Honda rancher purchase question from atv rookie

[BoxMN]

I am 99% buying a 2003 or 2004 Honda rancher 450 Es (I think...) from a buddy. He has two and another guy has first pick the 03 has 700 miles the 04 has 900. He takes great care of his stuff and owned both from new. Mainly used ice fishing, not trail riding except roads around Mille lacs.

Anything notable about this atv good or bad? I will use mainly for ice fishing and casual use at cabin. He says b Oth are perfect and I believe him, though won't see until next week. Is around $2600ish good price range if in fact it is perfect? Seems good to me but I don't know atvs. Thanks for thoughts. He is just downsizing...

[Kettle]

I own a 350 rancher and I like it, got it four years ago, mine is a 2001 I think got it with 500 miles on it for 3100$ and I looked high and low for that deal. I think the offer you have is a good deal, the extra 100cc's will be nice, the ES is okay, thumb shift, I personally would like foot shift just cause I can feel it going into gear kinda like a 4x4 truck without the 4wd button, anyway I have had great luck with mine, I would not own anything but a honda, great machines. You will be happy with your purchase.

Kettle

[Dave S]

There had been issues with an angle sensor on the ES models. I think there is an extra lever that was included with each machine that you can mount up to shift with your foot in the event the ES didn't work.

[Macgyver55]

I am 99% buying a 2003 or 2004 Honda rancher 450 Es (I think...) ......Is around $2600ish a good price range if in fact it is perfect?

If its a Rancher, there is no such animal. In those years its a 350 engine, so if it is a 450 then its a Foreman. Assuming it is a Rancher it is a 350 motor but either way, Foreman or Rancher it is one of the two most reliable ATVs you can buy.

The price is good if it is in nice shape with that low of miles, and even better if its a Foreman with that mileage. I've got very close to 10,000 miles on my Foreman and I am not exactly easy on it. Either one of those should have lots of miles left in them if you take care of them.

[Riich]

I had a 2008 Honda Rancher which was a 420, so and I'm pretty sure you are looking at a Foreman.

In either event, the deal sounds pretty decent to me also. I had the foot shifter, I had read of the problems with the ES system, but I have friends with the ES that really like them and have had no issues.

The Honda Rancher and Foreman are probably the most reliable ATV's out there. I sold mine to get a Yamaha Grizzly 700 for the automatic CVT transmission and more power, but that's just me, the Rancher was one fine ATV. You will like it.

Good luck.

[BoxMN]

Thanks guys. It must be the foreman then cause I know he said 450 for sure.

[Sniper07]

I have an 03 Rincon 650 with 2800 miles on her, bought it earlier this year. It was owned by an older gentleman and he took excellent care of it. Looks and runs like new. It has both ES and Auto shifting modes and he told me theres never been a problem with it. It has after market ITP rims and real luggy tires on it. This thing has a ton of power, only thing I might need to do is invest in some chains. Honda makes a great 4 wheeler in my opinion and I've owned a few different makes. Sounds like a decent deal for you, I would pull the trigger if it were me. Good Luck

[Tinkhamtown]

This Honda ATV is super reliable but I would suggest keeping a 1.5 trickle charger with auto shut off plugged in and this will keep your atv starting and shifting like new.

[BoxMN]

Thanks again guys. I transferred reg this morn, but still need to pay my buddy and pick it up. It is the 03 Foreman 450 ES with 700 miles that I got, in Red. His other buddy wanted the green one. He also has a few "goodies" with it - a new auger rack, a new travel cover, a GPS mount, and a rear bag of some sort. He is going to find those things for me.

I read a bit, and it does seem like the batt is one key part of keeping the ES working, so good advice about the trickle charger, I will pick on eup.

Oh yeah, he wouldn't even let me pay for the registration transfer or the new reg stickers, so that was $57 saved, and he dropped the price due (I don't even want to say how much, as he gave me much, much better deal than the $2600ish...) to a slow leak on the tire, he siad it leaks so slow he can't recall which one is leaking, so I will need to take care of that, haha!. I owe him a duck hunt in NoDak for sure next year

Hopefully I will be using it on the ice on Sunday! Thanks for your help and encouragement, I am excited like a kid on Xmas... heh, that is exactly what I am

[Tinkhamtown]

Slime the tire with the slow leak and you wouldn't have anymore problems with it.

[Macgyver55]

Slime the tire with the slow leak and you wouldn't have anymore problems with it.

You may not have any more problems with it but the poor guy who has to remove the tires when they are worn out will. What a gooey mess it makes! The only thing worse is "fix a flat" and that stuff can be dangerous to work with. If the leak is that slow I wouldnt worry about it. Low pressure tires should be checked frequently anyway since even a pound low can be 25% of the total pressure.

[Notcho]

Slime in the tire freezes and makes a small problem big... don't ask me how I know! Take the tire to a shop and get it fixed.

Good buy, you will love the Rancher.

[BoxMN]

Hey guys - thanks for the info.

Picked it up, looks good. Was dusty and had a brownish dust look, but only blemish is small cut in the seat. Nothing else, not even a scratch on a fender, no chit.

It ran decent not great... I figured it needs a carb cleaning. Buddy said he didn't do a thing to it - 740 miles, 138 hours total. I stopped by Tousley, got all stuff for oil/gear lube/plug, filter - $44....

It started a bit hard, but ran ran and shifted good, from what I could tell. I changed all fluids and plug and cleaned the air filter. Started it again. Put in some fresh non-oxy gas... Holy cow, did it start better, idle better and it is awesome! Adjusted the rear brake, cleanedit up a bit, and this thing is showroom clean, idling like a "Honda" and me and Grandson took a neighborhood ride that we both had grins from ear to ear Shifting like a champ so far.

Only thing I need to get is the manual ( we guessed at it) and the toolkit as those are missing. Looking forward to using it this weekend and for many year to come! Thanks for the advice and info!

[Spike76]

If you trailer it in the cold or leave it by fishhouse in the cold make sure it is in neutral. My electric shift on my rancher has froze up and it has to be in neutral to start. Once it starts you can warm it up in neutral and then it will shift. It was below zero. Good luck and lots of enjoyment.

[ClownColor]

If you trailer it in the cold or leave it by fishhouse in the cold make sure it is in neutral. My electric shift on my rancher has froze up and it has to be in neutral to start. Once it starts you can warm it up in neutral and then it will shift. It was below zero. Good luck and lots of enjoyment.

Great sdvice.

Congrats on a great purchase and sounded like one heck of a deal!

[mabr]

I wanna run into a deal like that. Man there arent many out there right now. Guess no snow has alot to do with it.

[BoxMN]

Not a great pic, but from its first ice fishing voyage

Should get plenty of use this coming weekend, but I sure wish there was snow. Glad I did get this though. Next item for it when works picks up is a windshield.

[leech~~]

Wow nice! Do you have any more friends with stuff to sell?

[grizrunner]

Nice machine. Nice price.

Windshields are a must in the winter. Handwarmers are also hard to beat. Then there are chains. A receiver hitch is nice cause it gets the towing ball back further for tighter turns with trailers,etc. Those are the first items I purchased. Keep the stock tires unless you mud or do some long range trail riding. Get radials for the trails. Stocks are generally less than desirable, but with chains in the winter they'll be fine, and they won't tear up the yard in the summer. Don't run too much psi in them either. 3-4# is about right for winter.

Then you get to add all the goodies...winch,plow, accessory mounts...

Have fun and be safe. Get some helmets and hide those keys from the grandson. There was a 9 yr old boy that died on one last year near Swanville,MN. He was a farm kid who even knew how to operate a skidsteer. Things happen quickly.

[BoxMN]

Hey Macgyver, ATV is working great, but had a funky thing last weekend while ice fishing. Shifting has been no prob, starting no prob. I started it Sunday morn no prob, warmed up, shifted and hit the lake. All great. Moved one time (pretty soon after getting there), no probs. Got to the next spot, shut off atv, then started it to move it slightly two times) sat there for maybe 1.5 hours or more and then time to leave.

Started great. I alsways shut it off in N. Went to push button to shift and nothing. Tried up/down/reverse and nothing. I could not even hear it try, but it was cold and windy. I shut it off, rocked it, started it, rocked, still nothing. Then all of a sudden it started working again.

Any ideas? I had trickle charger (tender junior style) hooked up all night, the battery is a 2010 that the previous owner put in. So batt should be good, as least it starts and has shifted great the previous day and all winter so far. Thanks for thoughts! I do love it, works better than I thought for ice fishing with rack space and auger rack, etc

[Macgyver55]

What weight oil do you have in it and is it the right kind for ATVs. The really is a difference and if conventional oil is used it can affect the clutch. If it is outside for extended times either a 5w-20 conventional or a 0w-40 synthetic may help eliminate the issue.

The early ES models also had a problem with the angle sensors that prevented them from shifting sometimes and they were very sensitive to voltage. Most cases warming them up good will make it work, but if not a new sensor usually takes care of it.

[BoxMN]

Thanks. I am using the Honda brand specifically for it, non synthetic. I think 5w-20 but cant honestly recall. Got it from the dealer who knew what I was getting it for.

This was first time it acted up, so hopefully was just not warm or something. This weekend will be warm, so will see if it was just the cold that did it, or fluke thing. Like I said, was wokring great for about 1.5 months so far.