My 03 Foreman 450 did 45mph bone stock with 10 hours on it, I put a second breather snorkel on the airbox to allow more intake air, that gave me 2 - 3 mph top end. I am planning on getting the K&N power up kit with the filter and jets and maybe a less restrictive pipe, but I hate to make it any louder, trying to tread lightly.

 

cd,

I still have my big bear. I keep it because it is a good machine. I used it for hunting and general trail riding before I bought the Foreman. Now I keep it to have a spare if one of the others breaks down or for friends to ride when they visit.

Ted

 

Just for comparison I am getting 47-48 with mine. It is all stock except for tires and I weigh 225. I could be talked out of it for a fair price though.

 

I've ridden my friends 450 and it seems like I can't find the right gear for hills. Second is too slow and 3rd is a little fast and if you go slow in third on a hill you start to bog out. I really don't beleive you need 450cc's to do trails. I would recomend the rancher or maybe the new rancher at if you have the money.

 

I almost flipped mine on a big steep hill due to the gear issue. I had to jump off, the quad actually rolled down the hill (about 100 feet) and didn't flip by some miracle. What I've found that works is to hit the bottom of the hill wide open in 3rd and downshift to 2nd when you are bogging out and losing rpm in 3rd. It sounds hairy but has worked real well. This is the plight of a manual, although I'd rather have this problem than put up with an auto.

 

Neighboring ranch uses nothing but Foremans. They have had a few problems with the electric shift on their es model, nothing the dealer hasn't fixed, or any major failure or anything like that, but more a nagging 'wont shift' type of thing. They have had many s models over the years (these guys all but LIVE on their ATVs during the summer, putting 7000 miles a year on them) and the s machines have been about as trouble-free a machine as I have ever seen, anywhere.

For tackling hills, the best bet seems to be to hit the bottom in 2nd, revved out pretty good, so you don't have to shift. Otherwise, you run the risk of bogging down. When you have to shift partway up a steep hill, you then run the risk of flipping over. Oh, and they are also balanced pretty well. Unless you run a lift kit, you can hang over the front end as much as you can, and the machine will spin out before it flips. That is a sign of good balance & low center of gravity.

If all you do is trail ride, and very little work, maybe check out the Rancher. Geared more for trail riding, it seems to have a top speed at least as high or maybe higher than the Foreman (not bad for a 350) along with lighter weight, and a smoother suspension.

Farmr

 

dusty- if you're only getting 40mph out of yours there is something seriously, seriously, seriously wrong with it!!!!
my brother get 50mph out of his, but it is running way too rich (like that right from the factory)

the 450 is a great all around atv.

cayman, where you from???

 

I'm from Nova Scotia. Nice and close to you....I did spend some time on Grand Cayman hence the nickname. No ATV'ing there....

Cayman

 

Alot of guys say that the Rancher is a better trail machine and it might be but when I ride them they seem to bog on the hills also. I read about the 450's bogging in 3rd gear but the Ranchers I rode also do this and I would think they would have even more of a problem with this than the Foreman 450 does. I know my brother uses 3rd to climb hills on the BigBear. I can't imagine that the 450 is geared too much differently than the Big Bear and should have about the same power.

Still working on the wife on that super nice used Foreman 450S. Not doing so well since I have had 4 new machines in the last year and half[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. I wonder why she said not to.

 

My '98 450S was really bombproof, except the baffle in the muffler rattled against the muffler body with a loud noise when the throttle was on. I ran 26" Dirt Devil XT 6 ply tires, heavier than stock, and it still ran out at 48 mph (on the speedometer, slower than actual speed due to the bigger tires) at 4500' elev. The machine was all stock except the tires. It had so much torque and traction it wasn't affected at all by the tire change, and would go anywhere I cared to ride. The worst things about it were the brakes and stiff suspension, both worked well but weren't state of the art. Posts on this forum indicate the 2/4wd switch makes a major difference in power and ease of steering, and you can add it to older models with the Warn 424 part. Sadly, I sold it this fall so I could fit a car in my 2 car garage. Oh well, guess I get to shop for another come spring.