You by no means are ignorant. Red is my personal preferance. Some people just don't see my "sense of humor" or lack of.

When we bought our Rubicon the only choice in color was red or green and we liked the red better. We bought a red Rancher just because the Rubicon was red also.

Our Rancher has been a great ATV for us. It is fun to ride and will litterally go anywhere. I think it takes someone younger than either one of us to take one past its limit.

2 quarts of oil and a $5 filter they are cheep to maintain also.

Ride em all, there are really no bad ATV's.

 

I personally would choose the Honda Foreman ES. It would give you a little more power and is approximately the same size and is also a 4x4. It is nice to have the 4x4 in case you get into a tight spot.

 

Right now the most improved class of sport utility machines is the 400cc class. Plenty of technology is trickling down from the high-end machines, like independent rear suspension, 2/4wd and limited slip diffs, at lower prices. I'm looking at the Bombardier Outlander, the Yamahas, and especially the new 400 Rancher with Rincon-type auto trans. I've had lots of belt-drive machines and have ridden the ESs, but I'm comfortable with old fashioned left foot shifting. Much less to go wrong. I'm a former 2 wheeler, and find I can have almost as much fun with less unintended adrenaline on my atvs. I also get a lot more work done on 4 wheels. Test ride several, buy the one that suits you. You are in for BIG FUN, Ol' Dude.

 

"Old Dude";
You aren't old.....I'm 65+. ....that's old![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img] I've ridden dirt bikes in the old days, then I graduated to ATV's. I've had a Honda Foreman 400, a Honda Foreman 450ES, and now a Polaris Expedition 425. The Polaris is definitely easier on the tush than my previous ATV's, but I sure do miss the Electric Shift (ES) of the Foreman 450ES. Although the reviews claim it is the easiest shift of any manual, it is still difficult if you haven't fully unloaded the transmission. I've drooled over the new Honda Rincon and it's independent transmission. It is a lot of bucks, though, and I doubt I'd get much for my 3 year old Polaris, so I'll keep it and look for a Jeep for those days when the weather is a definite factor. Good luck on your choice.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Expeditioneer,
Thanks for the reply. You made me laugh though, though.

I just paid off my Jeep Wrangler on Monday. I sure wish I could get IT into the bed of my Dodge Ram so I could get both the jeep and the RV trailer over to the ranch at the same time.

The "ranch" is 160 acres of high desert, 10 miles from the nearset highway and surrounded on all sides by BLM land - great place to ride but at the moment completely unimproved (except for a 200' deep well).

I went to high school and college in Alabama and believe it or not, the rain is what I miss most. Here it's rained ONCE since mid-May and over on my desert property, 4" per YEAR is normal.

 

Mr. Old Dude:
Can't go wrong with the Rancher. I would recommend the foot shift model, unless for some reason you don't want to toe shift. Cheaper, and one less thing to go wrong. Occasionally, you hear of problems with the electric shift, but the foot shifter tranny is as trouble-free as anything I have ever seen. Only you know if you need 4wd or not. If you don't the 2wd saves you a few $$$ and has less moving parts to wear out, plus steers easier. Believe it or not, for desert riding, I would probably go with a 2wd, and with the money I saved over a 4x4, add a winch. That way if you DO get stuck, you can tie the cable around a tree, cactus, or rock, and get yourself out. 4wd is the way to go in mud, or if you are into serious rock climbing, though. The Foreman is a solid machine, but more of a workhorse than the Rancher. It is heavier, harder to steer, and rides rougher. A good choice if you plan to do WORK, though.
If your back bothers you, I would then recommend going with maybe an Arctic Cat 400i or Sportsman 400. If you don't plan on going over 45-50 MPH, or drag racing, there is no reason to spend extra money on a big bore. These 2 are probably the smoothest riding machines in the 400 class. I don't have much experience with the A/C, other than to say it is solidly built, and geared low for work, wheras the Polaris is probably a better 'cruise around' machine.

The first thing I would do would be check out some of the local dealers (any brand). In my opinion, a dealer that treats you right is more important than the machine itself. I used to be a Honda only man, but my dealer retired, and the other ones treat you like dirt. Since then I bought a Polaris, and have had a better overall experience, due mostly to a very knowlegable, helpful dealer. Heck, the mechanic will even take me to the back to explain how something fits together, to save me the shop fees for having to take it in! Can't beat that.

Really, there aren't any 'bad' machines out there anymore, it is more a matter of finding one that suits your needs the best.

 

Get a Yamaha 450 Kodiak. They are a great quad and mine has had no problems along with being flawless

 

(Semi-) Old Dude;

Has your Jeep been reliable? I used to hear stories about how unreliable they were. 'Course, I'd also heard stories how unreliable Polaris ATV's were, too. I've only had one repair on the 425 Expedition; tie rod ends, which I found out the original ones weren't all that good here on the "Connection". My wife and I lived on the Mojave Desert, China Lake Naval Station, in the early 60's. I loved it, but she hated it. Clouds were so scarce I'd take pix of them whenever I saw one. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] By the way, I never got hurt on a dirt bike like I have on an ATV. It just takes one moment of inattention, since the ATV's are so heavy. How about two broken collarbones, 6 broken ribs, partially collapsed lung and minor lung punctures. If it had hit me any harder I wouldn't be writing today. I'm sure glad I was wearing a helmet. I had to ride 8 miles out of those woods to my VAN. I felt like a sack full of broken pottery. So......BE CAREFUL, and good luck to you.

 

Expeditioneer, I do appreciate all the good advice about the ATV.

Sorry folks if the rest of this post is a bit off topic:

You asked has my Jeep been reliable....... boy howdy! That l'il Wrangler is hands down the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned.

Bought it brand new in August of 98. Since I drove it off the lot, it's gotten 19mpg in either 2wd or 4wd and under all conditions. It's been driven for daily commute and driven in the mountains, desert, snow, and at the beach. I drive the freeway to work 29 miles each way and I drive 75 and 80 most of the way there and back. It has 69,300 on it.

It's had one repair - the tach and several other gauges went out at 30K. I thought was a fuse but it turned out to be a factory recall item for an electrical glitch. It took 30 minute to fix and I've never had a problem since.

I have religiously had the oil changed every 4000 miles and at 40K (yes, 40K) I decided to get a tune up whether it needed it or not (and it made ZERO difference in the performance).

I put new tires on it at 48K and a new top 6 weeks ago (I made the mistake of taking a ragtop through the carwash one time too many. A brush abraded the fabric at a stress point and the fabric began to part.

Oh, the Jeep is a stock Wrangler 2.9L SE with the alloy wheels and large (but NOT oversized) tires - I forget exactly what size.

At 80mph it is "wind-noisy".

It's hands down the most value for my money of any vehicle I've ever owned and that includes a brand new 66 Mustang, 70 Porshe and an 86 Corvette! The Mustang ranks #2 as my all time most reliable vehicle.

 

In my opinion, you will not go wrong with a Honda utility atv. The question is....manual or auto? The Rancher AT (automatic) or the standard Rancher 4X4 (5-speed auto shift.....no clutch)?