it didn't in the snow we were in. Also, if AWD makes such a difference, how come when I would stop the Foreman in some deep snow and lean over the handlebar and gas it, I saw both front tires roosting every time I tried?