[mudking16]

Putting a down payment on a 99 foreman 450s this weekend and was wondering what things to look for when I look at it. Only has 1702 miles, no oil leaks or ripped boots and I'm getting it for $1700. Decent price?

 

[mrbb]

one well known issue is left rear wheel/axle seal and bearings
they start to go, BEFORE you can really find any movement in then and then allow water to get past, thuis filling up axle tube, and then that water rusts the splines off the rear axle
on short order
SO, I would strongly suggest replaceing them once you get it, easy job, cheap parts, maybe like 25-30 bucks for all new seals and bearings for BOTH sides, and then you know there GOOD
IF not, the axle when it goes(very common) there about 150-200 bucks, so, a cheap fix can save you $$
next would be to look at the oil on the dip stick, se what color it is and that its up to correct level
sad part here is MOST folks tend to change oil before selling to hide any evidence!(water or?? in oil)
next would be to inspect the air filter(under seat and easy to do, NO tools needed) it should be clean, same with air box, IF not, that tends to show owner doesn't take good care of it

also at this point look for any mod's done to the air box, that might show that he at one time had a snorkle on it, snorkles tend to HIGHT:Y increase the odds the atv was sunk once, and that is NEVER good, or a cheap fix


besides this, I would look closly at the frame, to look for any bent or broken parts welds tubes, rust hole???

IF you have the time and ability, doing a compression test is a GREAT idea, again FAST and easy, and if you do your home work before going, you wil know where its at, on a better scale
LAST known issue, and its on MOST honda atv's
is the rear brakes, they tend to sieze up from lots of water use/mud use
so, if there NOT working well, they will need to be cleaned and or replaced

IF you buy this ATV, next I would suggest changing all fluids, oil, diffs, a NEW spark plug, and air filter
run a few tanks of seam foam thru it , to help clean up any MILD carb issue's

as for price, if it is as clean and low miles as he says, then I say YES 1700 is a decent price for sure
but is he the original owner?? NOW if its got a lot of MUD water mods on it, bigger wheels spacers or?? I tend to stay away from these things, as I see problems in BIG letters that come with price tags to correct!

 

[mudking16]

That I know they are the original owners and it is completely stock with original tires still on it. They say nothing is wrong with it at all. I'm selling my rancher that's in my signature for 1400 and also getting a Yamaha big bear 350 that doesn't run with the 1400. Using the 1400 as the down payment and going to sell the big bear to make up the rest. Just wanted to know some common things to check on the foreman because I've only worked on my rancher

 

[mrbb]

wheel bearings are always things to look at on all things, LOL
but again the left rears are the big probelms with the 450's and 400's
maybe others
the 450's are GOOD atv's, so if all is what they claim, it should be a GOOD atv
make sure not smoking when hot and cold,
good luck

 

[Macarena Man]

How many hours on it?
Owners manual and tool kit?
It looks to be in nice shape ..... good plastics?
Prices are higher here in Canada ..... bought my '99 450S for $2800.- which was good here.
As mrbb mentioned ....... rear brake/bearings. Easy and fairly cheap to do.
They are toed out quite a bit ..... mine is still toed out a bit, but the steering is 'quicker' now.
I like red!

 

[shadetree]

price is good in my book. like it was said, if the plastics are in good shape ?..seat doesn't have tears ?, no smoke ?. when you get there..use your hand on the motor to see if it's warm ?..if it is ?..then this means they ran it before you just got there ?..this leads me to think it has a hard time starting when cold ?..but ...most Honda's are cold natured anyway !..lol.

 

[shadetree]

oh..if you need any motor work ?..you can take a gander at my '98 trx450S project in the build section ?, page 3 last time I checked ?..lol. I broke the engine all the way down..lol.

 

[mudking16]

Well just went and checked the foreman out. Has 1701 miles with 652 hours. One front mud flap has a hole but rest of plastics are spotless. Screen isn't even scratched one bit. No dents in the racks at all. Started it up and it ran and went perfect. 2 owners and the one I'm getting it from is an older man. $1700 sound good still?

 

[shadetree]

Well just went and checked the foreman out. Has 1701 miles with 652 hours. One front mud flap has a hole but rest of plastics are spotless. Screen isn't even scratched one bit. No dents in the racks at all. Started it up and it ran and went perfect. 2 owners and the one I'm getting it from is an older man. $1700 sound good still?

that is a lot of miles too me ?. i'd say offer him 1500, no higher than 1600 !. I bet he takes it !..lol.

 

[mudking16]

I tried hard but the guy wouldn't budge off 1700. Plus he's letting me do payments because I'm putting a 1300 down payment Sunday on it

 

[mac102004]

The hours seem pretty high for that many miles, that works out to around 2.5mph average with is unusually low. I'm guessing someone left the key on once or twice and let the hourmeter run. I wouldn't consider the mileage high, in fact around here you would be extremely fortunate to find one with less 3000-4000 miles. The last one I had was right around the 7500 mile mark.

 

[shadetree]

The hours seem pretty high for that many miles, that works out to around 2.5mph average with is unusually low. I'm guessing someone left the key on once or twice and let the hourmeter run. I wouldn't consider the mileage high, in fact around here you would be extremely fortunate to find one with less 3000-4000 miles. The last one I had was right around the 7500 mile mark.

my '98 trx450S sill has zero miles on it !..lol.

 

[mac102004]

impressive, that's right around zero miles a year LOL I've seen about two that were a legit less than 200 mile machines, and this was in the last couple years, not 15-20 years ago either. LOL Prices on them were outrageous but arguably worth it.

 

[Bowhntr04]

Not to hijack, but a local 2000 foreman has under 2000 miles, which seems odd but it looks good. Even with regular service, would just the corrosion and deterioration over time make this a worthwhile machine? I don't want to jump into a money pit.

 

[Macarena Man]

My '98 TRX450S still has zero miles on it ! .....

Ship it up to me in Canada ....... I'll warm-up the oil for you and put some kilometers on it, and return it still with zero miles ...... win/win situation. :icon_ rasta:

 

[mrbb]

Not to hijack, but a local 2000 foreman has under 2000 miles, which seems odd but it looks good. Even with regular service, would just the corrosion and deterioration over time make this a worthwhile machine? I don't want to jump into a money pit.

age isn;t a HUGE deal breaker, more depends on HOW It was stored or used, than just age
condition is really what determines price first, then age/miles and such in my book
a excellent condition 1999 is better than a beat up 2014 in my book LOL

as for speed of atv per hr, mine is maybe under 2.5 mph average, it happens a LOT more often than you think on atv's that were used about farms and just for work not play
where they idle more and just get drove from spot "A" to Spot "B" and so on, and then all the idle time that passes in between , while working on this and that before moving on!
I know putting up posted signs, I put a LOT more hrs on than miles, speeds would be sub 1 mph for sure then LOL

also I know when I spray, fields, I HAVE to stay at a set speed, and its normally about 2.5 mph or so, and can be at that for HRS some days, and then all the turning where you go even slower LOL
LONG days on the Honda for a lot of us that really work them!
so hrs per miles, can be spot on on this atv pending its use over the yrs!

 

[mudking16]

The guy I'm getting it from has always had it in a garage and only used it for plowing and hunting. Has one hole in the right front mud flap from it catching on the tire and rubbed a hole through. Still has original tires from factory on it. Air filter was nice and clean and it didn't smoke. Oil looked good in it.

 

[Macarena Man]

The guy I'm getting it from has always had it in a garage and only used it for plowing and hunting. Has one hole in the right front mud flap from it catching on the tire and rubbed a hole through. Still has original tires from factory on it. Air filter was nice and clean and it didn't smoke. Oil looked good in it.

I'd jump on a deal like that ......

 

[mudking16]

Well my rancher is being sold Sunday for 1400 and I'm getting a Yamaha big bear 350 with the deal which I have a friend interested in, then I'm going up Sunday after noon to either put the down payment on the foreman or pay it full if my friend buys the big bear. The guy said he would hold it for me till Sunday to atleast get a down payment.

 

[rednyforeman500]

Any update? Did you get the foreman?