I'm looking to trade my Beartracker in on a fairly new Rancher 4x4. It most likely will be a manual shift. I just have a few basic questions such as what is the top speed? How reliable are they? Does the front wheel drive system have any problems? What kind of maintenance needs to be done regularly and how hard is it to do? They may sound like dumb questions. Thanks in advance.

 

I had a 2001 Rancher 4x4 manual shift and I loved it. The manual shift Rancher is an extremely reliable ATV I never had a problem with it. In fact when it comes time for me to buy another ATV it will be without a doubt another Rancher (manual shift). The top speed of mine was about 51-52 mph on a dry packed dirt road. Taken into account the Rancher's size and limited slip front differential it provides serious amounts of fun. The only problem I had with mine was the choke froze after I had not started it for over a month with temps consistently below 20 degrees. This was an easy fix all I did was put some cable conditioner on it and after that it was fine. I have since talked to my local dealer and they informed me that they now have a new choke cable that they use on newer Ranchers that fix this problem and are also available to older Ranchers for like 15 bucks. The limited slip differential worked great for the two years I had mine. I have heard some people in this forum that have had problems with the effectiveness after a long time but again I had not experienced any difficulties from mine. As far as maintenance is concerned, follow the recommended service schedule in the owner’s manual and you will be fine. This includes engine and rear gearbox oil changes. Oil and Air filter changes and as I like to do change the spark plug once a year.

Just out of curiosity what year Rancher are you looking at, price, and miles?

 

TRAILBREAKER, 47 MPH ON GPS,MANUAL OVER ELECTRONIC ANY DAY.I SELL PART TIME FOR A DEALER AND KNOW AND RIDE WITH MANY OTHERS AND ]<u>THE</u> COMPLAINT I SEE AND HEAR ABOUT WHEN THE HONDAS HAVE PROBLEMS, AND BELIEVE YOU ME I HEAR PLENTY IS QUOTE: MY DAMN ELECTRIC SHIFT HONDA HAS TO BE ROCKED BECAUSE IT'S STUCK IN A GEAR, OR MY HONDA READOUT (ON DISPLAY PANEL) JUST HAS TWO FLAT LINES WHERE THE GEAR INDICATOR USED TO BE. SIMPLE ANSWER TO BOTH STATEMENTS IS MY MANUAL SHIFT DON'T DO THAT RELIABILITY, TRUST ME I CAN DESTROY ANYTHING BUT I HAVE PI$$ POUNDED MY HONDA AND IT DON'T CARE. MAINTANANCE IS EASY ,TWO MAJOR AND CRITICAL STEPS, NOW FOLLOW ME CAREFULLY .#1 IS CHECK AND CHANGE OIL ON A ROUTINE BASIS, AND #2 IS RIDE IT I HAVE A 2003 BEARTRACKER RIGHT NOW AT THE DEALERSHIP,THAT WAS TRADED UP ON A 2003 RANCHER,THE GUY WHO TRADED WON THE YAMAHA ON A RAFFLE ,NEVER RODE IT (EXCEPT ON AND OFF THE TRAILER)AT WHERE HE PICKED UP AND OFF THE TRAILER BY US. WE ARE ASKING TO GET $2750. WE HAVE SOME ROOM TO DEAL. NOT RAGGING ON YAMAHA BUT I HAD A 2000 KODIAK THAT ENDED UP TOTALLED,THANK GOD ,NOT AS WELL MADE IN MY OPINION. ONE THING YOU WILL HEAR IS THE B.S. ABOUT HONDA DRUM BRAKES DON'T LISTEN,MY KODIAK WENT THROUGH 2 SETS OF REAR PADS, AND ALMOST 3,DUE TO DISC RUNNING IN MUD CONSTANTLY. MY HONDA BRAKES WORK FLAWLESSLY AND DO ON MY SONS RANCHER, MY OLD 99 300 4X4 HONDA AND MY BROTHERS 450 FOREMAN .SO BELIEVE WHAT YOU WILL,AND BUY WHAT YOU WANT. GOOD LUCK AND RIDE SAFE,EVEN THOUGH I DON'T.... P.S. NOT SHOUTING ,JUST LIKE CAPITAL LETTERS.............

 

TRAILBREAKER, JUST NOTICED IN HONDA FORUM,GO READ POSTING.RECON ES PROBLEM AND FARMERS RESPONCE IN RECON ES PROBLEM OR NOT? THAT MAY HELP

 

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. It looks like I have to keep the Beartracker for quite a while though. My mom doesn't think I can handle anything bigger. But if I do get a new one it will most likely be a Rancher.

 

Just out of curiosity though, how fast do you think a stock Beartracker will go?

 

Dude I have an 00 rancher es 4x4 K&n filter , jet kit, meggamax exhaust 61mph no bs alum wheels are next I'm shooting for 65

 

"MY DAMN ELECTRIC SHIFT HONDA HAS TO BE ROCKED BECAUSE IT'S STUCK IN A GEAR."

This will probably shock a great deal of people. Read the owners manual. It clearly states to shut off the engine in neutral. I read posts where people's problems could have been avoided if they had only read the little book ATVs come with.

 

If you ride in mud, DEEP mud, REAL mud with WATER in it often, the brakes will fade quick but if you don't ride in REAL mud often then you won't have problems. I put 3100 miles on me drum brakes and had to change them cause the mud got in there and wore them out rapidly, they didn't work very good when they were working anyway.

 

Please go to the POLL &gt;&gt; ES Shifter Problems thread and add your peice if you are having ES problems!