ATV


ArtV22

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Does anyone have any experience with the Honda Rancher? I am trying to decide if I need to step up to the 500cc Foreman. I would be using the atv primarily for hunting purposes, not hard core riding. It seems the 400cc unit would be sufficient. I appreciate your recommendations.

I have owned both the rancher and the foreman. My rancher was 2wd and was lite enough that I could pick up the back end and move it around or out of a mudhole if I needed to.

The one I have now is a Foreman 500 4x4 with the Electric shift and I absolutely love it! It is one tough machine. Works perfectly for what I need around here. I put some 589 Titan tires on it and will eventually put a winch on it. But other than that, I am completely satisfied.

You won't go wrong with either one of these!

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I have a Polaris Sportsman 700, I bought it used and it's a great bike...i agree that you should get out and check them out yourself. I think they are all pretty good bikes, each has a few things different, you just have to figure out what you like. For example: one thing I don't like about my Polaris is only handlebar brakelever is on the left side.

I hunt with a group of guys who have all different types (Artic Cat, Honda, Kawasaki, & a Suzuki); they are all good bikes, it's kinda like Ford, Chevy, Dodge all over again.

Good luck.

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I don't think there is a bad ATV manufacturer out there anymore. Get what you want. Having said that, I own a Honda 650 Rincon and I love it. Got it used for a very good price. All I really needed was a 500 but couldn't pass this deal up. My brother-in-law has two Hondas. One is a 450 Rancher and it's a great machine. Plenty of power. You wouldn't be disappointed with one.

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Just picked up my new 2008 Can-Am Outlander 500 H.O. on Friday and put over 80 miles on it over the weekend, what a freakin machine!! I took it up in the mountains through the snow and it didn't even break a sweat, the power is unreal, get out on the road and give it the juice and ya hit 55mph pretty darn quick. :cool:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have had my Honda Rancher 350 for 5 years, now. I put those "paddle track" tires it, with the big knobby tread.The tires alone were $100/piece...but indespensable. The tires and winch are a big part of the machine. So many people up here love Hondas, it seems...for good reason. You can drive through a river, up a mtn, through snow....and you can work on them/ obtain parts the easiest.( We prefer the manual shift for that reason, as well).

I would highly suggest getting a mid-sized one, like the 350....you are not comprimising strength....but, really, making the manuverability easier. I'm not just saying that because I'm a woman, either. If you get really stuck,or dense woods, you can yank it out of a mess, yourself .

We have moose and bear hunted with these Hondas (I have the Rancher, my guy has the Foreman....and he has successfully winched a 400/lb black bear up on the front 2 seasons ago,before descending a 5-mile steep trail....will figure out how to scan/post that picture for you sometime soon)....

I can haul incredible loads, and put my fit 4 of my 5 chilldren ON it(don't recomend that, though....that was just a slow, flat necessary trek the 4 miles from the trailhead, to our cabin.)

After moving from SE of Fairbanks, to the Kenai, it doesn't get everyday use...but pretty regular use year-round, even in winter. We had a musher borrow it for a season to run dogs in training for the Iditarod(you hook up a team to train / run in lean snow conditions).

The ac charger on it was handy, for charging the satellite phone,too.

Good luck!!

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my dad and i have a pair of Yamaha Grizzly 400's and the only time i got one stuck on our hunting property was when i loaded all of the deer stands and hunting blinds (3 15ft ladders, 2 hang on and 2 20ft climbing sticks and 3 pop up blinds) on the two place atv trailer and took off threw a hay marsh......made it most of the way, got stuck on the last 10 yards of the marsh goin into the hard woods, cause i had to make a sharp turn around a fallen tree, but we had a winch on it and it come right out.

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