just picked up a honda rancher 400 ? anything i should be concerned with ?

[dustrunner]

07 rancher es runs good....been abused.. tranny seems to slip just a tad in auto mode on the tranny at full speed ? OIL IS BLACK = GONNA CHANGE THAT.... :wondering

[swampthang]

Not to burst your bubble but the Hondamatic transmission is prolly the most fragile thing Honda has ever made. I bought a Rubicon new and had a new trans put in at about 6month mark and it never seemed to work right. It didnt downshift like it should and got stuck in gears alot. Many trips back to the dealer. Glad I had the extended warraty. I have a few friends that have rancher 400's one is babied all the time and it has to run like 20 minutes to warm up before it will even pull itself. The other bike was treated like crap, ran under water many times every ride. It too has multibe problems and rebuilds. If the electric shift works good on it I would just run it in that all the time. Thats what I had to do. Good luck I hope you got one of the good ones.

[atc007]

^^^^^^100% Agreed.. Assuming you actually have a Rancher AT 400?? They are IMO,,the biggest heap Honda ever pushed out the door. Serviced a few,will NOT trade/buy one,,at ANY price. Appalling for a Honda. Yammie guys would LOVE them. They feel VERY Yamaha to me. Just the way they are. After you change the oil. Check for the cable binding up down in the lower left case where a foot shifter would be if iy was a normal bike. Very popular problem for these. Now,,if it was a 420,,,,ohhhh,what a bike!

[dustrunner]

ahh, bummer 4 me.... sounds like i should have bought a 420..

[swampthang]

ahh, bummer 4 me.... sounds like i should have bought a 420..

The machines downfall is a good selling feature for someone that is unfamiliar with these machines. Alot of people love the idea that it shifts itself and its a Honda.(think old man using it for hunting) I don't think you would have too hard of a time finding someone to buy it off you if thats what you chose to do.

As for it comparing to a 420 it's not even in the same ballpark. I rode a 2wd 420es for work and even with 75lb of computer crap bolted down to the front rack it woul pull a wheelie in 2nd and ht the rev limiter at 56mph. It felt very strong. I think if you got around the rev limiter it might could hit somewhere in the mid 60mph range. My friend had a 4wd 420 but I dont remember it feeling as peppy as the 2wd did. I could still pull ahead of him in a drag race with my aircooled Foreman 500.