I am looking for a use/cheap 4 wheeler.
One is a 86 moto 4 4x2 250 runs good, plastic is faded $600 tires ok to poor
The other is a 2000 400 big bear 4x4 runs good plastic is faded tires are pretty good $1100

What are your thoughts or which one would you buy?

 

Take the one in the best running conditions , if both are the same, I think 14 years newer , 150cc more and 4wd is worth $500 more.

 

TLC is on the money, the big bear is the way to go. not just the age and cc's but 4WD. good luck, let us know how you did.

 

Quick question
I looked again at the big bear. It does not have the 4wd/2wd button.
It also does not have a speedometer.
The big dear 4 wheelers I looked at on youtube had these 2 items.
Is their different models of the big bear?

 

There are lots of different models of big bear. Circa 2000 there were big changes to them. A permanent 4WD model with rectangular headlights was replaced by one with switchable 4WD and close spaced round lights. Both of these had manual gearboxes. This was soon replaced by the belt drive automatic with switchable 4WD and wider spaced round headlights. I may have missed a change or two as I am not well up on Yams. Pre digital speedos were unreliable, it may have been removed or, some cheaper or earlier models may not have had one fitted.

 

The Big Bear was full-time 4wd until 2002. That was the first year of selectible 4x4. Still, I would rather have a full-time 4x4 Big Bear 400 than a 2wd Moto 4. I know Warn made a kit to unlock the front differential on older Wolverine 350 4x4 quads that were full time 4x4. I'm not sure if they made one for the Big Bears but I would think they would have. They also made one for the older Honda Rubicons as well as the first couple of years of those were full-time 4x4. I had a 2wd Yamaha timberwolf once, which is about the same thing as a Moto 4 250. It wasn't a bad quad but the Big Bear is a much more capable machine. The early 2000's Yamaha Kodiak 400's were selectible 4x4, to perhaps give you another option to look for close to that price range.

 

[quote]It also does not have a speedometer. [quote]

I had two 2007 350 Grizzly/ Bruin one with a SRA and now this one with IRS and both had speedos yet my friend bought a 350 Bruin across the border in Michigan but it had no speedo for some reason.
My cousin had a 500 Scrambler with a OEM speedo but I have seen some that did not.

 

I had a Scrambler 500, actually have owned 2 of them. One of them had a speedometer but it wasn't factory and it didn't work anyway. They were a cheap, fast 4x4 but the chain drive was a pain at times(chain would get loose) and poor ground clearance(because of the chain drive) would get you stuck in places you shouldn't get stuck. If only Polaris had made them shaft drive like the Sportsman, they would have been a much better quad as they were much lighter and smaller than a Sportsman 500. A speedo is nice but the odometer and hour meter is more important to keep track of maintenance like oil changes.

 

Speedo does not really mean much. An odometer would be nice as well as shifting from 2wd to 4wd.
I looked at the moto 4 to day and a kawasaki bayou today.
The bayou has some issues. The moto 4 ran pretty darn good. Handled like crap though.
I am going to go test rid the big bear this week.
I did find a thread about reviving faded plastic. I can't seem to find the one I like. Do you have any ideas on bringing faded plastic back to life. The big bear was red.

I had a honda fourtrax before. Would you say the big bear is on par with the fourtrax as far as reliability and toughness?

 

If I get it bought I think I will try this.
60/40 paint thinner to boiled linseed oil mix