Hey guys, new to the forum, I need some advice on choosing a used 4x4 quad. I have been riding a 05 honda recon for the past 5 years and it has been a great little quad, but I have been riding at some new places and im tired of it getting stuck all the time and having to wait on other riders to pull me out lol. Ive been looking on craigslist for a 4x4 under $1500 and have mostly seen King quads, Quadrunners, Yamaha big bears, and Arcric Cats within that price range. Im looking for at least a 250 with selectable 4x4, a manual trans and a locking front diff. What would you guys reccomend in that price range that is reliable and has a decent power to weight ratio? Thanks for any help or advice!!

 

If you can find one of the old King quads with the low, super low, and high transmission they're very bulletproof. Not too up on this class of machine though.

 

Its hard to find a 4x4 quad for $1500. Especially with a front diff-lock and no cvt auto. The Big Bear didn't get selectible 4x4 until 2002 and diff-lock though most of the ones I've seen used go for quite a bit more than $1500. Its a rock solid quad but finding one of the later 400 models with selectible 4x4 and diff-lock for $1500 will be a bit of a challenge. You can pretty much rule out any older Hondas, no diff-lock until very recently on new models. The only other one I can think of is the older King Quads. Not very fast machines though, your Recon will probably be faster. You could just keep your Recon and simply put more aggressive rear tires on it and get a winch and then you will up the capability of it.

 

Finding a selectable 4x4, a manual trans and a locking front diff is going to be hard to do. Most 4x4s are automatics. Others like the Kodiak my friend had was full time 4x4 without a locking diff. Something like that would be a lot easier to find. You may end up having to compromise.

 

think jumbofrank hit it right on the head, about the $1500 dollars !

 

Yea,,,,not going to find anything in that price range. Diff lock was not out until early to mid 2000's and anything newer than 2000 is going to cost more than your spending limit. Only a few 4x4 quads had an auto-clutch 5 speed gearbox and on those the towing rating was reduced. A cvt tranny gets you a higher tow rating. Just sold my 2000 praire 300 auto but had full time 4x4 and no diff lock and it sold for almost twice your spending limit. If all you can spend is 1500 I would look for more aggressive tires and a good winch to pull yourself out, that's about all your gonna do with your budget.

 

Interesting, I did not know the 5 speeds had a lower tow rating, I mainly wanted a manual because I think they are more fun to ride, and I thought the autos had more problems, but I could be wrong. I guess I will have to save more money and try to find a newer quad, and you guys are right, i'll probably have to compromise on some of the features I want. Thanks for the help!

 

Both types of transmissions have their pro's and con's. I preferred the auto due to being simple and trouble free and I used mine to plow snow. When guests came over to ride the auto was much easier and safer for them and most riders preferred it. That said, the manual trannys have some advantages also. When trail riding I had to stop the machine to shift from low to high range but with the manual tranny you can shift on the fly to whatever gear you need. Manual tranny not as popular for snow plowing I think because to much to do while operating plow blade and shifting gears and going into reverse etc. When I bought mine all the manual machines had lower tow ratings than the cvt machines, as the dealers told me....the cvt holds up better under extreme towing, only failure is a belt and easy to replace, however if a 5 speed tranny fails it is quite costly to repair thus the lower tow rating on manual tranny machines. Besides that a cvt machine is normally priced less as it costs less to produce and more user friendly. My wife has a small 250 with a 5 speed tranny, great little machine, fun to ride and run it thru the gears, however most guests prefer the cvt machine, just hit the gas and go!!

 

The only older model with foot shift with selectable 2wd/4wd and diff lock I knew of was the Suzuki 300 KQ it came out in 1991. I even think the 300KQ was the first with IRS.

On this site Celebrating 25 Years of Suzuki ATVs « ATV On Demand the 1987 Suzuki LT4WD was the very first with 2wd/4wd and lockers. I think it was a 250.

Other then that no foot shift ATV had selectable 4wd with lockers until the Yamaha Big Bears in 2002 (I think) and Honda never had diff lock until 2014 and only on the 500s not the 420 Rancher or 680 Rincon.

Foot shift ATVs are rare now. For $1500 I would look for a 350 Rancher or 350/400 Big Bears. Even without diff lock they will go more places then your Recon.

A 300 Kawasaki Bayou or Honda 300 four trax would also be in your price range.

 

The older king quads are bullet proof. While they have low ground clearance they can go through way more than you will think. I was amazed what they would go through when the GF had hers and it even had bald tires and would pull itself through any mud. Their is a easy mod you can do to them to make the diff lock work in any mode instead of just low low.