Gonna grab a 4 wheeler when I sew up the new house..........hopefully soon (I friggin HATE lawyers) Any help would be great. Last ATV I bought had 3 wheels
My honest opinion is if you want somethig that will go anywhere but lack POWER...Go HONDA!!! But if you want something that will also be a possible easy ride and still go most places and DEFINANTELY A WORKHORSE go with YAMAHA or a SUZUKI!!!! You cant beat a Grizzly or a KingQuad!! I currently own a Yamaha 450 Kodiak and would put it up against anything on a hill climb, mudbog, or staight out pull or haul of it's size!!!!!!!!!!!!..............PERIOD!!!!
Atlas, Are you lookin' strickly for an ATV or possibly looking at a UTV as well? I am strongly considering forking up some cash for a UTV. I haven't decided yet. If we get some ATV input, I might change my mind. I know for UTV, some of the better ones on the market right now are the Polaris Ranger and Yamaha Rhino. I am actually lookin' into a Deere Gator just because of the volume of business we do with the local dealer, we could probably get a better price on one of those.
I agree with WesternMD. I have always been a Suzuki fan. I have done things with my 500 Vinson that I am sure some people haven't done with their utv's. Not a knock, I hope to own one someday. As far as that debate goes, it would depend on the type of terrain. In an open farm type setting, a UTV would work well for most situations and might be a better choice. BUT that said, if you are only going to get one and you have some touch spots on your property, I would get the quad. I am about a year or two away from upgrading. Right now I would have to ride the Artic Cats, the Grizzly, and the Can AM. My default without riding would be the Suzuki 750 AXI. Don't count out the 450 Kingquad. With front lock diff its just a small up grade to the machine I ride and I don't know if I can part with what I got. I fyou can find a leftover 500 VInson, BUY IT!!
Right now I have 6 Honda ATVs and 2 Yamaha Rhinos sitting in the yard. With the terrain and how much I run them up here, they get the piss pounded out of them. If I were in the market for a new ATV the only, and I mean only, machine I would buy is a Honda. I have 10,000 miles on one of them and have only had to change the tires, brakes and a bearing. Three of the other ones a 2005s and have about 6000 miles on them each. The only thing that we've done is change the oil and filters on them. Our newest machine here is a Foreman 500 with power steering. I was a little leary of the power steering at first, but now realise its amazing. As for power.....more than enough to do anything you want, if you get the right machine. Hondas are bulletproof. As far as UTVs....We have a 2006 and 2008 Rhino. The 2006 had a couple design flaws, with the biggest being the placement of the air intake. Its inside the cab between the riders. While driving down the dusty road, if the windshield is one, it sucks a lot of dust in. Other than the fact that a bearing went out on it recently, and didn't notice it until it was too late, its sitting on blocks waiting for parts. The 2008 is a much better machine, 700 FI and the air intake has moved. As far as not being able to go where ATVs go, I don't think that's the case. The only thing that has stopped it here is the trail being a hair narrow or a floating bridge thats just a little narrow. Now, with that said on the UTVs, Honda is releasing the new Big Red this month. After we take a look at it, the 2006 Rhino may get the pink slip.
Right now I have 6 Honda ATVs and 2 Yamaha Rhinos sitting in the yard. With the terrain and how much I run them up here, they get the piss pounded out of them. If I were in the market for a new ATV the only, and I mean only, machine I would buy is a Honda. I have 10,000 miles on one of them and have only had to change the tires, brakes and a bearing. Three of the other ones a 2005s and have about 6000 miles on them each. The only thing that we've done is change the oil and filters on them. Our newest machine here is a Foreman 500 with power steering. I was a little leary of the power steering at first, but now realise its amazing. As for power.....more than enough to do anything you want, if you get the right machine. Hondas are bulletproof. As far as UTVs....We have a 2006 and 2008 Rhino. The 2006 had a couple design flaws, with the biggest being the placement of the air intake. Its inside the cab between the riders. While driving down the dusty road, if the windshield is one, it sucks a lot of dust in. Other than the fact that a bearing went out on it recently, and didn't notice it until it was too late, its sitting on blocks waiting for parts. The 2008 is a much better machine, 700 FI and the air intake has moved. As far as not being able to go where ATVs go, I don't think that's the case. The only thing that has stopped it here is the trail being a hair narrow or a floating bridge thats just a little narrow. Now, with that said on the UTVs, Honda is releasing the new Big Red this month. After we take a look at it, the 2006 Rhino may get the pink slip.
Get a Honda they last forever with minimal maintenance.I beat the hell out of mine and it still runs perfect.Im against ATV"s that use a belt for the main drive(like a snowmobile)if the plastic casing ever leaks your quad is dead in the water.Honda uses a direct drive.
Both my brothers have Honda's for the last 4 years and what they put them through you just cant go wrong with them.
Thanks guys..........is there even an option to buy made in USA?? If not it looks like Honda will get a close look.........and Suzuki as well. Funny thing is the Honda 3 wheeler I mentioned earlier is STILL running and being used by the family friend who bought it This machine will be far from ever put to the test.......more transport then workhorse. I may throw a plow blade on the front though to have some fun in a light snow (and I don't feel like snow blowing 400 feet of driveway
I don't think I have ever read a bad comment about your ATV.......from you or Rob. I think our needs are similar because I am not looking for a machine that I will test to it's limits. When do the model years change over for ATV's??...........maybe I will wait for a deal. I'm in no real hurry.
Isn't Polaris made in USA? Dan (Jaws) has had 3x different Polaris Rangers, all 3x of them the 6 wheel drive versions. We literally beat the snot out of them. I have personally helped skid 40' shots of 24" diameter hemlock out of the woods with the thing, and in the 4 years I've been at his camp none of them ever had a problem.
Isn't Polaris made in USA? Dan (Jaws) has had 3x different Polaris Rangers, all 3x of them the 6 wheel drive versions. We literally beat the snot out of them. I have personally helped skid 40' shots of 24" diameter hemlock out of the woods with the thing, and in the 4 years I've been at his camp none of them ever had a problem.
I'll also add that I have heard a ton of good reviews on the Eiger, but have never driven one. As far as Made in the USA.....Polaris, Arctic Cat and on the back of my Hondas I believe it says Made in the USA. At least thats what I declared them as when I imported them from the US to Canada. Also, the new Honda that we have is much quieter than a lot of machines I have heard, even quieter than the other Hondas. My brother in law has a Kawasucki and that thing is LOUD.
We have 2 Polaris machines, and they've both had the tar beat out of them. Mine is a 99 that has 8700 miles on it and 6000 hours, and the only thing I've done to it is PM and new tires. We have a huge driveway that mine plows all winter long, and it's been one of our main food plot tools since I've owned it. I won't even get into the countless other things it's been used for...stand work, deer dragging, even road work on the farm..lol Kim's is an 02 that I picked up for a song when I saw the lady putting a 4sale sign on it in her yard near a house I was working on. I had just talked to my dealer a couple of days prior to this and he said we wouldn't find anything for what we wanted to spend, but I managed to prove him wrong. Kim's don't have the mileage or hours mine does yet, but that girl is hard on it. If the throttle isn't pegged, she's just not happy. I keep warning her I'm going to govern it if she doesn't slow down. I think you'll find most people have a preference or are biased towards one brand over the others, but all in all I think all the machines are good. If you're not brand specific yet, it might just come down to who'll give ya the best deal. I've found that the better they're taken care of the better they are. I see all the guys here swearing by Honda, and I know only one person that's happy with his, but it's all in what ya like. Oh and BTW....I can't say for the others, but Polaris IS Made in U.S.A.!
Atlas ...if Polaris was 100% USA, I would say go that way ..... but they are not. IMO, you cannot beat Honda or Yamaha ..... hands down, no contest. Both are as durable as you can get and the resale on them is FANTASTIC!!!!! I owned a Yamaha Kodiak 400 6 years ago and LOVED it ... I would seriously look at the Honda with the chain drive ....... workhorse ... practical ...great resale...durable as all get out
Well, I am pretty happy with my Arctic Cat 400 4X4 auto FIS. I will say that it isn't as powerful as some of the other quads that I have been on, but it gets the job done, and it is TOUGH! It is out of commission right now which is entirely my fault, to say that I beat the thing is an understatement. A bunch of my buddies have Raptors and Banshees ect... and like to do all day trail rides mixed with jumping, and I have kept right with them on the Cat. My Cat has slammed head on into a tree with only the plastic being damaged. A few months after that on a late night ride with my buddies in the winter, I made the mistake of not letting it warm up enough before heading out in the -5 degree weather and while going up a hill the throttle frooze and at the top of the hill I left off and it just kept going, right into a "snow bank" which was actually a fallen tree that was covered. The quad went airborn as I jumped of and landed nose first on the backside of the hill and flipped end over end several times. More plastic damage along with the front rack being warped. We went down, flipped it upright and she fired right up and was fine. I finally put it out of commission by hitting a jump a little too big and snapped the rear drive axle. When we did our riding, we would end up putting between 80-100 miles on the quads a day. I am going to get it up and running within the next two weeks and this spring I will be looking for a new machine, definetly going with either a CanAm or another Cat.
Atlas... Man I dont know whats wrong with peopleon here!!LOL ARCTIC CAT- check your models, Mines made in USA engine and all. Some models are not though just ask... I bought a Arctic Cat 650 H1... It has a hemispherical head, so basically I have a one cylinder Hemi. I love it, The torque is unreal... It's not a speed demon be she rolls on topping out at close to 60mph. They are made for low end grunt, pulling climbing, and do awesome in mud... I was with a bunch of buddies up in WV it had been pouring, the trails were mud. Everyone was spinning and sliding(purposely) and I wanted to join in.... It would not spin... It digs and goes... the gas tank is in the back distributing more traction to the rear tires. It is a great bike. Great warranty(2yr bumper to bumper) I love it. Please check out AC before you make a decision... If you really want power, They have a bike call the Arctic Cat Thunder Cat... 1000cc's it's extreme, but unnecassary if your just looking for something to get around on hunting related. If just getting around was your intentions you dont care alot about power... I would check out the AC 400 I almost bought one, but decided to go with some more power as I like to go trail riding/mudding.
