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In
Richfield, Utah it is legal to ride
ATVs on the roads, so each day we left
the hotel and drove several miles down
through town to the trails, which was
an unique experience
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For our second day of riding (on the Rancher
AT), we were taken out to the other side of
the trail system. We would be negotiating a
shorter (about 40 miles) but more technical
section of trails this time, that incorporated
a rocky hill climb, where we literally had to
climb up the side of a mountain to over 9000
feet in elevation, which would also test out
the EFI functionality. This rocky hill climb
was where the dual clutch system absolutely
shined. We were a little hesitant about climbing
the hill in full automatic mode, but the Rancher
AT performed exceptionally well.
As we began our ascent, we could definitely
feel the difference in handling of the IRS as
compared to the previous day’s riding
on the Rancher ER and ES straight axle machines.
The IRS made the machine feel more stable and
capable as we made our way up and over the rough,
rocky mountain side. Also, Honda did an excellent
job of eliminating body roll issues that is
a common issue on many other IRS units.
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The
Honda Rancher ES & ER straight axle
performed well on day one going over rocks
on the trail, but the difference between
it and the IRS is night and day. The IRS
really shined on the Rancher AT when driving
over rocks or large obstacles on the trail
as the rear end can articulate over obstacles
with ease and the additional ground clearance
also makes a big difference for avoiding
hang-ups on the trail
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The automatic dual clutch was amazing, especially
at low speeds. It never missed a beat, as we
were able to climb the rocky terrain, even at
slower speeds, and it never once left us stuck,
and we were never tempted to switch to manual
shift mode. Also, even at the higher elevation,
the Rancher still had plenty of power to get
us up the climbs, even at the slowest speeds.
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While
riding the Rancher AT, we kept it auto
mode for the entire day to really see
how well the dual clutch system worked
at selecting the proper gear, and we are
happy to say it performed well beyond
our expectations. On the rocky uphill
climb, it adjusted the gearing to just
the right gear, so I was never tempted
to switch into a different gear and on
the high speed trail rides it accelerated
and decelerated real smooth
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The AT transmission shifting was also extremely
smooth under normal operation, and the only
time that we felt any significant jerkiness
was when stabbing the throttle after decelerating,
which required the transmission to switch from
a pre-selected lower gear to a higher gear,
but under normal riding conditions, and hill
climbs, there were no complaints to be found
and we were thoroughly impressed with the state
of art dual clutch transmission system
The top speed of the Rancher AT is a little slower
than the Rancher ES model, topping out at 52 MPH,
which is due to the added weight of the IRS. The
Rancher also has excellent engine braking that
works well while descending steeper terrain. We
never once felt uneasy going down any steep hills
and always felt stable and in control.
