She likes the low feel of the Rancher, and the engine breaking, plus this machine feels easier for her to control. I like the 500 but I am a little bigger than she is. Price is pretty much equal, I sorta feel like the 500 HO is a lot more machine. What do you think ? Thanks for the input.

 

Buy the Rancher !! You will have less problems!!!

 

lol!!! just bought my wife a hawkeye 2x4. u can read my first impression this forum. if your wife likes to bash it up with the best of them either of those machines'll get'er done. my wife likes to just go along. if i decide to hop in muhole she always wants off. she's not into bashin. so i didnt spend the big bucks for her a machine. i have mine and it's pretty well tricked with tires and wench etc. after riding hers today......wellll....all i can say is that it was fun!!!
as far as which brand??? another guy said buy the honda...u'll have less probs. i have a friend who had a rancher that gave him nothing but problems. after many trips to the shop he finally ended up takin a bath on it trading it off for a polaris.
i think u can have bad luck buying any 4 wheeler. doesnt matter which brand. and u can most certainly tear up just about anything man can make. whats key is which dealership ( hencefourth stealership in forums) will stand behind their product the best? talk to many people who have done biz with dealerships u r considering and see who has the least gripes. we have a good dealership in our area who has been around a while and always treats us well. it can take a few weeks to get your machine thru the shop but they tell u that up front so no probs there. in the past 2 1/2 yrs we have bought 10 atv's from him. all polaris. no complaints here.

 

Rancher

 

Thanks for the info.

 

have her sit and ride both and let her decide. if it were me id say screw the 500 H.O. and buy an 800. haha

 

After a 40 miles trail trip on the Rancher, she will never go again from all the pains in the back and butt. If you could make 40 miles. But if you live on a farm and all you do is ride 1-2 miles a day and do heavy duty utility work, Rancher is great.
I have owned the 500 Polaris Magnum, 650 Kaw Prairie, 400 Scramblers and still have 2, and ridden my neighbors 400 Rancher in ND hunting. In my opinion, The Honda 350, 400, 450, 500 Rancher and Foreman are the roughest hardest riding quads on the market.
The 500 Polaris is one of the softest riding on the market, and after 40 miles at Chadwick MO. you can still ride the next day.

 

My girlfriend has a 04 foreman 450 es, the electric shift system kicked the bucket at 400 miles and it is the stiffest riding quad on the face of the earth-the rear suspension is too firm-it literally doesn't move under any circumstance. I would shoot for a independent rear, smaller chassis quad-maybe a yamaha-don't get me wrong i LOVE my 500ho, but it is alot of machine and the steering effort required is on the high side. I looked into an aftermarket rear shock to soften the honda and was given a price of 750. Just my 2 cents.