first atv purchase for use on mountain trails and light work around property. hoping for some advice on comparing a couple of options.

i'm not familiar with the outlanders but have read some good things about them. basically looking at the Outlander 400 and 330 vs the Polaris 500 HO and Yamaha Kodiak 400 (2005 model for the Kodiak due to IRS).

Opinions welcome!

 

I have the outie 400. I rode the 330 and the 500HO. I liked the feel of the outlander the best. It was no question the 400 had a lot more power. The 500 HO was a bit unstable when side hilling. The independent rear on the outlander worked great. Are ya going to be pulling anything around the house. I have a small trailer for yard work and when full it works the outlander plenty. I would definitely go with the 400 over the 330. I have heard some good thinks about the yamaha 400. I borrowed a friends yamaha 400 and it was a 2000 or so. It did not ride anywhere as good as the outlander. I am sure they have made lots of changes since then. It does well in the shoot outs but nothing beats the outlander.

 

I think for 2005, the 450 kodiac gets the irs, but not the 400.
Im going thru the same thing right now. I want an irs quad, with an auto, and am looking at the same quads you are. Im leaning towards the bomb, 400. The 330 seems to have too much vibration, and the 400 is very smooth. I just cant decide if I like the look of the bomb or not.
The polaris is restyled for 2005, most noticably are the headlights.
What other choices are there, for mid size, auto, and irs?

 

for '05 the Outlander has up to 40% more horsepower than some of it's competitors. The only bad thing that I can think of is the front brakes make a horrible sound when applied.

 

Buy the outlander 400. It souds like the atv you're looking for.

I own a 400 and it's been flawless, the brakes don't make any noise on mine. I've had mine for over a year and put about 350 miles on it.

If I was going to buy another atv, it would be a outlander 400. Hands down, it's the best atv on the market.

 

my brother has a 2004 Outlander 330 4 x 4, about 300 miles, no problems. I have the same ATV with about 200 miles. Both will run about 52-54 mph and get around 25 mpg. The brakes make no noise, the are the best ATVs for the money you can buy!

 

MOTOR
Filling the space under the rider's seat is a second-generation, 4-Tec, liquid-cooled, 400cc Rotax motor coupled to a Mikuni BSR33 carburetor. The wet sump engine has electric start with an auxiliary recoil backup. The motor is smooth and quiet running, providing quite a punch that will keep any other 400-class ATV a good distance behind it.
For comparison purposes, we drag-raced it against a Sportsman 400 and easily trounced it. We then ran it against the Sportsman 500HO and it was dead even. We affectionately dubbed it "factory-fast," because the motor needs no engine or exhaust modifications to keep you happy with its performance. We hit a top speed of 62 mph and ran out of straight trail before reaching its top end, estimated at 65 mph. Engine torque is abundant. Rotax engines are powerful and reliable. Case closed.