honda foreman purchace

Wicked good ATV for work and pleasure . . . although I tend to use mine for more work than pleasure . . . I haul almost all my firewood with it and plow my driveway.

If you treat it right it will last forever . . . which means trying to convince the wife you need a bigger, newer ATV may be a challenge.

Mileage . . . depends I guess . . . a buddy up north has over 18,000 miles on his Honda (Rubicon), but he's also replaced the rear end in it. Me, I would be finicky and look around for one with lower mileage (1,500 miles or less -- but that's just me) . . . a lot of folks buy these and never leave their property . . . if you can find one owned by an older fella or a couple who bought an ATV (or more) thinking it would be a lot of fun and then only ran it a summer or two you should be well off.

My Foreman is a 2000 that I bought brand new and it is still running like a champ . . . I think you should be able to pick up a decent one 2004 or older for a good price . . . I can't think of any particular bad model years -- it's a Honda! I might suggest going with the Foreman S . . . it has the standard shift (well Honda calls it automatic simply because you don't have a clutch lever to use) . . . my buddy has an ES (electronic shift) and he has had some occasional problems -- nothing too serious, usually due to water penetration in the electronics. I forget which year, but at some point Honda bumped the 450 cc engine designation (it's actually something like 429 cc in reality) to 500 cc . . . either size should do you fine.

I would suggest checking the wheel bearings and brakes . . . these seem to be Honda's Achilles heal . . . brakes (drum style) are constantly going on these machines . . . and bearings are the other wear item that often need replacing. Other than this . . . the normal checks apply -- check the plastic, fluids, electronics, etc.

Foremans are not fancy . . . and certainly don't offer as nice a ride as IRS ATVs . . . but they are built tough and if they're not abused will last you a very, very long time.

I checked out Craigslist and Uncle Henrys . . . some ads promised low miles . . . but didn't list the miles.

This one was a bit more than some . . . but 1,300 miles and it looks pretty nice in the ad.

http://www.unclehenrys.com/init/cla...unclehenrys.com/init/search/results/1#3668642

And another . . . I really like this one . . . can't beat the mileage . . . a bit more money . . . but you're almost getting a brand new ATV.

http://www.unclehenrys.com/init/cla...unclehenrys.com/init/search/results/1#3614739


I also remembered . . . at some point in the Foreman model line up they changed it so you could have selectable 2WD/4WD . . . supposedly it allows you to get better gas mileage . . . I don't notice this so much (compared to my buddy's non-switchable ATV), but I do know having the 2WD feature is nice since it steers a bit easier which is nice for long rides.

We have two '03 Foreman 500s that have a funky timing issue. The engines lock up to the point the electric starter cannot turn them over and they have to be pulled over with the pull start (with some serious force). Both were back to 2 different dealers under warranty, claimed they fixed it, but problem persisted. Honda makes good stuff and I suspect this was a make/model/year specific problem. It is highly intermittent and only seems to happen at the most inconvenient times! Not trying to bash Hondas but I'd shy away from an '03 FWIW.

Good luck!

Jake got it: for work get a Foreman. People working them at ski areas, farms, light woods work can't fault their reliability in all conditions.
Remember, the Foreman is a mule, not a race horse with limitations. It can't skid well, though easier with a logging arch. The log arch can be a PITA to maneuver in tight woods and slopes.
Advice: IF you can, get one new with a quality dealer ( Bangor Motor Sports, Bangor gave a super deal on a new Foreman 400 in 2000. Nice to deal with ).
We bought with the profits from my first harvest shared with the forester and heavy equipment logger.
This 400 (red) has been worked hard mostly in winter cutting and pulping and management with NO, NO breakdowns. Just filter and oil changes, tire repairs. The fenders are shot, a couple of lights are cracked, the skid plates have been banged to hell.
The beast runs and runs. Flips were the driver's doing.

fjord said:

Jake got it: for work get a Foreman. People working them at ski areas, farms, light woods work can't fault their reliability in all conditions.
Remember, the Foreman is a mule, not a race horse with limitations. It can't skid well, though easier with a logging arch. The log arch can be a PITA to maneuver in tight woods and slopes.
Advice: IF you can, get one new with a quality dealer ( Bangor Motor Sports, Bangor gave a super deal on a new Foreman 400 in 2000. Nice to deal with ).
We bought with the profits from my first harvest shared with the forester and heavy equipment logger.
This 400 (red) has been worked hard mostly in winter cutting and pulping and management with NO, NO breakdowns. Just filter and oil changes, tire repairs. The fenders are shot, a couple of lights are cracked, the skid plates have been banged to hell.
The beast runs and runs. Flips were the driver's doing.

Click to expand...

Never bought anything new there . . . yet . . . darn Honda keeps on running . . . but I do have my service work done there and the folks there have always been very supportive to local ATV clubs . . . good people.

If you want a Foreman just for plodding to the woods to work, it's tough to beat.

If you want an ATV that will do other things well, such as ride nice, handle well, excel at braking, etc, there are much better quads out there. You don't need me to tell you that; any ATV magazine will as well. I've owned two Hondas in the past, they were tough as nails. I just needed more, and Honda didn't (still doesn't) offer it.

Just my opinion.