Mr_RPM
10-24-2010, 04:28 PM
Had a guy drop off a 2009 rancher 420 over yesterday.
It can go from 2 to 4 wheel drive
has power steering
goes from electric shift to fully automatic
Independent rear suspension
(they are available in 2 wheel only, solid axle, foot shift only, and electric shift only. no power steering, so alot of options to have)
it was over for installation of a winch, plow, a sleek front bumper, and rack baskets. has 200 miles on it.
well I took her for a spin without the plow. First is first, the power steering is awesome. it steers like my 84 big red just with 2 tires with 4 wheel drive. and at higher speed it steers even easier then the big red.
With the Independent rear suspension it does have some lean to it (nothing us trike guys aren't used to) and really doesn't ride much smoother then my 10 year older foreman 450 with solid axle. but the added ground clearance will be nice for deep soft snow.
I HATE THE TRANSMISSION!!!! Honda does not use a CVT like everyone else, which is good because theres no belt to slip or break. Instead they use the same trannys cars use. for automatics. It shifts randomly and constantly. cruising from a low speed then flooring it makes me feel like its going to break, it shifts down so hard that its revving way out then shifts right away. It can't make up its mind on what gear it wants to be in when cruising. It does shift very quickly and VERY SMOOTHLY. you can barley even feel it shift.
so then i put it in electric shift mode expecting what my foreman does. NOPE!!! its like shifting you car into low and threw each gear instead of putting it in drive. It offers very little engine break and does not slam into gear when drag racing like the standard electric/foot shift does. it leaves me feeling like a lot of power is lost threw the tranny.
if you got the electric shift only or the foot shift only it would not be like this and shift normally like any other quad. I guess Im just not used to it and im biased.
as for the engine, its a liquid cooled 420cc single cylinder 4 stroke and is the perfect side by side race for the 99 foreman 450. it has much less torque then the foreman but because it does shift so quickly it keeps up. It would not be able to pull as much as the foreman and the gearing is just a bit to high in first gear which i hate for crawling really slow (like getting on a trailer). the engine does get the job done and is definitely not the weak point of the quad. its just lacks a bit of OMPH that the heavier foreman 450 offers, but then again just buy a foreman if you want that extra torque.
It has disk breaks all the way around and stops very well for a big 4x4 style quad.
It feels small with the new styling. the front rack and foot wells are very small and wimpy compared to my friends 2003 rancher 350. they tried to make it look sporty, but i mean its a rancher not a racer. leave it big and boxy. It has 24 inch tires on it but i think I would rather have 25-26 inch tires. Its just kinda low to the ground and the handling might be better then the foreman with solid axle but the Independent rear suspension kills it and leaves the foreman to sail passed around turns and with the bigger tires the foreman can go over more while still handling better.
If it were mine I would have gotten electric shift only, and solid axle. the power steering is something to get used to but I like it.
If i were buying this style quad I would buy the bigger foreman 500. More power, still has power steering and has the more utilitarian feel of it with bigger racks and tires. overall a little larger quad where it counts but not any bigger where it hurts.
I even feel that I like my 1999 foreman 450 more. If the foreman had new brakes on it i feel that it would be all around better. except for the power steering maybe but im not quite sure if I like the power steering, its just so weird.
all in all its a good quad that wont disappoint. Its still a quality built honda, and for you 4x4 haters, it is a small quad for a 4x4 and isn't over whelming in mass like the bigger quads.
just my .02 cents.
I wont be back online for a week because of a surgery so any questions wont be answered till next week.
It can go from 2 to 4 wheel drive
has power steering
goes from electric shift to fully automatic
Independent rear suspension
(they are available in 2 wheel only, solid axle, foot shift only, and electric shift only. no power steering, so alot of options to have)
it was over for installation of a winch, plow, a sleek front bumper, and rack baskets. has 200 miles on it.
well I took her for a spin without the plow. First is first, the power steering is awesome. it steers like my 84 big red just with 2 tires with 4 wheel drive. and at higher speed it steers even easier then the big red.
With the Independent rear suspension it does have some lean to it (nothing us trike guys aren't used to) and really doesn't ride much smoother then my 10 year older foreman 450 with solid axle. but the added ground clearance will be nice for deep soft snow.
I HATE THE TRANSMISSION!!!! Honda does not use a CVT like everyone else, which is good because theres no belt to slip or break. Instead they use the same trannys cars use. for automatics. It shifts randomly and constantly. cruising from a low speed then flooring it makes me feel like its going to break, it shifts down so hard that its revving way out then shifts right away. It can't make up its mind on what gear it wants to be in when cruising. It does shift very quickly and VERY SMOOTHLY. you can barley even feel it shift.
so then i put it in electric shift mode expecting what my foreman does. NOPE!!! its like shifting you car into low and threw each gear instead of putting it in drive. It offers very little engine break and does not slam into gear when drag racing like the standard electric/foot shift does. it leaves me feeling like a lot of power is lost threw the tranny.
if you got the electric shift only or the foot shift only it would not be like this and shift normally like any other quad. I guess Im just not used to it and im biased.
as for the engine, its a liquid cooled 420cc single cylinder 4 stroke and is the perfect side by side race for the 99 foreman 450. it has much less torque then the foreman but because it does shift so quickly it keeps up. It would not be able to pull as much as the foreman and the gearing is just a bit to high in first gear which i hate for crawling really slow (like getting on a trailer). the engine does get the job done and is definitely not the weak point of the quad. its just lacks a bit of OMPH that the heavier foreman 450 offers, but then again just buy a foreman if you want that extra torque.
It has disk breaks all the way around and stops very well for a big 4x4 style quad.
It feels small with the new styling. the front rack and foot wells are very small and wimpy compared to my friends 2003 rancher 350. they tried to make it look sporty, but i mean its a rancher not a racer. leave it big and boxy. It has 24 inch tires on it but i think I would rather have 25-26 inch tires. Its just kinda low to the ground and the handling might be better then the foreman with solid axle but the Independent rear suspension kills it and leaves the foreman to sail passed around turns and with the bigger tires the foreman can go over more while still handling better.
If it were mine I would have gotten electric shift only, and solid axle. the power steering is something to get used to but I like it.
If i were buying this style quad I would buy the bigger foreman 500. More power, still has power steering and has the more utilitarian feel of it with bigger racks and tires. overall a little larger quad where it counts but not any bigger where it hurts.
I even feel that I like my 1999 foreman 450 more. If the foreman had new brakes on it i feel that it would be all around better. except for the power steering maybe but im not quite sure if I like the power steering, its just so weird.
all in all its a good quad that wont disappoint. Its still a quality built honda, and for you 4x4 haters, it is a small quad for a 4x4 and isn't over whelming in mass like the bigger quads.
just my .02 cents.
I wont be back online for a week because of a surgery so any questions wont be answered till next week.