Bounty Hunter

Howdy ATV Honda Brothers and Sisters, We have a 1996 and a 1997 Honda TRX400FWs...full time four wheel drive. We luv 'em, they are awesome little tanks that can go anywhere we need them to. But, it sure might be nice to have a option to shift to 2WD when desired. We have looked for a 424 kit for these models but it seems it may not be available or never produced...so we were wondering if any other options exist. We have a 2011 Honda Rancher that has a lever to switch from 2WD to 4WD by engaging the drive in the front differential...is there a way to swap a similar diff and lever set up into the older Foremen? (not sure if the final drive ratio is the same, if it would fit, etc...just reaching for ideas). Thanks for reading this, have a Blessed day and Ride Safe Bounty Hunter

Update: We rebuilt the master cylinder, put it all back together, and successfully bled the brakes...this time we got good braking. The old Foreman stops quite quickly now, the front end dives under hard braking. Its way better than the drum brakes the Super ATV kit replaced, and might continue to improve as the pads and disks break in. This is really gonna help, some of our mountain rides have 2000 feet of elevation gain...and 2000 feet down where good brakes are really important! Our tires are only slightly taller than stock (25" instead of 24") but they are fairly heavy...12.5 wide Kenda BearClaws in the back, 10 inch BearClaws in the front. These tires are tough as nails on the sharp granite rocks these local mountains are made outta. Here's an interesting side note...Mrs. Bounty Hunters 1996 Foreman has been creaking and popping loudly from the chassis somewhere for weeks...we thought of many causes, checked and lubricated all the normal suspension and driveline components, but could not find the cause...until now. Turns out it was the heavy duty "Ricochet" skidplate on the ATV's chin, creaking in it's clamps. We wrapped the clamps in rubber gasket and presto...no more noise. Learn sumthing everyday... Ride Safe and have a Blessed and Peaceful day! Bounty Hunter

Hey guys, thanks for the input...I agree bleeding the brakes on an ATV is a PITA...we pulled out all the tricks in Felix's bag (you all old enough to remember Felix? 😉) We used a Mighty Vac to vacuum pump the lines as well as bleed them with the master cylinder. We tapped everything with a plastic mallet to try to shake loose any bubbles. Pretty sure we were good once we had only clear new DOT 4 coming out of the bleeder fitting. BTW the bleeder fitting is really close to the banjo, and getting at it to open and close it is a tight fit. Mrs. Bounty Hunter and I make a great team, and like jeep said two people are definitely a plus for that operation. I'm still at a loss for why the poor performance...master cylinder looking more like the culprit...Maybe...

Hey oh400ex, thanks for the reply! We were very careful about the disks and pads, knowing that grease and oil contamination can ruin their braking performance, so we were very mindful of that as we assembled the kit. After everything was together, we carefully cleaned the rotors with alcohol to make sure even oil from our paws was off the disks. I"m wondering if it would be worth it to rebuild the master cylinders?

Howdy ATV Honda Brothers and Sisters, Well, we wanted better braking performance on our old Honda Foreman...two of them...a 1996 TRX400 Foreman and a 1997 one. Both had worn out drum brakes. We purchased and installed "SuperATV" disk brake conversion kits for both, the process was pretty easy and everything went together really well...but the braking performance of the new disk brakes isn't anything impressive...not much better than before. Clamp the lever hard, even at 10 mph, and it takes a bit for the machine to stop. So, I figure we must have done something wrong or messed up a step. So far, my thoughts are: 1.) Disks and pads have to break in? We only have about 10 miles of trail riding on them, maybe it takes time to have the brakes work their best? 2.) Expecting too much? I thought they would work much better. We have a 2011 Honda Rancher with OEM front disk brakes...and they work amazing! Crazy strong brakes on that machine...can lock the front wheels easily...which is nice cuz it often hauls a trailer. 3.) Didn't bleed brakes properly? We were super careful...i think...and bled the brakes very thoroughly. Made sure new clear DOT4 ran out each side, no bubbles. Levers are not spongy. 4.) Master cylinders not working correctly? We bought both machines used, and master cylinders looked like the brake fluid has never been changed. Fluid was brown-red colored. we flushed it all out and installed new fluid. 5.) Brake lines old and worn out? Should we have replaced the old OEM brake lines as a matter of course because of their age? Thanks for your suggestions, much appreciated. Where we ride these machines it is all very steep terrain...steep enough hills good brakes are very important...

Well, we were lucky and we had a big pile of the 2 x 2 and 1 x 1 aluminum angle from a demo job our company is doing. Sooooo, I fabricated the ramps using 3/16" POP rivets...4 rivets for each cleat. Its very strong, yet super light. Our Honda TRX400 Foreman weigh about 560 pounds, and i weigh 220...so combined with gear we total about 800 pounds. Figuring 4 wheels and tires, thats around 200 pounds load per tire. Each ramp easily holds my weight, even jumping up and down. It followed then the ramps would support the quad with no issues (kind of like infantry testing the soils...if the dirt or mud will support a foot soldier, it will support a tank as the "pounds per square inch" loading are similar...the tanks's tracks cover a lot of area for its immense weight).

Here are some details of the ramps, they are mounted with gate hinges. Plywood floor on the trailer, we coated with Duratex (a textured coating often used on big speakers and road cases for bands). Everything is screwed into the trailer frame with "trailer screws"...a self drilling, self tapping, self counterboring bolt in 1/4" size. Cool little hardware. Painted everything black...it was red (or rather faded red to a sickly dusty pink). Works pretty well for what it is... Ride Safe, Bounty Hunter

Hey ATV Honda Brothers and Sisters, For some of us we have to haul our ATVs out to get to riding locations...and for Mrs. Bounty Hunter and I its always 2 quads...so a pickup truck bed isnt going to work unless we were standing them them straight up. we had an old HF 4 x 8 trailer around, which is just the right size for one quad, and it has a tilting feature that is supposed to make loading equipment easier...but the fact is it's not that easy. The trailer needed ramps anyway, and the tilting idea is kinda crazy when running something up it slams down hard once the equipment moves far enough forward. Didn't like that. Gotta be a better way. So we set about to make some simple ramps that are long enough to drive up onto the trailer, while its secured to the pickup, and a second set of ramps that allow the ATV to continue driving right up into the truck bed. We added some steel side rails to the trailer to help guide you up to the second ramp. The ramps secure to the side rails with flip pins while in the up position. The ramps are super light, made of 2 x 2 x 1/4" aluminum angle, with 1 x 1 x 1/8" aluminum angle cleats. We call it "QDT" for "Quick Deployment Trailer" (sorry...we are a military family and acronyms are a go-to). The fact is we can load and unload the quads very fast...and the light trailer is easy to handle and move around even by hand when off the truck. So if you start with a HF 4 x 8 trailer and a few hundred bucks of metal materials, you can build your own.

Welcome to the forum 87Iroc! Yer in good company here, a lot of knowledgeable and helpful Brothers and Sisters around. Plus, we luv those old square Honda Foremen!!!

Howdy ATV Honda Brothers and Sisters, We took the old Foreman 400s up the mountain to look for firewood...There's plenty of it, fallen Pinions everywhere from heavy snows and winds this winter. Having a great time on the trusty utility quads, Mrs. Bounty Hunter's red 1996 Foreman (named "Chief") and my green 1997 (named "Tank") climbed rocky, eroded trails like mountain goats. The cases on the rear racks are Harbor Freight Apache boxes, filled with recovery gear and survival kits. Both rigs have Warn winches, Chief sports the tennis ball hook stopper. The Bear Claw tires are new...luv them! in dirt, loose rock, gravel and sand they are awesome! The views were spectacular, from 7000 feet. Great day for a ride! Have a Blessed and Peaceful day, and ride safe! Bounty Hunter

Welcome to ATV Honda Forum!

Howdy Hector! welcome to ATVH!

The one we have is the model #4048P-HYB...although looking now at their website it might be an out dated model. The one closest now looks like the model # 4048PS-ATV.

Hey RanchHand420, That trailer is pretty awesome...its made by Ohio Steel, you can check them out at Tractor Supply or Northern Tool. They say it will haul over 1,200 pounds, but i usually keep it more like 500 - 600 to go up steep hills. The trailer has a cool dump feature, you stomp the lever on the tow bar and the poly bed can lift and dump the load...sand, gravel or soil, firewood, etc...exactly where you want it by pivoting the bed by its wheels. Another cool feature is a swivel on the drawbar's hitch, it allows the ATV to twist independently of the trailer, giving lots of movement on particularly rough trails. This trailer has been so useful at the jobsite, as an ATV being small and maneuverable it can go many places a pickup truck, or even a UTV cannot...including inside the house! Granted, its a huge house we are building (28,000 square feet) but I use the ATV and trailer to drive right in and move materials, equipment and supplies to various rooms. Had that trailer almost 8 years now...used it like crazy...and its as good today as the first day. Says something for American-Built quality.

Well jeepwn69 it must be someone else, we have never owned a Jeep...but I have been using the Bounty Hunter handle for about 20 years...since i started making money as a bounty hunter. No relation to Dwane Chapman, "Dog" the Bounty Hunter...but i do have better tattoos...