for me it came down to the price difference in price![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] i have the '02 bigbear i rode with a guy who has the honda, they are the most reliable but yamaha has more ground clearance! all 4x4's get stuck! i can go into aprox 31/2- 4' of water b4 my air intake is submurged. as for the front differential goes the honda is better that it is limited slip but ive no problem when mudding. both are very reliable quads, if you can id test ride them to help make a decision we can only give you our own opinions on our experience, either way you wont be sorry!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] oh yea the in/out 4x4 thing is awsom both have that feature i think! i get home every time even when i tow my neighbor on his polaris!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] big bear is 386cc and the honda is a little less. you wont be able to tell the difference, good luck tough decision!

 

With the limited slip differtial try tapping your front brake it will engage the other wheel. At least it does on my Bigbear

 

if the front wheels arent turning in 4wd you tap the front brake?

I want this quad!

 

what that does is puts equal braking/slippage to the front wheels therefor they both equally spin giving you 100% 4wd[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

What he is saying is on a limited slip front differential like the rancher or big bear if one front wheel is spinning and one is not slightly engage the front brake and most of the time both front wheels will start spinning because you have eliminated the traction difference between the 2 front wheels. This doesn't always work but sometimes it will. To clear up some of the errors in previous posts: The rancher is full time 4x4 only. The big bear is selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive. From what I have seen with my own eyes the rancher front end doesn't work any better than the big bear when it comes to one wheel spinning and one sitting still. The big bear has noticeably more pulling power than the rancher. Most of that comes from lower gearing. The bear needs a 6th gear to make it feel right.It tops out around 50 mph. Yamaha is as reliable as honda from my own experience. My 2000 big bear has been treated very badly and hasn't had a single problem. My best friends rancher has been treated very badly and hasn't had a single problem. You need to ride them both and decide which one YOU like best.

 

I was also looking at these two quads but I bought a Suzuki Eiger 4x4 manual shift instead. It has the 2wd/4wd, disc brakes up front, low/high transmission. It has high gears for playing and low gears for working. The diff is a "torque sensing" it's similar to the others but it works pretty good. The steering is light, the ride is smooth, and has lots of power. I have had mine just over 55 mph by the speedo and had a little to go. I am very happy with it and it has all the features that most people want except a locker. For the money it's worth a look. I paid $4650 cash out the door. Also comes in a fully automatic for $200 more.

 

thunderp[ower, the bigbear is aprox530 lbs, ive had it just over 50mph on pavement in 2wd. i dont use 4wd on solid ground. i will recommend the 4x4 if you r getting a utility like these. the 4wd is great to have and to get out of it and use 2wd just makes loose dirt extra fun!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]