Off Roading Honda ATV Owners

[Partyat33]

I am struggling with buying Ranchers or Rincons. These are for play only and living in the midwest the terrain is not all that aggressive and I and my family are not agressive riders.



Can you do slides with a rancher 4X4 or is it 'just no fun'.

How much 'smoother' is a Rincon to a Rancher (for my wife).



Thanks



If you want to pm me I will call you on my dime. I would really like to talk to someone with experience not a saleman that want me to buy something.



Dennis

 

[BigPapa]

Dennis,



To do some good slides you will need to have 2WD. The Rancher AT 400 and the Rincon have selectable 2X4 or 4X4 capabilities.



As far as the choice between the Rancher or the Rincon the main factor is do you want the added power of the 650 over the 400? The Rincon is a little "sportier" than the Rancher so the racks on the Rincon are not as big as the ones on the Rancher, so if you want it for a Utility rig then lean toward the Rancher. I have a couple of friends and a brother that have Ranchers and they are very pleased with them. I have had a few complaints from people that have bought the Rincon about the smaller racks. They both have great suspension. Personally I would lean toward the Rancher.



If you have more questions PM me and I'll send you my phone number.



Scott

 

[SRadke]

I have extensive experience with the Rubicons and the old Fourtrax's but very little with the new Ranchers and Rincons.



-Scott

 

[Todd T]

I'm with Scott on that one. we have an older Yamaha Timberwolf that is full time 4x4 and it sucks for play riding. its a freak of nature when it comes to not getting stuck, but no fun for the snow and ice. my wife rides a Polaris Trail Blazer (2wd) and its a blast. it has Hi and Lo gearing so I can actually use ot around the farm a bit too.

 

[Partyat33]

Power is not a big issue for me, my truck has plenty. I ride my kids 150 and they are almost enough for me. OK, I must be getting old.

 

[one8upcb]

I have a sport trax but my father has a rancher 400 2x4. we live in the ozarks of missouri so the terrain is pretty rocky. He has a blast on his and keeps up with us with no problem. (except for the jumps). I guess it would really depend on what your buying it for. I really dont see a need for a 4x4 unless your on a farm.

 

[JOdell]

I have a Honda 450 foreman. it is a 2000 so it is full time 4WD. I love it. I do a lot of trail riding and hill climbing. SO the 4WD is great for how I ride it. Honda in my opinion is the best machine around. I had an old 1985 TRX 250 that I could not blow up for anything. Just stay on the maintanance and you will be fine. -Jason



P. S. - Anyone from the central Indiana are EVER wants a "buddy" to ride with I am IN.

 

[gregdoerfler]

does the rancher have a full auto trans? my uncle had one and it was auto and he didnt like it said the motor really dont have enough power for the trans,so he traded it on a rubicon. i have a rubicon i just wish it had a little more power i am 265 lbs and it does good and we ride hard,but can never had enough power. i dont really like the independant suspension for going along the side of hills.

 

[JOdell]

i dont really like the independant suspension for going along the side of hills.

I don't either. That is why I haven't upgraded my machine to a 650 Rincon. -Jason

 

[jray]

I bought two new atv's last year for the family and myself. A Suzuki 700 KingQuad 4X4 and a Honda 350 Rancher 2X4. My son and I took the atv's to Oregon for a two week Deer hunting trip last October. My son who is 14 rode the 350 Rancher during the entire two week trip. I was very impressed with the 350's ability to go 99 percent of the places that I took the 700 while in 4 wheel drive. I was so impressed with it that I even rode it a little bit. While it doesn't compare to my 700 for shear power and acceleration it did manage a top speed of 50mph with me at 250lbs atop.



My final thoughts on the 350 are that it's alot of bang for the buck. Had I not bought the 700 first I might own two 350's now.

 

[AndyMan]

Personally I would lean toward the Rancher.



If you have more questions PM me and I'll send you my phone number.



Scott

I had a Rancher, that I sold to a friend of BigPapa's (Scott) I LOVED that Rancher!!! BY FAR the best ATV I have ever owned.



Scott's the ATV MAN by the way. I vouch for anything he has to say.



Best of luck,

Andy

 

[McLaughlin]

I had a 400 Rancher. Nice machine but a bit slow; topped out at about 45. I'm not a great speedster but occasionally would have liked a higher top speed. It had a manual shift and was full time 4x4. Also it didn't have as much ground clearance as I would have liked for rock crawling and got stuck a couple of times on dry ground in some gullys.



Note: If you get the front end stuck and don't have anything to winch to, it is a bit difficult to lift the front end alone while trying to keep enough throttle going to back it out(also takes off when you get it unstuck) :-laf .

 

[Partyat33]

I was fortunate enough to talk to Scott last night. He was a wealth of insite you just can't get from a sales guy who just started. Thanks for the info Scott. I think I will go with 2 Rancher 2X4's with manual shift.



Dennis

 

[tractorseller]

Check out Feb. Dirt Wheels mag.

There is a good article in the February issue of Dirt Wheels magazine on the new Honda Rincon (it's now a 680). I read it last night. Anybody trying to make a decision should read it.



I'm not much of a Honda guy, but that new Rincon seems like a good machine with fuel injection, 3 speed transmission, etc. My buddy has a Rincon 650 and my Grizzly will blow him away even though I'm 240 and he's about 200 pounds(he's buying a Grizzly next time because he's tired of eating roost). I don't know a nice way to say this, and I hope I don't offend anyone who is overly sensitive, but I think the Rincons look like sissy machines . Just my opinion guys. Don't take it to heart . He had some custom racks built for it, powder coated them, and they make it look a little better, but not much.

 

[Timbeaux38]

I own an 03 Rancher 4x4. . tough as nails, hard to stick. Unfortunaltelu, I need to sell because a transmission is more important right now. I have a buddy with a Brute Force 750. and it is undoubtebly the king of the hill right now. The low end from the v-twin is unbelieveable.

 

[BigPapa]

... Brute Force 750. and it is undoubtebly the king of the hill right now.

I think the bad boy out right now is the Bombardier 800. It's BAD!



Scott

 

[McLaughlin]

Personally, I've been looking for a Suzuki King Quad 700 or Yamaha Grizzly 660

 

[tractorseller]

I think the bad boy out right now is the Bombardier 800. It's BAD!



Scott

I talked to a guy at our local shop here who sells Yamaha, Bombardier, Polaris, and Suzuki. He said the Bombardier has a great engine, but as an overall machine it doesn't stack up to the Grizzly. Said it breaks loose too easy, doesn't handle nearly as good, and is hard to keep in a straight line. I've never ridden one so I don't know, but I've read write-ups on them saying the same thing. On the other hand, the Polaris 800 is a little slower, but they all say it tracks as straight as an arrow no matter how much power you shoot to it. I have to admit, I was going to give my wife my Grizzly and get a Bombardier 800, but after reading about them, looking at the price difference, and talking to the guy at the shop I'll pass. I'll wait for Yamaha to come out with their new flagship beast before upgrading.

 

[MJG]

Depends on the terrain

Depends on terrain, speed, and load. Rancher is a nice worker, and fun to drive, too. Rincon’s independent suspension is well crafted, and on my ‘04 I can zip over rough terrain with a nice combination of speed and comfort.



Rincon’s automatic transmission is automobile-smooth and shifts great (I wish my Polaris Ranger 6x6 had the Rincon’s transmission). For travel in high desert terrain, it’s a blast, but my ‘04 probably won’t do as well as other 4WD systems (e. g. , Polaris and Yamaha) in serious mud—but here in Arizona that’s pretty rare anyway.



After replacing the stock aluminum wheels with steel ones (Arizona rocks will eat aluminum rims) with slightly wider offset, the stability was nicely improved. A full-length aluminum skid/bash plate is a must here as well, since the stock Rincon bash plate is just for looks.



The stock radial tires were not up to Northern Arizona riding either, but bigger and wider Kenda Bear Claws fixed that nicely. Add a chainsaw scabbard, a pack, and a strong winch, and the Rincon makes a fairly decent worker around the ranch, too.



Once the Rincon is set up for the terrain, it is a remarkably refined and well-rounded ATV. It’s not the biggest, fastest or the most powerful ATV around, but it ranks among the most comfortable, drivable, and controllable at any speed.

 

[Skydiver]

I had a chance to ride a Rancher AT last weekend 10 miles while mapping land with my gps. Really nice 4x4.

My question is what type of transmission does Honda use on the AT ? I know it will switch from electric shift to fully auto.

Tim