[retro]

2000 Honda Rancher 350ES 4x4 (TRX350FE)

This bike was unexpectedly offered to me in a phone conversation over a week ago, while I was searching for cheap TRX350D parts bikes.

The man said it had been garage-kept since new and is in good condition. The motor ran, no sun/weather damage, never been in a crash, frame, chassis, bumpers, racks, plastics and seat are all good he said... The brakes all work, no cracks, no dents, no rips, no oil leaks, no broken or missing parts, not rusty, etc. He thought the electric shift and everything else electrical might still work on it too, but was beginning to sound (on the phone) more unsure at this point in our conversation, than he was to my previous questions.

"I don't know anything about it", he said... "this belonged to my son... (...) ... it has been parked here in my garage and hasn't been run for over 10 years now. It will need a new battery for sure. It still has the old gas in it. The tires look worn out, but they all still hold air. This is the first my wife and I have thought about selling it. Make me an offer."

What year is it, I asked? "I don't know. How do I find out?" So I asked him to give me an idea how much he wanted for it. He said "I don't know, make me an offer."

I can't make you an offer until I see it, I said.

"How does $350 sound to you? I'll talk to my wife."

Now, I'm not a big fan of ES bikes myself, but I'm guessing my mother might become an ES ATV fan if given an opportunity...?!?!

So, with an idea in mind of what I might do with an ES bike, I made plans to meet with the owner yesterday (Sunday) for a closeup looksee armed with a good battery and lotsa tools. Travel time was about 5.5 hours round trip plus about an hour of time in a dark garage spent on checking it over. More on that later...

This bike was thickly coated with garage grunge after many years in storage when I loaded it. Here are some pics I snapped with my phone about 20 miles into the return trip.... after a lot of the looser grunge had blown off. I power washed it when I got home and its beginning to look pretty darn good already!!!

I intend to disassemble this Creamsicle and freshen it up over the next few months in my spare time as a late winter project. Will post progress updates here... beginning with some better pics in a few days.

 

[TBRider]

Decent bike for the price, hope it was parked running. Wish I could find a deal like that.

 

[fishfiles]

Nice score , for $350 you can't go wrong . If the ES eats your creamsickle up , you can convert it .

 

[fishfiles]

I have to say the color is unique , and keep in mind I do still have 3 450 parts bikes , two are ES and boxes of parts for the 450 , I think quite a few parts may be interchangeable from the 350 to 450 and if you need something that is the same , don't hesitate to ask -------

 

[mac102004]

That's a pretty good score. I'd convert it to footshift though. lol

 

[fishfiles]

That's a pretty good score. I'd convert it to footshift though. lol

Maybe for the benefit of other ES owners on the site , let Retro go a head with the ES , cause you know before long he will know how many copper strands are in every wire , where every wire goes and comes from , how many amps are going thru it , how each electrical component is suppose to function > he will be the ES Guru LOL

 

[alloutdoors]

"I don't know anything about it", he said... "this belonged to my son... (...) ... it has been parked here in my garage and hasn't been run for over 10 years now. It will need a new battery for sure. It still has the old gas in it. The tires look worn out, but they all still hold air. This is the first my wife and I have thought about selling it. Make me an offer."

Great story and glad everyone left happy with the deal. I look forward to seeing it progress along....

 

[SamUK]

Why a buy! A dollar per CC, wish we had deals like that over here! None runners are fetching £1000 or thereabouts just lately, prices have rocketed for some odd reason. Anybody would think Honda was going out of production or something lol.

Looking forward to the ‘build/repair’ thread

 

[Goober]

Great buy Retro!! That color pops!

I like these early Ranchers even the ES. My work 02 has been reliable 7000 miles of pushing manure. It looks great with a set of 12 in wheels. It had a weak battery this Spring and when I was out afield–hit the downshift button meaning to upshift she didn’t like that. A new battery and clutch adjustment made her happy agin

My complaint is the dipstick on one side and fill cap on other side of engine. Who thot up that one?

 

[machinecrook]

Wow that's awesome. Great price for it. I feel like me and @SamUK have the same sales value over here. Every bike is so darn expensive and not nearly as nice as that.

 

[redtherocket]

Awsome deal...


OEM tires on a used bike you buy is always a good sign...


That motor is the worst of them all for the stripped drain plug though...


I had same bike in red!

My ES never had a hiccup.. It was under water many times.. Mud..Etc..

No problem..

 

[Manny]

Ive never had the ES problems that people say plague them. and I have been around a ton of them. its usually always bad ground, connection, or voltage problem.

with that being said, you got a score!

 

[retro]

Thanks everyone! I got pretty lucky I think! Decent Honda ATVs don't usually sell cheap around here neither. Creamsicle with new tires and battery... and well maintained, might fetch $1700-$2000 around here! I see old clapped out bikes all the time priced even higher! The unique circumstances that led up to this opportunity are what made the deal possible. Nothing like this may ever occur for me again... but if it does I wish and hope for a "barn find" mint 300FW next... or in trade for Creamsicle?

I am not a fan of needless electronic controls (ES in this case) as you all know. If I were keeping this bike for myself I would convert it. But my elderly mother recently moved up here (nearby) in the great white north and converted herself to a full-fledged Yooper! So , I'll leave this one stock for her to putter around on for fun and for hauling her little gardening trailer back and forth to her flowering plants. She loves it the way it is... and since my chain saw and case happens to match the Creamsicle color, maybe she'll learn to enjoy cutting and hauling my firewood with it someday...

 

[farmer002]

Sweet deal! Good for you retro!

 

[fishfiles]

I think the color is Cantaloupe !

 

[XplicitRacing6]

Mhhmmm cantaloupe
Nice score Retro

 

[XplicitRacing6]

Kinda hard to see but my buddy has the same exact quad. Es and all. That thing gets abused like nothing I have ever seen before. The thing still runs like a champ.

 

[CWG]

Great deal! Well worth the money and the drive for sure.

 

[retro]

Kinda hard to see but my buddy has the same exact quad. Es and all. That thing gets abused like nothing I have ever seen before. The thing still runs like a champ.

Yep, your buddy's bike is the exact same color too, for sure! But his is Cantaloupe while mine is Creamsicle... (much colder latitude) perhaps?

The color code sticker on mine begins with "YR" followed by some numbers. I may take a pic of it and post it up after this prolonged snowstorm system passes.

After I get Creamsicle freshened up, I'd like to see if I can swap the Foreman 450 handlebar headlight onto it somehow. Other than that possibility it'll probably remain mostly stock.

Just for the record, I wasn't interested in this bike at all initially... Ranchers aren't my preferred type of bike. It sounded like a bike that was still in very good condition (which is rare in this area!) for dirt cheap, but I was gonna pass on it. After I hung up the phone I started thinking more seriously about it though... searching for a use and purpose for it to provide me with a logical excuse to go buy it! I already knew I would probably buy this bike if I ever looked at it, so I wasn't even going to go have a look.

Then I began to think about my mother. She has an old Arctic Cat sled that she used to enjoy riding, but she is losing interest in that nowadays due to her age and cold riding conditions. I have noticed that she hasn't spent much time on that sled this winter.

Maybe she'd enjoy having an ATV more during the warmer summer riding months...? So I asked her a few questions to get an idea whether she might use an ATV or not. One of the things she mentioned she would like to be able to do, was tow her little gardening trailer around the yard. She likes to do stuff outdoors, even works hard at doing some of her yard work chores and gardening stuff. She said she can't upshift an ATV though, she hasn't enough strength and it hurts her foot. BINGO.

I called the man back and asked him about scheduling a convenient meeting time for himself. Loaded my tools & supplies and hooked up the trailer... Then counted out $350 and folded it separate from my other cash, into my wallet. It was a done deal already in my mind, provided it checked out ok.

 

[Menard_LaPue]

Wow, retro has been converted to an ES guy. Good for you! Glad you love it! We all knew you just had to try it to like it. Now you can give your mom that clunky foot shifter!