gearing and hp go hand in hand...yes you can have a 1hp engine pull a 1,000lbs, with the right gearing. but for speed and efficency you want hp and gearing. i have seen bb's with subranges too, and the 350's only have about 18hp... a bored out bayou 250 has 18hp and no sub range and i have seen both on a single farm do the same hauling chores. the bayou not in a sub range going about it much quicker than the bb in sub range. when the re-did the bbs for a single gear range the compromised VERY well IMO, no slippage and speed( no choosing one or another)

part of the reason companies eliminated the low gear sub range is they really aren needed these days. honest, if you have a WORK ATV with foot shift 1st should be plenty low, (5mph MAX) and 2nd and 3rd should follow up in sequence, allowing little power/momentom loss between gears.

the 420 was not designed to be a super duper work ATV. thats y honda has the foreman series. so yes TLC you are right, the rancher was not "made" for work...... but haveing 5 gears will not stop it from competeing with the eiger, or any other utility for that matter.

ok, can anyone answer my question??? how many madels are still made with a foot shift, and a sub range???

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>ok, can anyone answer my question??? how many madels are still made with a foot shift, and a sub range??? </end quote></div>


09 400 KQ & 500 Arctic Cat are the last with the low range option.

After that there is only the Big Bear,Rancher and Foreman that are true foot shift models.

Cant really count the Rincon and Rubicon as true semi-autos.

 

thank you very much TLC. iwanted someone els to say it. the big bear, rancher, and foreman have all been subsequently upgraded and redesigned. this includes modifying ther gearing from the olden days of needing a sub range for pulling. lots of companies have redesigned there gear patterns and ratios to maximize 1st for pulling at take off and then there 2nd and 3rd gears for little lag when shifting. but the KQ400(eiger) is still a hold over from the older days when sub ranges where standard and necessary for a work mechine. now there is a balance between pulling power and quick get-up-and-go, all in one range.

 

I'm going to have to still go with the theory that sub- tranny are just more expensive and are eliminated due to cost saving,plus the fact all foot shifting models are going on the way side, 5 only left out of How many utility made now?

Yamaha's last semi auto tranny utility ATV is the 400 Big Bear and its not the first choice Yamaha has to offer if you wanted to get in a dead pull contest. The discontinued 500 Suzuki Vinson foot shift model had a sub tranny and could pull with a 500 foreman anyday but in high range was a faster ATV also.

Never going to see tractors ,4wd trucks without a low range option so why not put it on a utility ATV.

 

Im still trying to decide on what to buy. I was ready to buy the foreman when the service manager at the honda dealership said to go carborated. He said that my just driving it short distances and stopping would cause plug fouling with the efi. My suzuki dealer has a new 2008 400 king quad he will sell for 4150 +tax but he only has the automatics left. Has any on done a lot of pulling with this type of drive? How do they hold up?

 

Don,t worry about the carb thing, I rode the 420 and 500 Foreman I could not tell which was which,I also rode a EFI SP500X2 again I could not tell the difference,they start the go,not much more to it than that. See my pics, we take our ATV ice fishing all the time ,they always start with little effort in the winter.

Ever the snowmobiles are carburated. Anyone who says they can start a carbed machine in the cold has a machine thats just not running right.

I think there better things to improve on the 420. I think they should of got rid of the old rear drum brakes and when to disk brakes and a true 4WD locker set before worrying about EFI.

 

your dealer is full of it, the efi rancher will have less problems starting in the cold then carbed quads. i wouldnt be afraid to get the kingquad 400 at all, youll get used to starting it in the cold, it will due everything you need and more, for the money you save id get it over the foreman.

 

Zimmfrm-

That is an awesome (IMO) price for the KQ.

I have a red KQ400automatic, and really like it. I added the Suzuki front & rear fender flares to mine, and the black fender flares improve the looks of the quad and give you more splash/snow/mud protection.

 

Spelled, not spelt.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: kingquad400

Response to cherokee99-Actually, Hondas dont have a diff lock. When locked if the right wheel makes a complete revolution the left wheel will as well. It locks so one wheel cant turn more then the other. But hondas dont have a diff lock at all, they have a limited slip front differential which is the exact same as the kingquad 400's 4wd system. I dont know where you got the information saying that hondas have a diff lock but not one model from them has a diff lock. The torque sensing four wheel drive systems that you are thinking of are can ams visco lock which automatically locks the front differential, and polaris's is almost exactly the same thing.Im not trying to be hard on you just a fair amount of your information is incorrect. Another correction, eigers both automatic and semi-automatic have a low range giving 10 different gears for the semi-automatic in total. When you got your 01 forman 450 you got fooled big time lol. Oh yeah and its spelt efficiently and spelt engages. I see your spelling teachers fooled you as well. Anyways, im 15 and even i know some of this stuff you dont. Have fun riding tho!</end quote></div>

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] you make me laugh....idc how old you are im lookn at 2 honda certified mechanics, and 2 autobody machs and ALL agree that a diff lock is a diff lock. anything that engadges both front wheels(AT THE SAME TIME OR NOT) IS CONCIDRED A DIFF LOCK. im 18 and iv been researching and workn on this **** since i could hold a wrench. ik my pre-07 foreman has no diff lock, but after 07 the trax-lock system is standard on all honda 4x4's. did you look up that? not the same, but similar system that is on the KQ400. i dont pretend to know everything, and i admit when im wrong, but ik what a diff lock is.

if you feel like makeing personal attacks and jabs start your own thread, i dont mind. infact you can probably get 10 other ppl to join you! but quite frankly im a bit more mature than telling someone the obvoius, like your spelling sucks. all you have been doing is makeing jabs at me, and sir im tired of it. i came here to give help and recieve it, not to get into a juvinial crying and screamin match with you. and thanks to the handy-dandy ignore user button i wont have to listen, or see your impetutious keystrokes anymore, goodbuy. and mabe by the time you can drive, or smoke, you will not be such a jerk.