[Mudmannolan]

I finally picked up my Rancher today, new tires and all. Feels great to not be the guy on the back of another guys atv. Its been at a shop since december, they finally fixed it after the 3 year hassle. Whats got me concerned is the top speed, being 38 mph it seems low for a 420cc machine. Its like im missing a gear. Up to about 30 mph the motor sounds good and deep, but the throttle is only about half way down. When i run it full throttle it only gains a few mph but sounds whiney and rattles alot. Like its reving up to high. I can deal with that slow speed but is it harmfull to run it full throttle? It sounds terrible when I do.

 

[Helmut]

38 MPH sounds way too slow for a 420 Rancher. Maybe your clutch/transmission is slipping. What size tires are you running?

 

[Mudmannolan]

Im currently running 25'', but i had the same problem with the stocks. Ive heard of a 350 Rancher that could outrun mine. The shop said 40mph was the norm on Ranchers because they're geared for low end power, not speed. It just doesnt make sense, my cuz has a 400 Polaris Sportsman that goes about 40 before it starts shaking and becoming scary, but can go around 60. It is a Polaris so what do you expect?

 

[Helmut]

The 420 Ranchers that I've seen will outrun a 500 Foreman and I know a 500 Foreman will run 55-60 MPH.

 

[Mudmannolan]

Wow. Thats not good at all. I geuss it cant be fixed, its been to 3 shops and i have absolutely no experience with atvs. Could it be a lack of compression? Wiki answers says 54mph then the rev limiter kicks in

 

[Helmut]

Wow. Thats not good at all. I geuss it cant be fixed, its been to 3 shops and i have absolutely no experience with atvs. Could it be a lack of compression? Wiki answers says 54mph then the rev limiter kicks in

I doubt it's compression if the engine revs up pretty fast. I don't know if Wiki is right or not. I know they will outrun a 500 Foreman and they will at least run 55 MPH, maybe a little more. The way you are describing it, it sounds like the transmission is slipping. Is it manual shift or auto?

Wiki might be right, though, if whoever answered the question was using a GPS. The speedometers usually show a little faster than what they'll actually go, anyway. It should run way faster than 30 MPH, though.

 

[Mudmannolan]

its auto or esp, whatever you set it on.

 

[Helmut]

its auto or esp, whatever you set it on.

I'm not sure what type of transmission the 420 uses. I don't know if they use the same transmission(Hondamatic) as the 400 Rancher and the 500 Rubicon or not, but I bet the transmission is the problem.

 

[Mudmannolan]

it is the hondamatic. I cant afford a transmission right now, i geuss ill run it like it is. Is it going to furthur harm it if i go full throttle?

 

[Helmut]

Is it going to furthur harm it if i go full throttle?

I can't really answer that, I don't know anything about the Hondamatic.

 

[Mudmannolan]

Ok. Well thanks anyway

 

[Helmut]

Sorry, I can't help you with the Hondamatic tranny, but all I know about them is what I've read, which is that the unit has to be replaced as an assembly and they're pretty expensive.