I'm in the market for a 2wd Utility quad. I have owned a Yamaha Timberwolf and a Kawasaki Bayou. The Yamaha was trouble free besides the fact that it was stolen and hot-wired (burnt up the whole wiring harness) I have narrowed it down to the Big Bear 400 and Honda Rancher. Both are almost exactly the same in specs(besides the cc's) and around my neck of the woods,the BB is cheaper by about $800. I know that should make up my mind,but i have only ridden the Rancher so far,and I loved it. Tommorrow i will go to the dealer and ride the BB,but it probably still wont make up my mind. I ride in decent mud,streams,small hillclimbs,and wide open fire roads,so i do need some top speed too. Please help me make up my mind!!! Thanks

 

Stick with Yamaha. No recalls as of yet. Most likely, none in the future.

 

I went through the same decision process you are going through a few months ago, except that I was looking at 4x4's. I was lucky that I had friends who had Big Bear 400's and friends who had Ranchers. I was able to ride both and I liked both. I didn't like the ES on the Rancher. To me, it felt artifical. And try to ride with one hand; you can't do it. If I would have gotten a Rancher, I would have gone with the manual shift. To me, the Big Bear felt more powerful and rode just as smooth. The Big Bear also has 5-way adjustable suspension, disk brakes in front, and larger 25" tires. The Big Bear will turn just as tight too. I just could not see any area where the Rancher was better than the Big Bear. It might have a little faster top speed, because the Big Bear is geared low, but I ride along with Ranchers all the time and can't tell any difference in general. Several of my Rancher friends have ridden my Bear and said it is at least as good as their Rancher. Of course, they always say the best thing about their Rancher is that it's a Honda. But don't let anyone tell you that the Rancher will be more reliable than the Big Bear, because they can't back it up. I believe the Big Bear 400 uses the oil-cooled engine out of the old Kodiak, which was very reliable. The Rancher is a more complicated bike, new style engine, new style differential, more electrionics. Honda established its reliability reputation by building simple but rugged quads, such as the TRX 300. But now that they are building more complicated machines, the reliability is not a guarantee. Just look at the recalls. Anyway, sorry so long winded. Go with the Big Bear, you won't be sorry.
Kman

 

Yea,the disc brakes on the BB vs. the "sealed" drums on the Rancher is a definate plus for the BB. I go through DEEP streams and being able to stop coming out of the water is a big plus...LOL

 

Undecided350,
I see you are from Mobile. Don't buy until you get a price quote from Hattiesburg Cycles in Hattiesburg, MS. http://www.hattiesburgcycles.com/
I drove down there from Louisiana and saved $800. They are the largest Yamaha dealer in the nation, and are a great place to deal with. Give them a call. Here is one review on the Big Bear 400.
http://www.motorsports-network.com/Y...0/bbear400.htm

Good luck,
Kman

 

Hattiesburg Cycles advertises in the newspaper here,but all they advertise are Kawi's.There is also a place in Jackson,AL that advertises thier BB for $3,696 (2wd). Doesn't seem like the Honda dealers along the coast(FL,AL,MS,LA) want to budge much from retail. Some guy in the HL forum was posting about bearings on his BB? Is this a problem or is it just his abuse? The BB has a lot going for it when it beats the Honda in a few categories such as braking,power,gas tank capacity. In other categories it is only behind in a very small amount. I'm still thinking.

 

I dunno. Never heard about Big Bears having any more problems with bearings than any other quad, and there have been a lot of Big Bears sold around here this past year. Big tires and spacers, jumping, and water will ruin bearings on any quad before long. The older Big Bear 350's and older Kodiak 400's were all known as very reliable. No reason to believe the newer Big Bear 400's won't be as well, since they are still a simple machine.
Yeah, Hattiesburg cycles sells Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, and Suzuki, but mainly Yamaha. None of the Honda or Yamaha dealers around here wanted to deal, that's why I wound up driving to Hattiesburg. Someone told me that there was a shortage of Ranchers, so dealers were selling close to MSRP. I think the Big Bear is a great value. Good luck with your decision.
Kman

 

Just saw that post on the Highlifter forum. He has a 1999 Big Bear 350, which is a totally different quad from the 2000-01 Big Bear 400. They changed them from the ground up in 2000.

 

No recalls yet, wont be any,yamaha will just let you pay for there mistakes when they happen,been there.

 

I have also seen others complaining about the rear brakes on BB's.....don't remember if it was newer or older 350,but they said something about brakes need adjustment all the time and even after adjustment,they still don't work good. One of the high points over the Rancher for me is better(disc) brakes on the front,but if the back brakes are worse than the Rancher,it kinda evens out,doesn't it? I'm not trying to down it before I even get a chance to ride it,i'm just trying to get all the facts before I make the 2nd biggest purchase i've made in my life.