Looking for a quad to

1) Plow at least 2 ft of snow
2) Able to stump trees
3) Able to pull heavy loads
4) The more ground clearance the better. Hills and rocks.
5) Room for 2 full size adults

My priorities are

1) Quality- least amount of time in the shop.
2) Maintainence - I'd like to do my own maintainence and have it be relatively easy to service.
4 Warranty - Usually the longest extended warranty with the lowest cost comes from the manuacturer with the least defects.
4) Affordability - I was hoping to do this for around $4000 but it looks like I'll be spending betwen $5 & $6 K

I'm leaning towards a 2004 or 2005 Sportsman 500 based on what I have seen online but have no brand loyalty, simply want the best quad for the money. Thanks in advance for any replies

 

Good choice but if you can effort the 600twin or the 700 EFI you would have way more power.
the EFI has less maintenance ,they all do ok with 2 people but the traxter max or outlander max are made with two seats but they have no power compared to the sp500 and up.

 

Sounds like you want a Foreman 450

The Hondas will give you the reliability that you want and are simple to work on.


Pulling loads, and working it hard, you will not enjoy the belts on the trannies..


The Foremans are true workhorses, most others are sport/utility quads.

 

I would second that, Foreman 450 S model.

 

I appreciate the replies. The one thing that kind of concerns me with the Foreman is the relatively low (7.7in) of ground clearance. I am unsure of the reference to "belt trannies" as well. Can you provide more info or a link that describes the difference between a belt tranny and whatever the Foreman is using.
Hauling, plowing , towing , pulling on rough terain are my consdierations. I could care less for top speed but ground clearance is important. Thanks

 

2' of snow and stumping trees? You need a tractor.

 

the sportsman is has the most towing (1500lbs). And i believe the most ground clearance. I could probably fit 3 people on it. As far as quality, the sportsman has it. It takes everything i've dished out at it so far. Bouncing it over trees, puddles of water, mud. Me and my friend have had to clear some paths with some pretty big trees on it before.

 

Belt System-- on auto trannies of ATVs (not Rincon or Rubicon) Your tranny consists of a belt and two pullies, if you dont maintain the belt, or get water in it, you will wish you had a manual tranny. If you are going to pull loads, you will definately have to modify the belt tension with a higher tension spring. A belt has maintenance, which is why I am steering you away from belt drive ATVs, you will either have to clean/replace belts with the work you are planning on doing, so if you arent mechanically inclined, you will have to take it to a dealer once in awhile.

Rincon- has automotive style tranny- with torque converter. This is not servicable, and not designed for hard work, gearing is not right and you will have problems if you work this tranny too hard.


Manual trannys (Foreman and Suzuki Vinson) have auto clutches bathed in oil. As long as you keep clean fresh oil in there, you will have long long long tranny life and you can work it to death.

I have seen the clutches in a Foreman and Vinson and the Vinsons have huge clutches, so I would be more apt to think that the Vinson will take more abuse.

I had a Quadrunner 500 4X4 a few years ago and mowed large fields with it, pulled a 500 lb skidder with it and really worked it hard and it never complained a bit. The Vinson is heads above the machine I had, so for your uses and wants I would give it a look.

The Vinson will ride better and have better trail manners than the Foreman (for the times you want 2 adults).

Since you are going to plow snow.. think about the EFI KQ700 that is coming out at the end of this month. EFI will give you easy starts in the winter.. the KQ is supposed to have a heavy duty belt drive that may erase the negatives I said above. The KQ will have very high ground clearance due to 4wheel independant suspension.

If $5-$6 is the realm of your budget, you are looking at a Honda Foreman S or Sukuki Vinson 500 5speed.

If you are willing to spend another $1000 you can look at the Brute Force KQ700 or Brute Force.

 

You might want to consider the Big Bear ...

I was really impressed by my bud's Big Bear this weekend.

he's got an '89 350 Big Bear with balding ITP SpiderTracs on the rear and good Kenda BearClaws on the front. We were in a sand pit and he got into a tug-of-war against two other machines .. the first contender and favourite to win was the Polaris Xpedition 425 5spd. It had huge big knobbie tires on it and the acclaim of the polaris All Wheel Drive system. The rider of the Polaris was probably around 220, and the rider of the big bear around 270 - 280, so all things equal regards of total package weight.

They started off, and much to my surprise the bigbear started pulling the polaris backwards with the polaris spinning itself into the sand. The two bikes start bucking and my buddy had to let go because of a painful tap in the nether regions. He's two weeks after a vasectomy .. so he got hurt a little .. when he let go the polaris grudgingly hauled him back a couple of feet.

Then he tied onto a Honda 350ES and it seemed to be a dead heat between the two. Neither one budged and just dug holes in the sand.

Then the Honda and the Polaris tied up and tried with the same result, neither one budged.

All-in-all I was a little disappointed in the Polaris considering it was the only "true" 4x4 in the bunch, and had the newest tires. ...

 

By the sounds of it you are looking for a bombardier traxter. This is one of the only machines out there that is truly built for working. Have a close look at one and you'll see what I mean. I know this might strike some nerves with a few other guys, but I think the traxter could out pull any other atv, or give some of the big guys a good run for there money.