Used foreman 450 - a good deal?

[Catterz]

I’m jealous. If you need a bike I would do it.

 

[Schmo]

@HighUintas,
Don’t overlook the Yamaha Big Bear 400 4x4. I had one that I picked up from a retired goat farmer. It had been sitting in his shop for a while. New carb, fuel lines, petcock, and battery. Then I did CV boots and brake master cylinder rebuild along with tires. That was a beast of a little machine. Only did 40-45 mph at top speed, but had lots of low end torque, on demand 4wd, and was bullet proof. Fired up easy every time. It was reasonably light, and was very maneuverable. The handling was more akin to a sport quad than a utility quad. You can find them for pretty good prices. I’d have another!

 

[HighUintas]

I bought both of these old machines for $3,000. Put new carbs, changed filters and fluids, and cleaned out the fuel tanks.

They take a bit to start when very cold but so far they have been solid machines. Very light, aren’t top heavy like the new big machines, and the smaller engine can easily carry my heavy ass and a deer strapped to the back with no hiccups. They aren’t a Honda, but haven’t left me or my kids stranded anywhere yet.

If you want to come pick one up and borrow it for the season and see how you like it come on down and get it.

View attachment 930049

Another testament to this guy's character! That's a generous offer. If we were closer I'd take you up on it. I've got an anniversary trip and lots of OT work between now and the hunt so I don't think I'd be able to make the trip down, unfortunately.

It is a "would be nice to have one just in case" for this hunt sort of shopping around. We figured we'd end up getting one at some point, so I thought I'd find one I'd want to keep. It's definitely not required. I'm starting to think that it may be more of a hindrance taking one instead of going with my usual backpacking routine. I mean..... I still haven't figured out how I'd pack a full stock 36" barrel flintlock on one. A rack mount carrier would have my gun extending from the sides of the ATV by 4-5" each side. One wrong turn and I've snapped my stock in two

Don't test things for the first time on game day is the best advice I've ever been given.

 

[HighUintas]

Forgot to update here.

I ended up with a 2002 rancher ES. 1050miles. Great great shape. $3250. Came with a $850 plow/winch, so I figured it was a good deal compared to all the prices around me. Conferring with some Honda ATV forum nerds, they agreed it's a good deal.

It handled weight way over the rating just fine. I'll be tearing it apart at some point to bullet proof the ES system. After that, it should be as reliable as the manual shift.

Also, I didn't snap any stocks in half




I might make a periodic update here as to how it's holding up. However, I don't see putting enough miles on it annually to have an update for some time.

 

[AZmark]

Where are you located? If close to me I would go buy it out from under you.

Why? I've got a 2004 Honda Foreman TRX450 ES. I love it. At one time I also had a 2004 450 Polaris. The Polaris gave me nothing but trouble, living at 8000' elev it was really finicky, Polaris sent me different jets and that did not help, it would run at 8000' but just a few miles down the road at 9500' it ran like shit...I got rid of it.

So the only problem the Honda ever gave me is the electronic display got fried somehow and I had to replace it.

But the biggest reason I like it is the manual transmission vs the centrifugal clutch/belt drive. When trying to ease your way around rock and really rough terrain just put it is first and crawl where the belt driven you had to rev it up enough to get it moving and it was a real pain in the ass to maneuver

I have a 4' x 8' piece of conveyor belt I rigged up as a drag and have pulled multiple bull and cow elk out of the woods just field dressed only, skin still on. It works great, has plenty of power and the manual trans comes in handy there also.

 

[Blockcaver]

Forgot to update here.

I ended up with a 2002 rancher ES. 1050miles. Great great shape. $3250. Came with a $850 plow/winch, so I figured it was a good deal compared to all the prices around me. Conferring with some Honda ATV forum nerds, they agreed it's a good deal.

It handled weight way over the rating just fine. I'll be tearing it apart at some point to bullet proof the ES system. After that, it should be as reliable as the manual shift.

Also, I didn't snap any stocks in half

View attachment 947484


I might make a periodic update here as to how it's holding up. However, I don't see putting enough miles on it annually to have an update for some time.

I had an orange '02 Rancher just like yours. No problems ever with it over the years I owned it. Bought it used from the local Snap On tool rep with 1700 miles on it for $1700 in 2009. Was a great bike that my buddy still has the last time I checked.

Did wish it had come with 2 and 4 wheel drive section only vs full time 4-wheel drive....my only real complaint.

 

[HighUintas]

I had an orange '02 Rancher just like yours. No problems ever with it over the years I owned it. Bought it used from the local Snap On tool rep with 1700 miles on it for $1700 in 2009. Was a great bike that my buddy still has the last time I checked.

Did wish it had come with 2 and 4 wheel drive section only vs full time 4-wheel drive....my only real complaint.

One of the reasons I was looking for older ones is it being 4x4 full time.... Less things to break! The only reason I can think of maybe wanting 2x4 is better fuel efficiency, but I don't know if that would apply to ATVs.

I'm loving it so far.

 

[HighUintas]

Where are you located? If close to me I would go buy it out from under you.

Why? I've got a 2004 Honda Foreman TRX450 ES. I love it. At one time I also had a 2004 450 Polaris. The Polaris gave me nothing but trouble, living at 8000' elev it was really finicky, Polaris sent me different jets and that did not help, it would run at 8000' but just a few miles down the road at 9500' it ran like shit...I got rid of it.

So the only problem the Honda ever gave me is the electronic display got fried somehow and I had to replace it.

But the biggest reason I like it is the manual transmission vs the centrifugal clutch/belt drive. When trying to ease your way around rock and really rough terrain just put it is first and crawl where the belt driven you had to rev it up enough to get it moving and it was a real pain in the ass to maneuver

I have a 4' x 8' piece of conveyor belt I rigged up as a drag and have pulled multiple bull and cow elk out of the woods just field dressed only, skin still on. It works great, has plenty of power and the manual trans comes in handy there also.

I ended up going with an 02 rancher ES. It's pretty great. I believe the 98 foreman I had been looking at may have been sold. I don't see it listed anymore

 

[rabbithuntr]

One of the reasons I was looking for older ones is it being 4x4 full time.... Less things to break! The only reason I can think of maybe wanting 2x4 is better fuel efficiency, but I don't know if that would apply to ATVs.

I'm loving it so far.

My fourtrax is all time 4x4 and I’ve spent a lot of time in a an almost identical 2wd which definitely would turn sharper, and the tires last a little longer.