[nauzers]

Hello. I am willing to buy TRX 420 4x4...
But I have some questions to advanced users...
1. What to check when buying it
2. It is 2007 year - and offer is for 3000 USD. Is price ok
3. It has 550 miles on it. Is it much for ATV or no?
4. There is one more offer - same price for RWD. should i go with RWD or 4x4?
5. What else should i know when buying it...

Here is a pic of advert for 4x4...3000 USD (including winch)

And here is RWD... for same price - as is.. no other things.

Please help me with advice.
And overall info would be good - are these ranchers good. do they brake a lot if taken good care of.
Yes and main question - is 550 miles much on ATV. i dont know engine hours - that' s bad i know. Maybe there is hour counter on panel? Is there a way to check?
And if there is - how much is much when better not to buy than buy.

Thanx in advance.
Kristaps

 

[Green]

Hello, welcome to the site. I know nothing about the Latvian economy, so I can't say if you're getting a good deal or not. In the states, $3000 for a 2007 4x4 TRX420 with a winch would be a good deal...I'd certainly jump on it.

 

[nauzers]

What about 550 Miles. Is it much for ATV?
And woking hours - can i check them on ATV's (ranchers) speedometer?

 

[Pain]

Agreed, and as far as I'm concerned, buying a utility ATV without 4x4 is like buying a car without AC. You may never think you'll ever need it, but that one time when you do you'll be kicking yourself for not having it.

550 miles isn't too much. What are the hours? If the hours are low, say under 100, then I'd certainly not worry too much about the mileage. If there are 10 hours on it and 500 miles, then I might wonder.

It really just depends how it was riden and taken care of. If it looks nice and clean up under it and isn't coated in mud up all over the air box. If the oil is clean, looks like it's not all bent up and has all the parts, then chances are good it's OK. You just have to get a gut feeling about it, and if something doesn't pass the sniff check [meaning you get a bad felling] then just walk away.

 

[Helmut]

550 miles isn't bad. I can put that many miles on one in 3-4 rides easy. It will have an hour meter on the speedometer/display.

 

[Mudmannolan]

Check the top speed and see that it doesn't top out at 35 mph. Make sure everything works- lights, brakes, gears... Cycle through all of the gears, make sure it feels as it should. look under the seat, open the airbox, check that the cooling fan works as well. I'd try the winch too.

 

[nauzers]

Thank you for the info. For me it is soo usefull because this will be my first serious ATV...

AS for the choice - i see that there is no point to take 2WD. Does 4x4 requires much more maintenance.

I went to check this 2WD machine. IT looks clean and fresh... But it has no speedometer so i have no idea how much it has done. As well it was twitching when switching gears. That did not feel quite right. It should a little - but this wone did like too much. And second thing was when you push throttle all the way and fast - it jerks off - dies. Don't know should it be like that or not. And what i found out - it is brought from America through our neibhour country Lithuania - and they are famous of buying almoust dead machines and fixing then like nothing happened to it. Local Honda dealers told me the same - So this scares me off a little.
Next saturday i am going to check 4x4. It is boutht localy and is a little bit more trustable. But still - let's see. Anyway i got the point. There is no point to buy 2WD right. Because when i turn off AWD - it is the same feeling like driving 2WD right?

 

[Pain]

For ME, I see no point in having a UTILITY quad without 4x4. That's just my opinion. If you are in an area that has no hills, rocks, ruts, or water, then 2x4 might be just fine.

As for maintenance, the only added maintenance will be to change the oil in the front differential, check the front CV boots, and possibly replace them if they go bad. There is more maintenance costs in general, but I don't think it's enough to justify not having 4x4. Like anything, if you keep up with the maintenance, then having to do repairs will be reduced.

Again, it's a utility machine so you might get into situations that require 4x4 from time to time.

 

[nauzers]

Thanx for comment.

I did not tell before - i dont buy it for work. Not at all. Just for fun. Well and if I have 4x4 - probably i will get into bigger mud holes Loved to do it with my chinese atv.. but they suck a lot. And huge mud for chinese atv for honda will be a small puddle

 

[Green]

550 miles is not too much. You can find hours by pushing the button on the speedo...it will cycle through odo miles, trip miles, and hours. I'd suggest changing the oil, filter, and diff oil when you buy it...that way you know it's been done and can build your maintenance schedule off of that.

 

[nauzers]

Thanx Green. I checked forum and saw that some of you got atv's with over 2 and 3K miles... so 550 should be fine. Now i have to see hours. And as i understand under 100 would be fine right?

 

[Pain]

Yeah. My 08 foreman has about 70 hours and around 400 miles if I remember correctly [not close to it so can't check]. I sold an 04 foreman last fall that has like 1800 miles and 190 hours.

It all depends on how well it was maintained and how hard it was ridden though, so just be cautious.

 

[Green]

Thanx Green. I checked forum and saw that some of you got atv's with over 2 and 3K miles... so 550 should be fine. Now i have to see hours. And as i understand under 100 would be fine right?

I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in hours. Mine has almost as many hours as it does miles because it spends a fair amount of time idling (when using the winch, loading the trailer, etc.). I also put on a fair amount of hours without miles when pushing snow last winter (which we had a lot of).

I would be worried if it showed 10 hours and 550 miles...this would indicate that it has ran at >55mph its whole life (wide open throttle).

 

[nauzers]

Ok will check that.
Eh - cann not wait to sit on it and have some fun

WHat about tyres - can i live with original ones (if they are more ore less ok) or i should get some mud tyres? I think i will like to go on some mud - maybe not deep one untill i get comfortable with machine. But for the start - stock will be fine?

And maybe you can share info what should be done when i have it.
1. Engine oil change
2. Oil filter change
3. Front and rear shaft oil change

something else?

 

[Pain]

Air filter, look for springs and cables the need lubricated. Check adjustment of brakes. Check tire pressure.

If the tires are good then I'd just use them until you figure out what you need.

 

[Green]

The stock tires will be fine unless you get into some greasy mud...and it does not need to be all that deep to get you stuck...trust me. I used my stock tires for a year, including a winter of plowing a LOT of snow...they did just fine. I finally got it stuck this summer driving down a forest road. The road was covered with grass so I figured I wouldn't have a problem. The dirt under the grass was extremely soft and I sank right in to my rims. The tires quickly slicked over with greasy mud (clay) and I had to winch my way out.

 

[nauzers]

Air filter, look for springs and cables the need lubricated. Check adjustment of brakes. Check tire pressure.

If the tires are good then I'd just use them until you figure out what you need.

What springs and cables are you talking about? Please explain in more detail.

And speaking of wires - and electrical system overall - i saw many guys going almoust under water with Rancher... is wiring prepared for that from factory? Or they do aditional water isolation. Air tube is clear.. but what about electricity?

 

[Green]

Air filter, look for springs and cables the need lubricated. Check adjustment of brakes. Check tire pressure.

If the tires are good then I'd just use them until you figure out what you need.

What springs and cables are you talking about? Please explain in more detail.

And speaking of wires - and electrical system overall - i saw many guys going almoust under water with Rancher... is wiring prepared for that from factory? Or they do aditional water isolation. Air tube is clear.. but what about electricity?

Throttle cables, reverse shift cable, 4x4 shift cable. They can all be lubed with cable lube. I'm not sure what springs he's talking about...maybe throttle return spring...but I'm not sure how to lube a spring (or why).

Wiring is prepped from the factory against water intrusion, but if you're going to make a habit of riding under water, I'd suggest applying dielectric grease to all connectors and installing a snorkel. You will spend a lot of time cleaning and drying your quad.

 

[Pain]

Not really lubing the spring, just be sure everything is cleaned of caked on goop and give adjustment bolts/springs a shot of wd40 so they don't seize up.

I also spray non-silicon protector on my rubber parts and cv boots. We had a discussion about silicon and I have used it when I ran out of Aerospace protectant, but then we researched it and found that silicon MAY cause rubber to turn brittle over time. I'd just find a silicon free vinyl protector and use that. Or nothing at all, but thats just what I have always done to help get more life out of the rubber.

 

[nauzers]

Thank you all for your help. If feels good when there are experienced drivers and sharing their experience. I will update you all about my purchase. And let's see if i will have lack of some more info