[SamUK]

Hi all, my boss has caught the 'ATV Itch', after seeing me tinkering with mine everyday he's decided he would like one too!
His budget stretches further than mine so he's looking at more modern machines, in particular the 420, 450 & 500cc Hondas.
As we all know, Honda make great ATV's, my question is which one is the best?
By best I mean, a good reliable all-rounder.

My boss is not mechanically minded whatsoever so I'd like to advise him to get something that will be pretty much a 'hop on and ride' ATV.

My knowledge with the above mentioned ATV's is limited as I'm yet to work on one so what would you guys advise? Are some better than others? Should my boss avoid any of the ATV's mentioned?

He'll be using it for general farm work, feeding, towing a small trailer etc, shooting & hunting, and some light off-roading/mudding. He won't be interested in mods either, he's more of a keep it clean and polish it kind of guy!

Looking forward to hearing your responses on this one as everybody has different opinions of different machines.

Thanks guys.

 

[Jeepwm69]

From what you've said the intended use would be, a Foreman would be best.

The Rubicon footshift with IRS would be what I would buy if buying new, unless it will be ONLY work, then I'd get the Foreman with solid rear axle.

 

[SamUK]

Well he's just phoned me! He's bought a 2009 420 foreman off eBay. Road registered, 1600 hours and new tyres.
Seems ok in the pictures. Can't wait for a test ride haha

 

[shadetree]

I just don't like the trx420's ?, they seem to have a lot of trouble staying running ?, and their rear ends don't seem to hold up long ?. now, my '03 trx450fm foreman ?, it has done me very well so far. i'm with jeep^^^^, 4wd foreman, 4x4, manual shift. let us know how he likes the trx420 ?.

 

[SamUK]

I did notice the rear end looked similar to the original I removed from my 300 fourtrax. I suppose having mentioned the downsides to the 420 he will only be using it for light work.

While I'm on, I've been trying to upload a photo but can't seem to do it off my iPhone, where am I going wrong?!

 

[alloutdoors]

Well he's just phoned me! He's bought a 2009 420 foreman off eBay. Road registered, 1600 hours and new tyres.
Seems ok in the pictures. Can't wait for a test ride haha

Be sure to go ahead and download the service manual from here, because you may very well be assisting/guiding him on how to repair the jewel he just picked up off of Ebay, yikes. That is, he purchased a unit with 1600 hours off of ebay and not mechanically inclined, LOL. Best Wishes on the unit...

 

[shadetree]

Well he's just phoned me! He's bought a 2009 420 foreman off eBay. Road registered, 1600 hours and new tyres.
Seems ok in the pictures. Can't wait for a test ride haha

Be sure to go ahead and download the service manual from here, because you may very well be assisting/guiding him on how to repair the jewel he just picked up off of Ebay, yikes. That is, he purchased a unit with 1600 hours off of ebay and not mechanically inclined, LOL. Best Wishes on the unit...

lol, odds are..one of them will be back here..asking how to fix something on it ?..lol.

 

[rodp]

Well he's just phoned me! He's bought a 2009 420 foreman off eBay. Road registered, 1600 hours and new tyres.
Seems ok in the pictures. Can't wait for a test ride haha

Be sure to go ahead and download the service manual from here, because you may very well be assisting/guiding him on how to repair the jewel he just picked up off of Ebay, yikes. That is, he purchased a unit with 1600 hours off of ebay and not mechanically inclined, LOL. Best Wishes on the unit...

lol, odds are..one of them will be back here..asking how to fix something on it ?..lol.

You can bet money on that Shady buddy :icon_wink:

 

[SamUK]

Ahh well.. I did tell him to wait until I'd heard of you guys on here. He'll spend more time admiring it than riding it though haha!

 

[Freedomflyer]

Holy cow, you guys are starting to make me feel nervous about owning my 420 Ranchers!! Do I have a couple of lemons? I haven't had a lick of trouble with either one but is there something I'm not seeing? Going on two years with one of them and one year for the other one and they haven't missed a beat. :blink:

 

[alloutdoors]

Freedomflyer, rest assure Honda ranchers are outstanding ATV's. As the eBay purchase, 1600 hours which likely equates to about 16,000 miles, 8 years old and purchased sight unseen except for pictures coupled to the fact the owner isn't experienced with these units has all the making for a disaster. I do, however, wish him the best but the odds are not in his favor, IMO.

 

[shadetree]

Freedomflyer, rest assure Honda ranchers are outstanding ATV's. As the eBay purchase, 1600 hours which likely equates to about 16,000 miles, 8 years old and purchased sight unseen except for pictures coupled to the fact the owner isn't experienced with these units has all the making for a disaster. I do, however, wish him the best but the odds are not in his favor, IMO.

I agree, I have never...EVER !...purchased anything like an atv, motorcycle used, that I could not see in person ?. now..what I have done as far as buying used atvs,whatever ?, is I already knew/know, going in, that I was faced with rebuilding it anyway ?, sooo..it made no difference to me what shape it was in for problems ?. that's how I roll .

 

[mac102004]

1600 hours is a lot. My 350 Rancher has right around 1300 hours on it and it's lucky it still moves under it's own power lol Hopefully the PO took better care of that 420 then we did of our 350....

 

[alloutdoors]

1600 hours is a lot. My 350 Rancher has right around 1300 hours on it and it's lucky it still moves under it's own power lol Hopefully the PO took better care of that 420 then we did of our 350....

Agree, just the thought of 1600 hours on a unit makes me cringe

 

[SamUK]

1600 hours on an ATV is considered low use here in the UK guys, because there so expensive to buy new people (farmers in particular) keep them for years.
To find one with one owner from new and 1600 hours is good here lol.

As for buying unseen, I agree, unless it's a breaker for parts I wouldn't buy without viewing, however, it's the bosses choice I guess. He has deeper pockets than me haha!

Watch this space, I'll be sure to post any issues along with a few pictures.

 

[rodp]

Yup, 1600 hrs is nothing here. Work on a Welsh hill farmer buys one and uses it for 20 hrs a week. That's only 80 weeks use, or 18 months. Usage would be gentle though probably, and low speed because of the terrain. Also take in to consideration the chap riding it bought it, so he's not going to hammer it to death.
They're mostly used here as a tool instead of walking, not really workhorses. We would tow logs with them to any extent, and we don't do the mileage you folk do as there's no trails to speak of.

 

[mac102004]

Mine was used on a farm, which it why it is literally falling apart lol Same with my 09 Rhino, I think it's got around 900 hours on it. The Rhino has never left the farm, the 350 might have left a half dozen times in the last 16 years.

 

[alloutdoors]

I travel often for business and enjoy many different countries, so I appreciate differences in cost/country. With that said, I would not be interest in a unit with 1600 hours unless vintage and something I might restore. As stated, I do hope all is well with the purchase and look forward to pics/stories.

 

[SamUK]

When it comes to off-roading and associated sports you guys in the USA are truly lucky, we have no trails whatsoever. The nearest thing we have are called byways but there classed as a road, your vehicle has to be road legal etc and there closing a lot of those now too. All we have are a few off-road parks scattered around the country, at a guess I'd say we're lucky if we have 15 throughout the country.
ATV's here are mostly agricultural for small holdings and farmers or sports quads for the racing guys and those that want a road legal summertime toy.
My boss paid £3000 for his '09 420 road legal and that is a fair price here for what he's got, if you find anything of a similar age for much less than that there definitely going to be rough and have issues.
Mileage and hour time to us Brits doesn't really mean much, even with cars, vans, tractors, trucks (semis), boats, ATV's etc etc.. Don't know what, maybe it's just a UK thing lol.

The 420 is due to be delivered on Tuesday, I'll be sure to post and add a few pictures for you all.

 

[alloutdoors]

Thanks for sharing the price so roughly $3800 US which is a strong price for that unit in my area.