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The
straight axle Rancher's rear drum brakes
paired with dual disk brakes up front
provided plenty of stopping power
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Another thing we really liked about the Rancher
was the independent hand brakes, for the front
and rear brakes, in addition to the standard rear
foot brake. This gave the Rancher excellent, and
easy to use, stopping power.
The suspension on both the ER and ES models
was good and worked well at lower and mid-range
speeds, but it did get a little bouncy at higher
speeds and preload adjustment is not available
on the Rancher models, which is something that
could be improved upon in future updates. The
Rancher also offered excellent water protection
and kept us dry during a couple of water crossings
we encountered during our ride.
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The
Honda Rancher 420 fenders provide excellent
protection from mud & water encountered
on the trails, and the floorboard design
on the Rancher is an added bonus with
deep pockets below the foot peg, which
allow for easy maneuverability around
on the pegs. Also, floorboards contain
large holes, which work great at allowing
mud & rocks to fall through without
accumulating around your feet. The only
suggested improvement for the future would
be a wider foot peg for a more secure
foot placement
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The
Honda Rancher seat has plenty of padding,
but the foam is a little stiff for our
liking after an all day ride
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In all, we rode 82 miles for our first day,
and we must say that the ergonomics of the Rancher
are good and are comfortable for just about
any sized rider, but after such a long ride,
it was clear from our sore backsides that the
Rancher could benefit from a softer, redesigned
seat that would be a little less fatiguing on
longer rides. After a long day on the trails
we headed back to our hotel to rest up for the
next day when we would get to check out the
all-new Rancher AT, which we were all looking
forward to.
The Rancher AT can be rode in either fully
automatic mode or can be switched to manual
mode. One of Honda’s biggest selling points
with the new Rancher AT is its independent rear
suspension and the dual-clutch system that is
supposed to anticipate gear changes. Needless
to say, we were really anxious to see just how
well this new dual-clutch would work out on
the trails.
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The
Honda Rancher 2wd base model has a retail
price of only $,4,599, but with the addtion
of TraxLok 2WD/4WD & Electric Shift,
the price rises to $5,799 and ES models
tested with EPS retail for $6,199, which
is a bargain at only $400 increase in
price. Once you make the switch to the
AT model, the prices jumps $6,599 for
the base unit and the with EPS as tested
the price is $6,999, which is much higher
than other models in the class, but it
comes with plenty of features that makes
it stand out from the rest
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