I'm looking at buying a four-wheeler pretty soon and have narrowed my choices down to the new 2008 Big Bear 400 IRS and the new Honda Rancher 420. The reason I picked these two is that i want a manual transmission and a mid-sized bike. I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on which would be better. I would mostly use the bike for trial riding.
I already know about most of the perks of each. The big bear has locking differential, mud lite tires, winch and warranty package (from dealer), and IRS. The rancher has the bigger engine, EFI, and an actual lever for 2 to 4 wheel drive (not a button).
read a review on both bikes in Dirt Wheels magazine.....and actually own the 420 Rancher......based on what you wrote and are gonna do mostly trail riding i dont think you could go wrong with the Rancher.....if you would have said mudding i would have to have said the Yamaha.....have put quite a few trail miles on my Rancher and it is a real blast to ride.........quick ......snappy.....very very nimble.....and just plain ol' hoot to ride......the Rancher on a mountain trail is the most fun you can have with your clothes on...............
Bigbear is like a tank, doesnt really stop, and goes anywhere.
The Rancher is more of a go fast, eat my dust, 4x4.
It also depends of where you ride, im near by a whole wack of trails and fire roads, so i need somethin quick , but we get 3-5 feet of snow every winter, so i need 4x4, and it has to be cheap sooo a rancher 420 will be better suited for me.
I'd test ride them both to see what there all about.
Thanks for all the imput. I'm leaning towards getting the big bear. I'll let ya'll know what I decide to get. Probably be in a week or so...can't wait! Appreciate the help.
just looked a a local dealers web page. I understand you want a manual shift but you should try the Ultramatic in the Grizzly 400. It is liquid cooled which I think for fiding slow tech trails is great. If the OLD polaris belt slipping every time they get wet, has you scared. Dont worry the variable belts have come a long way. I have a 98 griz I can Pull over 5500 lbs (properly ballanced) on a two wheel trailer in a soft yard. And my griz has the same (or really close) as my Bro's raptor I also have a 07 wolvy Just on the trails and a 450 manual shift rancher Well I still dont know where he is LOL Not trying to knock any bike. I almost bought the honda but i'm sick of drum brakes and air cooled bikes.
I know i'm gonna get slamed now so i'm gonna go hide.
I got the new 2008 Big Bear this weekend. It's awesome. Got to really try it out this weekend. Hopefully I'll have some pics of it up soon. Thanks for all the imput guys.
yeah! The bb is always a good choice. The rancher 420 has a lot of power and if you get the 4x4 its an excellent choice. I have the 07 grizz350 and i already hate it bc of the belt drive. always get the gear chain drive if you are going to be going in the mud or water
BIG BEAR!!!! i am not rryin to bash honda oand say yamaha is better but you'd be a fool to pass up on the offers you would get with the BB. Lockin Diff, IRS, ITP Mudlites A/T with already 12 inch rims, air cooled, sealed wet brake in the rear. easy to mount snorkel. tons of low end power.
the rancher may be high in horsepower ans snappy. but lacks to low end power that the BB has. solid rear axle. drum brakes in the rrear. single shock. 12" rims in front with stock honda tires and 11" rims in the rear. it's fuel injected with alot more computers and electrical crap to screw up or wear out.
BB simpler and more advanced and much power low end power. anyome who looks at this knows my opinion. Not tryin to be over bearing and crack on honda but the yamaha BB has got it beat
Personally I have a rancher 400AT, a buddy has the Rancher 420. His is a little snappier in the throttle but not a lot. My complaints no IRS. Locking diff is no big deal since you can get the same basic effect on a rancher by touching the front brake slightly, it will turn both wheels. AT was simple to snorkel, I suspect the 420 wouldn't be much harder. On the positive I NEVER have to drain my belt case not matter how deep I get. That said another buddy has a Grizzly 450 that I really like, if I was getting another bike in that size range I might go with the grizz. But I suspect my next bike will be a big bore machine.
Well I know I am a little late on this thread, but I want to give my 2 cents anyway. I am a die hard Honda rider.... BUT..... Honda needs to get their head out of their butt.... WAKE UP..... HELLO... I think they need to let me design an ATV for them. They are years behind the competition. I mean come on, they only have one ATV with IRS and then they go a jack that unit up by putting a stupid tranny with a torque converter in it. HELLO, this is an ATV, not a car... even though they are getting about as big as cars. They should have stayed with the tranny from the Foremans... not the Honda-matics. Heck, Arctic cat even has IRS on their 250 and thats been going on for years. What the heck!!! AND who wants to spend that sort of money on a 3wd.... give me a break.... this whole tap the front brake thing is a bunch of crap. It still does not lock in and it creates lot of excessive wear on the brakes as if they need any help.... just put a freakin dif lock on it and get with the program! Honda has always been a leader in reliability and a great value holder, but they are falling behind because they are not building what the customer wants, especially when it comes to the big bore bikes. I want to see a honda v-twin with a true dif lock, IRS and an electric shift or foot shift tranny. Those things were bullit proof! That IMO would be an awesome ATV.
420 would be a great trail bike but the lack of IRS really limits it in the big muddy ruts. You will work your butt off getting through those things. It can be done, but you will have earned it , thats fa sho! I do love the tranny in the 420, but do not care about the fuel injection or the liquid cooled. I like the simplicity of the old carbs. You get water in and you drain the bowl. My friend sucked in water on his 420 and it kept running and he did not know and he just spent over $3000 getting it fixed. Tore the engine plum up. Not saying I would never own a fuel injected ATV. They just make me a little afraid. More electronics and more potential trouble.
Even being die-hard honda, I would love to try out the BB. It sounds simple, yet very functional and dependable. Sorry, it such a long post, thanks for listening!
I got the 08 Big Bear 4x4 IRS last weekend. This bike does awesome on trail and in the mud. It is really low geared so you have plenty of power. I was also looking at the Rancher 420, but with a 600$ price difference and less features i decided to go with the Big Bear. I am not disappointed.
basically the same situation with me. the BB just had more features than that off the rancher. i've had mine since january and already got 450 miles on it. love the darn thing
It's awesome. Got to really try it out this weekend. Hopefully I'll have some pics of it up soon. Thanks for all the imput guys.
