Buying a mid-sized ATV and concidering the 450 Grizzly

[Jonny281ci]

Hello everyone, I'm new here. I've narrowed it down to the 450 Yamaha Grizzly and the 420 Honda Rancher.
Yamaha Pros: IPRS, fully automatic, locking dif
Honda Pros: A little cheaper, fully sealed belt
I heard a few bad things about the Honda like, the ES breaks often, they're old technology.
Does anyone here have any input to help me decide? Also, I was curious if the 450 Yamaha was fuel injected.

[scooter]

Welcome to GC, Jonny. Both would make a great quad. I perfer the yamaha over the honda. The yamaha has more upgrades. The Yamaha 450 has a carburetor and the Honda is fuel injected. The Yamaha has true 4 wheel drive viruses the Honda's 3 wheel drive.

[JHFWIC]

Take the Yamaha.

[AKMuddy]

Jonny, welcome to the site. I think the Yamaha 450 is a great choice. It has proved to be a reliable machine. I don't think the belt issue is a con on the yammy. All the auto tranny Yamaha's come with a drain plug at the bottom of the transmission. If water gets in, just pull the plug and let drain. Put the plug back in and take off in low and go slow until the belt dries. No damage and no fuss. Once again, welcome to the site. Let me or one of the other moderators know if you have any questions about the site. Great to have you with us!

[Butch450]

Did someone say 450? Get the Yamaha, you will be happy you did. I ride with a non FI rancher and they dont impress me at all.

[BigboyGriz]

Welcome. A buddy of mine rides a 420 rancher. both bikes have plenty of power. Depends on what kind of terrain your ridding. If your ridding trails, the honda's hard to beat. But if you are planning on taking veering off the trail even a little, the Yamaha can't be beat. You will want the IRS especially if your tires will touch mud. Good luck on your purchase.

[Grizzly4fun]

I've got an '07 Grizzly 400 with IRS. I've have been on several quads of similar size and the IRS makes a huge difference with comfort for the short and especially longer rides. I like the clearance it provides too.
Good luck!

[Mad Mike]

Originally Posted by Jonny281ci

Hello everyone, I'm new here. I've narrowed it down to the 450 Yamaha Grizzly and the 420 Honda Rancher.
Yamaha Pros: IPRS, fully automatic, locking dif
Honda Pros: A little cheaper, fully sealed belt
I heard a few bad things about the Honda like, the ES breaks often, they're old technology.
Does anyone here have any input to help me decide? Also, I was curious if the 450 Yamaha was fuel injected.

honda`s don`t have a belt. the es is pretty dependable but it is still kind of old school. I would go yamaha I hate all that shifting and you can tweak/tune a belt drive for bigger tires. good luck with what ever u choose. look into the 550`s

[UpstateNYGrizz]

First off, I'd like to say Welcome to the best Grizzly site around Jonny.

Second, what are you thinking, comming onto a Grizzly site and asking which do you prefer, a Grizzly or a Honda? DUH ?? lol just some good ribbing.

Luckly for you, we have a bunch of great guys here who will give you an honest opinion. They may even recommend the Honda depending on what type of riding you expect to be doing. Personally, if you want to really ride and not be limited, I would choose the .........(wait for it) .......GRIZZLY!
I have a couple of guys in my hunting camp that ride hondas (various sizes) and I personnaly don't care for them, unless its having to come pull them out of the stream they got stuck in. I think the Grizzlys 4WD system and IRS are better than anything the Honda puts up. Go with what you feels suits your needs best, but remember a few extra bucks now may save you some serious headaches later.

[hanrock]

hi if the honda has the solid rear axle that will be the first thing to hang up in deep ruts ,logs, rocks, if you do a lot of cold weather riding fule injection is nice ,but the ground clearance and having all 4 wheels pulling for you is the way to go like mad mike said check out the 550 grizz

[desertdweller]

Welcome to the GC Johnny, glad to have you join us.
You won't go wrong with the 450,it's agreat mid size Yami and has way more ability then honda.
Unless you plan on riding just around the farm then Honda is the one.

[oldstyle]

The 420 Rancher is a fun bike (I have one right now) but I would not have the ES if I could help it. It adds complexity without any advantage. You shift with your toe or your thumb...What's the difference? The Honda has rear drum brake instead of disk.

The Rancher 420 also can be had with IRS and auto transmission. This model would be more on par with the Grizzly 450 but I'm sure the price would jump from the std 420.

The Honda is fine for work and general recreation, but if you're doing real off-roading you will be happier with a different bike. One with IRS and a front locker.

[vamped350griz]

I looked at both before I got my Grizzly and if I had it to do all over again, I'd go GRIZZLY all over again

The ranchers have a lot of power, but every one I know of burns oil. It may not be smoking but they still burn oil
And the electric shift is nice... when it works, which usually isnt very often. But when it quits working you are unable to shift because there is no back up shifter like on the older ranchers
And, the 420s do NOT have a pull start standard. Its an extra $120 option I think. That means that if you get a dead battery and have no jumper cables you are DEAD
Lastly the honda full autos are nice and shift very well, but IF something does break in the trans like the torque converter or something it will cost thousands to fix it
Oh yeah and they're not real 4wds
And they dont ride any were near as smooth as my Grizzly does

All in all if you decide on the honda, get the foot shift, and the pull start option, and make sure to check the oil OFTEN

[Rich_in_AK]

Get the Grizzly 550 EPS and you will never regret it. Anything less and you will eventually wish you had gone for the 550.

[68LOW]

ive owned alot of hondas .they were nice but ive just bought a 450 grizzly . the yamaha is hands down ALOT better in the woods than the hondas. BUY THE YAMAHA 450. i wont do back to honda ever!!!

[eric]

Honda: 420 Auto is IRS, no belt - fully auto or manual (user chooses), very peppy and will smoke a 450 Grizzly, no locker but spot on ergos. ES is very reliable, I would consider the ES more reliable than the belt on belt driven atv's.

[Jonny281ci]

Wow, thanks everyone. I asked the same question on a main Honda forum, and got one reply... haha I guess you guys really love your Yamaha's now I think I've made up my mind. I couldn't believe ES was an OPTION, if I'm not mistaken, the 450 doesn't even come with anything other than automatic... I'm looking to use it for just trail riding, some mud, and hills. I'm going to check out the 450 next week. Thanks for all your input everyone! I was not expecting that many responses! Thanks

[UpstateNYGrizz]

Like we said, this is the best atv site there is, hands down, with the best atv out there.