I am about to buy a new kodiak and I was between the 450es, rancher es, or kodiak. I have a friend that just purchased a rancher and it is not the machine that the kodiak is. you start shifting the rancher and you have to shift a bunch, not much range through gears I think, ride is pretty good though. I dont to bash honda or honda fans but I think this should be said. I read a post a while back where someone was deciding between the same three and he gave a million reasons why the kodiak was better but he bought a honda anyway because of reliability. Why then is there some little problems with the new rubi and recalls on the rancher. I am wondering if maybe honda quit paying their engineers enough. Also honda needs to move into the new century and give the option to shift in or out of 4x4. Just my two cents, what do you think?

 

I personally rate both Yamaha and Honda as reliable. That has been my experience, having owned both. I can tell you the Kodiak is very reliable. I have 800+ hard WV miles through mud and mountains on mine, with zero problems or belt slippage in water up to seat. I just had to replace rear brake pad is the only thing. I'm going to get EBC pads next time as I hear they wear longer. The Honda's are nice but I don't like the es on them personally. I've heard of mud getting and sticking in the buttons and you have to compromise your grip on the handle bars to shift. I would go w/standard shift on a Honda. Some people swear by the es and Honda. I mainly wanted in and out 4x4 which works flawlessly on the Kodiak. My friends say the Kodiak feels like it has power steering also.

2000 KODIAK 4X4 BEIGE
2000 WARN WINCH
EXCAVATORS
ALUM REAR SKID PLATE

 

I am starting to see more and more kodiak's out in the field now. I stop and chat with them. They like those atv's and consider them very reliable. They have modern features now. Are a light atv and
are very reliable. I am a 2000 polaris xpedition 425 cc 5-speed owner and I would not hesitate to buy a kodiak. I like everything I read about them.
It seems to me, it was the atv of the year last year. I would never buy any atv of any brand based
on a reputation. Reputations are usually not backed up by anything more then predijice. The kodiak, is a very good atv! rangerchet

 

Tractoral is exactly right about the Rancher's gears not having too much of a range. I have a Kodiak, and my friend just picked up his Rancher last week. After about 5 minutes of riding, I wanted my Kodiak back. I feel that the Rancher is very underpowered. Maybe if I wasn't used to the Kodiak, I wouldn't feel that way. I know the Rancher is a good machine, but it just isn't for me. I am glad I picked the Kodiak over the Rancher. I did have the chance to ride the new Rubicon, and that is a very nice quad. The only thing I could find wrong with it was not having the option to switch out of 4 wheel drive. Why doesn't Honda come out with that option? It seems like they don't want to leave the eighties.

 

I can tell you that with 650 miles on my Rancher the only problem with it so far is one rivet popped out when I kissed a tree. This was easily replaced. I almost purchased the Kodiak but opted for the 4wd system on the Rancher.

The Kodiak has more power, but I believe the top speed of the Rancher & Kodiak are the same around 50 mph. The Kodiak with the larger motor just gets there faster. As previously mentioned the sur trac 4wd is better than conventional 4wd systems. I do like the abilitity to change in & out of 4wd (Kodiak).

If it was me, drive them both. Talk with the dealer & see who is giving you the best deal.

The Kodiak beat the 450 in a shoot out earlier this year.

Either way you have two good choices.

 

I have owned both Yamaha and Honda and I liked Yamaha more. They both held up as well as each other. Beat them they will break. The only people i ever trust about an atv is what i see with my own eyes. I know people who say they ride hard and they use there machines 3 times a year. I have a freind who beats the hell out of his Kawasaki and doesn't think he is hard on it at all. Yamaha makes a great machine the Kodiak would be quite a bit better than the Rancher.

 

The Kodiak quiet abit better? Don't buy that. The Kodiak is in a different class. The Kodiak has a MSRP that is $600 more than the Rancher. The Rancher is the best mid-size quad out there bar none. The Kodiak is the best in its 400cc class.

You will probably get a better deal on the Kodiak because most Honda dealers are not dealing on the price of the Rancher, they don't have to because sales are so good!

Honda & Yamaha have some of the best quality machines out there.

 

I've ridden two Ranchers. They don't come close to a Kodiak. I made the mistake of buying a full time 4WD quad two years ago. I definately recomend buying a quad that is able to go from 2-4 wheel drive. I got my Kodiak for $5800 out the door.

 

Price makes a difference. Last year when I purchased my quads, Kodiaks were going for $6100 & Ranchers $5400. To me the Kodiak was good but not worth the extra $700. Today in Oregon you can find Kodiaks for $5500-$5600 almost every day of the week & yet Honda dealers still want $5400 for Ranchers (4x4 ES), with that being said I would lean towards the Kodiak.

The Kodiak is great in the woods, it is probably one of the best handling utility quads out there. We have two of them in our club. The switchable 2wd-4wd is nice to have. However the Rancher does have the 4wd system. Yamaha probably makes the best belt drive tranny out there.

Its all about choice. There is no right or wrong answer. Any way all that matters is the person buying the quad is happy with it.

I was considering a new quad this spring, the Kodiak was the for runner until Kawasaki announced its new 650 beast. I am waiting to see if the new Kawi lives up to the expectations.

 

Interesting about the "Honda" Rep. We have 3 450's in our club, never heard of having to reboot the computer once. These machines have between 2000-4000 miles. I am not saying it doesn't happen in fact I remember seeing a post on this forum about this subject. I can tell you my Rancher hasn't locked up, not yet any ways.

Heres an interesting story. We were at the Wallace Idaho ATV jamboree this past September, & Polaris sponsored it. Most of the quads needing assistance on the trails were the Polaris, not bashing just stating the facts at this event.

Honda is not without its share of problems, however they still make the best quality quads out there. Yamaha & Kawasaki are 2nd & 3rd. Polaris don't know if they are 4th or 6th behind Suzuki & AC.

My suggestion is scan the forums for problems & will become evident which brands have more problems than others.

One thing to remember is trust your eyes, what I mean look at what quads you see on the trails. There are people on these forums that would never admit to having a problem, must be an ego thing. Also, people will stretch the truth & take what you read with a grain of salt.