2009 Honda ATV

GordoSD

Well-known Member
I traded up to a 420 cc , Rancher with power steering and electric shift and also auto matic shift in Aug of 2009.. I also got FI and independent rear suspension.
Yesterday I put 100 gals of roundup through the rack mounted sprayer. For those of you with older machines go test these little wonders. They are truly a one handed operating machine. So easy to maneuver with one hand while using the wand with the other. And shifts always when you need it.
I did run 75 gallons through with the little boom. And I took care of most of that "ditchweed/hemp" we discussed the other day
 
i have some family that lives within a mile and they are big time honda people they also have a rancher i believe a 2010, they always brag about it until my yamaha kodiak 450 showed up... they still stick to the hondas but will admit the kodiak/ grizzly platform is very capable. the biggest thing they hate is not having to shift due to the ultramatic transmission and they get scared to really work it because the engine never drops rpm
 
I bought a new Rancher in '08, had a friend with one and he swore by it, it was a good little machine until the computer started acting up and locking the transmission in low and not allowing to even switch to manual mode, warranty fixed it the first time, three weeks later it went out again the dealer wouldn't cover it. I argued with the service manager for an hour over it and got no where, went to the salesmen Id bought it from and traded it on the spot for a new Rubicon. That was one workhorse of a machine only downfall was reverse was really slow when plowing snow.

Id still have it but I it was too tough for my grandpa to climb on so I put it up for sale and bought a Polaris Ranger, I'm glad I did he really enjoyed being able to drive to the other end of his land and tell me about how things looked there back when he was a kid.
 
Speaking of Honda's, I have two that I do ranch work on. The 2000 Rancher is full time 4 wheel drive. It carries a 20gal tank on the front for spraying and a roll of barbed wire on the back. In the middle is all of the fencing supplies. It will go anywhere you want, if you can hang on to it. The other one is a 2006 Rubicon with tractor tires on it. The automatic is okay, but the push button 4wheel drive is not so good. It is a much larger machine and easier to ride on, but is limited as to where it will go.
Did I mention the winch? The Rancher still has the original winch on it. The Rubicon has had three winches on it and now the winch that is on it needs help.
Have a good ride, my vote is for HONDA,
 
I have a 1995 foreman 400, all time 4wd, alsi the first year honda had the engine in sideways.I've owned it since 2006, I bought it from my cousin of whom took pretty good care of it, other than a few bearings, a starter, the carburetor rebuilt and batteries I've had no problems, it gets used everyday and starts every time. Yamaha makes a good bike too but as for me I will always be honda
 
do the hondas have a lockable front diff? i know the one i looked at didnt but didnt know if it was an option, i will say one thing when all four corners are locked in you cant beat it for plowing, especially with itp mud lites on it
 
I've had a Polaris 425 since 1995 & it is a BEST BUY. I've put 2 spark plugs in it over the 20 yrs. I bought a Polaris Ranger side by side in 2013 & it is not nearly as well made.
 
Good friend of mine has 2 Ranger SxS. He says one to use, one in the shop. another friend id on his THIRD diesel engine, in 5 years, in his huge Polaris SxS with the KAW engine
 
I ride the old Foreman 400 at work. Spent a day on a 450 Grizzly this summer. Either too fast or too slow. Have to stop to shift. Don't like side-hilling it. Feels too top heavy. Climbs like a mountain goat though. The Foreman, I never have any quastion about it sticking on a sidehill, but just climbs slower. Don't like the older ranchers at all. Seat's not long enough, and you sit too far back, with the 15 gallon spot sprayer on, I can't climb near the hills that I can on the Foreman.
Though I must say, the boss' uncle's Rancher AT (IRS, 5 speed DSG manual/automated shifting, selectable 4x4) sure rides nice. Haven't been on it with the tank on though.
All their newer machines, the seats are shrinking. Told a salesman at Husker Harvest Days I'll stick with the old Foreman because it's got more room and it climbs better.
Just wish there was a kit for selectable 4x4 on it.
 
on newer ATV's did they get the 'automatics' all straightened out for full power/use?

reason I ask.
hunting camp, very, very steep ground.
I had a 03 Honda Rancher 350 manual trans, fulltime 4wd.
Bought it new cuz my partners much older Honda TRX 300?
was unstoppable and very stable on the hills.
(and if you high-centered one, you could just pick it up and move it)
couple young guys came down with their BIG Polaris machines.
Automatics. wow, super powerful. But, much too high, they all rolled them at least once on the hills.
We way overloaded our machines sometimes.
I go 240, partner pushes 300, gear, deer on the rack, little Hondas would groan but chug up the hill
The big automatics.......with the same gross overload they were fine with a running start. But have to stop on the hill and that auto would screech like a banshee trying to get moving again.
You could just hear years of life in it draining away.
So, I wonder if they are better today?
 
(quoted from post at 18:27:13 09/18/14) do the hondas have a lockable front diff? i know the one i looked at didnt but didnt know if it was an option, i will say one thing when all four corners are locked in you cant beat it for plowing, especially with itp mud lites on it

They just added lockable on the newest Foremans within the last year or so. Also, the new redesigned 2015 Rubicon.
 
Polaris is a snowmobile transmission, basically a belt drive AFAIK. Totally different animal from the Honda and Yamaha automatics.
 

I've always been a Honda person. Been without one for a few years, kind of need one around, lots of walking without one and I use the little tractor in place of one sometimes. Don't know as I'd like a SxS for visibility and chasing cows. I drove a '12 Yamaha Grizzly 700 at my cousin's for an amount of time, they have some significant hills. I checked a few pivots and drove through their pasture. Don't care for it at all, like driving a snowmobile (understandable). At least it would take a LOT of getting used to. For work I'd rather have lower revving engines, Hondas have less HP but decent torque. Also, having gears to select is a plus when doing stuff. With the Yamaha going 20MPH up a not so steep hill and engine revving very high was annoying, nothing wrong either, just how they work. I know reliability wise they are ok, and people use them for work, like I said, just different.

Many of the neighbors moved to the SxS models, mostly Honda. One has a Ranger 900 a couple years old, he likes it, see him driving down the road every day, a number of miles from the place.
 
(quoted from post at 13:16:29 09/19/14) Polaris is a snowmobile transmission, basically a belt drive AFAIK. Totally different animal from the Honda and Yamaha automatics.

The Yamaha uses a belt too, but it is a "better" setup with constant tension on it. The Polaris releases tension at stop, so it kind of snaps in when you push on the gas, last time I looked it up anyway.
 

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