Hey All,

I'm new to this forum and honestly new to the ATV world overall. Parents never let us have 4 wheelers or dirt bikes or anything growing up. Last March 2015 and this past March 2016 we had a work retreat in Hurricane UT and both time we rode RZR's and quads. Almost all quads were Polaris 850's with lots of power. I came back this trip and just knew I need to buy one (a quad). I'm trying to ease my wife in to this, we just bought a house and have 2 little boys so my funds are limited. But I figure if anyone else knows what I mean when I say "I HAVE to get one of these machines" it's a forum of ATV guys (or girls). If I have $2000-$4000 to spend on an "oldie but a goodie" what road would ya'll say I need to head down. thanks for any info in advance. Maybe one of these days I can also contribute to the forum.

Sincerely

Newly obsessed ATV guy.

 

I don't think you're going to find a Polaris 850 or above, a Can-Am 800 or above with that limitation, cost-wise.

You might find a bare bones older Can-Am Outlander 650 that needs some work. Older Polaris 800's have good power but nothing like the Polaris 850. Maybe an older Kawasaki Brute Force 650.

 

Thanks for chiming in. Yea, I wouldn't expect to find an equivalent to what I rode at this point. Since this is all so new to me I suppose I'm just looking for the "trusted brand" recommendations. I've done lots of online reading, but I like getting the "user" info on bikes as that feels most relevant to me.

 

I paid just under $3000 for my Grizzly last year. Still they're hard to find in good shape for that price normally, I just found an eager seller. Expect maybe $3500-$4000 normally. An older Kawasaki Prairie 650 might fall in the $3000 price range and they have plenty of power too. A Polaris Sportsman 500 isn't bad either and you can find an older one in good shape in the $2500 range usually. A Polaris Scrambler 500 4x4 lacks the ground clearance of its utility based Sportsman cousin but they can be had for even less in good shape, its one you might want to take a look at. The chain drive(which is why it has less ground clearance) also requires a bit more maintenance as the chain will occasionally need tightening. But its a good "bang for the buck" quad as it has decent power with the 500 engine 4x4 2001 Polaris Scrambler 500.

 

How fast do you need to go? My 2001 Arctic Cat 500 manual shift tops out at 55 gps mph. Manual shift models are efficient, no belt to suck up power, yet not powerful enough to break axles. I run 30" tires, didn't lose an atom of power from the stock 25" ers. 7,000 miles on original axles.

 

getting harder to find but Suzuki Vinson worth looking at. 500, plenty of power, bullit proof, and in your price range

 

Thanks for all the great info. You guys have given me lots to look in to. I certainly don't need this first quad to do anything too crazy. I just want something reliable enough to keep using myself for a little while, but also hang on to and keep for my family as I upgrade in the future. Hopefully I can get one with the extra seat and maybe a winch as well, thats a great place to start. Hopefully I'll have a bike name in my signature line soon!

 

I'd 2nd the Vinson, I would have bought one myself before I got my recent Grizzly but the seller was weird and never answered or returned texts or phone calls. Yamaha Kodiak 450 wouldn't be bad either. The Yamaha Wolverine 450 is a great trail quad too. It has the same engine as the Kodiak 450 but its a bit smaller and lighter to make it a bit sportier.

 

If you mean a two passenger quad when you say, "one with an extra seat", there are 3 makers. Arctic Cat, Polaris, and Can-Am. I'm not very familiar with Arctic Cats.

Polaris has either the Sportsman Touring or the Sportsman X2. The Touring has a nice comfortable seat for the passenger. The X2 is more of a work machine that can be transformed into a 2 passenger quad in a few seconds. It has a dump box that can handle 400 lbs. of weight and there is a passenger backrest that comes up from the box and the driver backrest becomes the passenger seat. Sounds complicated but it's not really. You can transform either way in about 15 seconds. Most common is the older 500 cc X2's. They did have a few 550's, 700's, 800's, and 850's in limited production. Now it's a 570 single cylinder that has a good deal more power than the 500 or 550 had.

Can-Am makes the Outlander Max in machines from 400 cc's - 1000 cc's. The have more rack space than the Polaris Touring, especially when you have a passenger. Ride isn't quite as comfortable as the Polaris in my mind.

 

If you want to add a passenger seat to a single person ATV they're illegal to use with a passenger on public property in some states.