I'm trying to decide which ATV will best suit my needs and i haven't ruled out the Yamahas yet, but i'm leaning towards Bombardier...either the Traxter 500 or the Quest either 500 or 650.
I will be using it mostly for snowplowing and i have read somewhere that the Traxter would be more suitable for work, while the Quest would be better for trail-riding and hunting.
The article didn't howewer explain why are they each suitable for different tasks and i can't really see any difference between the two that would make either one better at trail-riding or farmwork.
Could someone explain the real difference between those two?
Thank you in advance for any reply's to my post.

 

well the traxter is a 500cc machine with a 5speed semi-automatic transmission, which is shifted through a foot shifter or push button, depending on wat model you are looking at, most having the push button, some also have 'automatic' which works much similar to a car, still uses the gears but it electronically shifts for you, my uncle has one of these, it is very nice, pulls a 35' that was about 6" at the smallest part and prolly 1.5-2' at the biggest pretty easily if you have some1 sit on the front n back rack to keep traction,
the quests both have fully automatic transmissions, which makes them easier to ride, can also get bigger motor for more power
overall i would probably go for the traxter if your planning to do quite a bit of work with some slow trail rides, i've trail riddin my unc's traxter(which we have nicknamed "the tankster" lol) and its not a bad trail rider, but it doesn't seem to like it wen i try to ride threw them at the same speed i would with the ds, but thats not its fault, wasn't made for that, they are both great machines but it depends on wat you plan on doing with it and wats ur prevous experiences wit atvs

 

Wolfears, I own a 03 traxter and use it for work, lots of work!!! Do I like it; yes!!! Is there some problems; yes. Let me tell you what I know.

The traxter is a gear to gear quad with auto or manual push-button shift. The quest is a belt quad. The good thing about a gear to gear is they are built tractor tough!!! The bad thing; they are very harsh when they shift. The good thing about a belt is that they are sooooooth. The bad thing; well..........they have a belt. Belts break, slip, bla, bla, bla.

The traxter also has a deeper step-through. This may or may not be important to you. If you haul anything on your rear rack the step-through is very nice. Or if you have to get on and off lots of times in an hour they are very nice!!!

The bad points that I don't like. The range shifter sucks!!! It is super notchy!!!! I don't really like the brakes. You need a winch to pull in the hand brake. The ride. It rides like a 1950 2 1/2 ton truck with no load on it!!!! Now these things range from a minor annoyance, to a .......well............get pissed off and beat it with a hammer problem.

The things I like about it. It can pull a house down the street if you hitch one to it!!! It has a super nice seat!!! The build of the thing. I checked out ALL brands before I bought my traxter. For example, look at a Honda frame and the brakes they have on them, and you will see what I mean. I'm not bashing Honda, they have some better things that I like about them over my bomb. The Visco lock is something else!!!! No, buttons to push and all of that!!! Just go and it's a 4X4!!! I was on some snow the other day and it felt like I was on a paved road. No slip at all, and I was on some very steep hills!!! The radiator placement. It's in the rear. There is NO mud in my radiator, not one speck. Aaaaaaaaaaa, hello other brands!!!! This is where they should be put. One word, Rotex. Need I say more? People fly with these engines!!! 3 year warranty. The thumb shifter, very nice. Ease of access to the engine and filters; super easy.

Ok, as you can see, my like list is WAY longer than my dislike list. And some of the things on the dislike list can be fixed. Like ride quality.
I Don't know that much about the quest, other than I looked one over very thoroughly before I bought my traxter. For work, I think I made the right choice.

All in all, I think all the brands have good points and bad points. You just have to pick out what fits you best.

If you need any other info on the traxter I would be glad to give it to you.

And before anyone jumps on me for being brand loyal; I'm not. My next quad will be a kawasaki sport quad. Maybe? He, he , he..........

 

Thanx for the clarification....i was at a Bombardier/Yamaha dealer today, they didn't have any demo units to testdrive, but they had a Yamaha Grizzly 660 and a Bombardier Quest 500 in the showroom almost side by side.
Too bad there was no Traxter, but i was told that the Quest is very similar.
I have never driven an ATV and i have never even sat on one, so i was really exited to actually climb on the Grizzly and the Quest.
The people in the showroom must have tought i was some kind of a freak as i probably spent close to an hour on each, just sitting.
The first thing i noticed was, that i really liked the feel of the Grizzly as it the gas-tank between my knees kind of gives me more "snug" and secure feeling, knowing that if i get pushed forward by some unexpected g-force, i have better chances at hanging on.
The Quest on the other hand left me feeling that there is something missing, where the gas-tank supposed to be.
Maybe it is just mental conditioning, as i have driven conventional bikes and i'm just used to that tank being there.
Having said that, i think that the Bombardier is probably better engineered with features like the visco-lock and the sst frame (in my brochure howewer it only mentions the sst frame being on the Outlander, but i assume it is also automatically featured on the Traxter??)
I like the looks and feel of the Grizzly, but i think that the Traxter is built for more heavy-duty chores.
But than again what do i know..... anyone feel free to educate me, as i'm still forming an opinion and i have lot more research to do.
It is getting really confusing as there are so many ATV's to choose from out there....each of them has it's unique features and each has some pros and cons.
I'm also starting to consider Honda Foreman S, but i haven't done much research on it yet.
So far it is between:
Grizzly
Big Bear...howewer i'm not sure if the Big Bear has low range or a diff. locker available.
Traxter 500
Foreman 400 S... (by the way, what is the difference between Foreman S and Foreman Rubicon?)
I have already decided on getting the Moose plow, it seems very heavy duty....now i have to decide on what is that plow gonna be attached to.

 

You said that you were mostly going to use it for snow plowing. If you give me a % on what you are going to do with the machine maybe I can give you some more input.

 

Doctorturbo...could you attempt to explain to me the way the tranny works on the Traxter?
When i was at the dealer, the head (and probably the one and only) salesman wasn't missing in action and the kid from the snowmobile department, whom i talked to was more into snowmobiles and didn't have too many answers for my million ATV questions.
The fact that there was no actual Traxter in the showroom wasn't helping either, but i have seen many pictures.
So from what i gather, it is supposed to be some kind of auto/semi-auto tranny?
I understand that the leaver under the handlebars is probably refered to as the "manual" as it could be shifted manually into each gear?
If that is howewer the case, what would i call the big yellow up/down type of switch on the left handlebar?
I guess that one would fit the definition of "semi auto", as there's no clutch, but you still have to make the gear selection?
I noticed there is a little yellow switch from auto/manual, but i don't know for sure what is considered manual and what is auto.
It is hard for me to accept the term "manual", where there is no clutch operation required and it is equally as hard to accept the term "auto"where the gears don't get automatically shifted by selecting the "D"position.
I find that a little confusing , because i'm used to the traditional either "pull the clutch with my hand and shift with my left foot" on a motorbike or when it comes to a car with auto tranny, just put the selector in a "D" and let it shift by itself....
Also i have touched on this in my previous post....does the traxter have the SST frame and also the TTI rear suspention?
My brochure lists these only on the outlander, but it is implied in uncertain terms that all theit ATV's have these features?
Sorry if some of my questions seem a little stupid, but one weak ago i wasn't even sure what ATV was and now i'm trying to catch up.

 

Doctorturbo...it looks like we are posting at the same time.
Yes, i will mostly use it for plowing residential driveways and sidewalks as i can make pretty good money doing it.
Right now i'm using a snowblower, but i find it painfully slow.
I would also like to play around with it, as i'm really warming up to the ATV's and i could see myself to accept them also as something to do for fun.
Howewer my idea of fun isn't flying at 100 mph down a dirt road, but rather going slow over obstacles, climbing rocks etc..
So speed is not my concern, in fact i don't think i would care, if it wouldn't go faster than 25 mph.

 

Hello Wolfears,
I've got an '03 Traxter and I'll try to answer your questions re: the transmission.

"So from what i gather, it is supposed to be some kind of auto/semi-auto tranny?"
-- fully automatic -OR- can be switched to 'manual' (using the "auto/manual' switch) where you shift using the yellow up/down switch -OR- or you can simply stay in auto but override with the up/down shift switch.
"... the leaver under the handlebars is.. "
--used to shift the trans into Park, Reverse, Neutral, High, or Low gear range. Five speeds in each of the gear ranges.

"It is hard for me to accept the term "manual", where there is no clutch operation required and it is equally as hard to accept the term "auto"where the gears don't get automatically shifted by selecting the "D"position. "
--Once you select which gear range you want, the autotrans will shift without any further input from you apart from the speed you choose to go. No clutch for you to operate at all. The autotrans uses fulltiime gear synching and hydraulics to shift.

"Also i have touched on this in my previous post....does the traxter have the SST frame and also the TTI rear suspention?"
--I don't believe so. My understanding (which is incomplete) is that the SST frame was engineered to save weight for the more sporty Quest. The Traxter doesn't need the SST given it's more utility mission. Its also a "no" on the TTI suspension. That's a form of independent susp. The Traxter uses a solid rear axle, again better for it's utility mission.

Hope this helps

 

Ok, first of both Traxter and Quest use the same frame. SST and TTI are used in Outlander only.
The differences between Traxter and Quest are as follows:
Engine,
Transmission,
Suspension damping

Engine:
Traxter is 500 and Quest is 500 and 650.
Transmission:
Traxter uses gear driven semiautomatic transmission. The gears can be changed manually - no need for clutch, or can be set into auto mode.
Quest uses CVT transmission. This tranny is belt driven and fully automatic.
Suspension damping:
Traxter uses a little harsher suspension. I believe the only difference is in the spring preload.

For usage, gear driven transmission is always better for work, but for trail ride nothing beets CVT transmission. You don't have to worry about gear change, just hit the gas and go. I heard many people use Quest for plowing and have no problems at all. This is a heavy machine and with such a big engine will have no problems. There is also a clutch kit that changes springs in a CVT transmission making it much tighter. I did not use my Quest for snow plowing as in Atlanta we don't get much, but I have used it for pulling 4x4 trucks out of mud and had no problem.

The choice is yours, but if plowing is practically the heaviest job you will ever have, I would choose Quest 650.

Arek

 

I use my 2003 Quest 650XT for snowplowing and it does a great job. I utilize a Moose 60" County plow to get the job done. Being that this is a heavier quad it helps to have the extra weight to get the snow moving. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]