So, the title pretty much explains it. I'm new to riding. That being said, I have ridden in the past, however I have never owned a ride. I am looking for something easy to maintain, durable, and basic. I don't want/need anything big, no 1000CC ride, nothing extreme or extravagant. The 2018 Honda Rancher 4x4 really caught my eye. Good quality name, proven durability and serviced at a local dealership 10 mins from home. Does anyone have experience with the '18s? Anything to look out for or avoid?

Mainly using this to hunt and do some mild trail riding. No deep/extreme mud, nothing over the top. Any input you guys could give would be greatly appreciated.

 

Good solid machine. Not as many bells and whistles as some other brands but a good all around machine that will do everything you're asking of it. Not as comfortable a ride as a Polaris or Can-Am. Riders with back problems looking to keep it comfortable would do better on a Polaris.

 

Had a 2007 Rancher that I just sold with 1500 miles. It never gave me any issues. I got it with 1100 miles and sold it 4 years later for more than i paid for it. As said they're pretty basic. I had the electric shift version. The automatic version is bad, it never knows when to shift, you'll end up using the manual mode all the time.

They are a midsize so they'll be smaller and easier to fit in a truck bed but have less power. I didnt like there was no low range for hauling stuff. I did haul some decent loads and it did it it but I was cautious. I also couldn't shut the tailgate on my 6' bed truck even with this atv.

I recently sold mine and got a new Suzuki Kingquad 750. I wanted a CVT transmission to make it easy for the wife. So far I'm happy. It's quite a bit larger and much more powerful. If you look around you can get a deal on any quad. I almost bought another rancher because I found a leftover 16 for 4399 which was a 4x4 420 ES. Hondas do have good resale value too.

 

Had 2 2013 Honda Ranchers with manual transmission. No power steering. Solid Rear axle. Bullet Proof. Very basic machines but would rely on them to take my wife and I anywhere, as far as power I think the 420 puts out about 28 horsepower pretty much at the bottom end of the spectrum. As far as having a low range.......with the manual transmission 1st gear is about as low as you can get with plenty of torque and pull, I pulled several Elk out with it and never had an issue with powering out. As far as hauling a person or two around....... as much riding as my wife and I did doubling up it never seemed like it didn't have the power to take us where we wanted to go. But.......it certainly doesn't have any trail riding redeeming qualities. Very rough riding, my wife was generally not in that great of a mood when we arrived back at the truck and trailer. It was a smaller mid-range machine and fit in the back of my pickup with tail gate closed and I have an '02 crew cab Duramax with a short bed. I know they changed the Rancher in '14 but don't know if they lengthened the chassis or not. Good solid running machine but have heard of some issues with the Electric shift that's why I went with the manual transmission. My brother has a '12 with power steering and ES has had a few issues with Angle sensor and switch itself but once he got that squared away it's been working fine for him. Definitely stay away from the Automatic if they are still making it.
We opted to go the Can Am route this last spring and all I can say at this point is we're not sorry we did. When my wife and I are riding she will lean forward and say "Dear Honda,......" she is tickled to be riding on a larger platformed machine with the 2-up, and when she rides her own it has power steering, Automatic transmission, and Independent rear suspension. We Chose to not go with the Big Can Am's as we just didn't see the need for all of the power with the type of riding we do, (Mountain Trails) as it is, we almost doubled our horse power with the 570's we bought. I could see going with more HP if I was mudding or something like that but with the v-twin Rotax there seems to be more power there than I personally would ever use and the ride is very comfortable. I'm sure for what your plan is the Rancher would be a great machine for you, and just like any machine the better you take care of it the better it will take care of you and get you back to your starting location.