What is the best “GO ANYWHERE” quad out there right now? I’m not looking for the fastest, or necessarily the strongest but one that can go where no other can follow. Even with all the new monster quads I’m not sure there is a winner. IMO it comes down to tires and riders experience. Can anyone honestly tell me they have experienced a quad go where another brand could not follow? Can you say that you make it through a tough spot that you couldn’t pass if you were riding another quad?

Out of the 20 years I have riding there was only one time I’ve seen this. I was on my 2003 Vinson with stock tires riding with a guy on a new 700 Sportsman. We came to a real tough hill about 6 feet tall but it was washed out and was nearly straight up. There were 15 others with us but we were the only two that would even try it. The Sportsman went up but took him nearly 5 minutes. I tried right after but failed, my rear axle kept hitting at the top nearly flipping me. I tried again and the same thing happened. I was disappointed and had to go around with the others. It was a sad day for team Suzuki but I am convinced it wouldn’t have mattered who was riding it would have never made it through that spot. On the way back we raced or sort of raced because the trial was so narrow and not passable. He took the lead but I was on his heals the entire way so my Vinny is pretty good after all. Luckily I was following because we nearly hit three moose on the way back…if I was leading I could have killed myself.

Back to the subject, is there a better “Go Anywhere” quad out there or are they all created equal? Thanks for your inputs.

 

Outrage I had a new Honda300 4x4 in the early 90's ., man that thing would go anywhere , I remember one time I went with a bunch of polaris guys they all had 350 L 's I believe thats what they were.We went through a mess load of mud holes to the fenders they never thought I would make it , I did,the most probable reason one quad wont go where another will is usually ground clearance. Traction is traction, back in those days most were 3 wd and mostly any quad would go where another would and I feel with the advances of the quads of today that is still true depending on G/C. That sounds like thats what happened to you. Most definetly IRS leads in the ground clearance category.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

i know someone who has a cabin near mine...he has a 90ish honda 300fortrax, he goes anywhere with that thing, he has a arial map of the place and he makes his own trails through some pretty knarly terrain/thick bush...like you said, with all these great machines it comes down to tires/rider skill...anyone of the newer quads will take u pretty much anywhere.

 

man thos 300's are something eles , i loved mine , any way to get the kodiak's ground cleance higher ? Iam going to get 26 in tires , it had 25's , what eles is their ?

 

People ride in so many different areas. (mud, rock, sand, grass, woods, forest, snow) So there are so many different ideas of "anywhere".

One thing I think about is that a quad should not be too tall. In a way, my Recon would go more places than my Foreman. The Recon is a short quad that can be driven under low gates or fallen trees. Then I think how much easier my Foreman drives in the slick snow. It also backs up hills much easier because of it's 4 wheel drive. I've driven down many dead end trails with no way to go but back. (2 wheel drive = spin & 4 wheel drive = go)

I'm not sure there is a "go anywhere" quad that stands out from the rest. Maybe it doesn't exist yet.
Maybe the short Suzuki Quadrunner would be a contender? The Quadrunner has the IRS, locking diff., 4x4, bottom covered with skids, short height, decent power, and a bunch of gears to choose from. Maybe the Quadrunner?

 

Well I say just like everyone else it depends on the rider and there experience and stuff like that so I mean I have a 02 Yamaha Big Bear it takes me mostly where ever I want to go I have only been somewhere once where It wouldn't take me and that was a pond lol anyways I don't think there is just one four wheeler that will take you where another fourwheeler can't

Yamaha Big Bear 400

 

I don't think there is such a quad either that's why I posted this question. A 300cc quad can go anywhere a 750cc quad can, I think?

 

Yeah i think its more expeicance than quad . I mean I only have been stuck one time w/ the kodiak , and it was all ice under my tires from breaking through

 

Good points guys....its really related to experience and how to climb.....Like some of the guys above said, one of my best machines I ever owned was a Honda 300 Fourtrax....but it wasn't indestructible...I climbed something too steep and hit a dip and popped up and over it went....I bailed....

I have the Polaris 700 EFI now, a 2005, the suspension is awesome.....one thing one of our members showed me was making it into a go anywhere machine by changing the rear suspension to get full travel....kinda like a long-travel kit for a truck/4x4....check this out:

sway bar disconnect

When we were out riding last weekend, some of the guys thought I was nuts on some of the slow techincal climbs, very steep, I was off on one floorboard with both feet, facing the machine, holding the rear rack in one hand and the handlebar/throttle in the other....not that I would have hurt the machine that bad if it would have flipped over on its side....but I didn't have to because I could climb it this way....I think the sway bar disconnect on the Polaris would be nifty to try for climbing...I'll probably order one to try....

dave

 

I agree, IRS and Ground Clearance make the difference. My Arctic Cat 500 has 27s on it and can darn near clear a 5 gal bucket, has 14" of Ground clearance. More than my Dodge 1500 4x4 w/ 34" tires...All of the 4x4s nowadays are pretty reliable. Buy ground clearance, youll never regret it. Others get stuck and I just go on thru. Mud tires are a big deal to. I have a Polaris 400 6x6 also and it gets hung up where my Cat has no problems. Cats are very heavy built which is good in some cases and bad in others, also the low gears are much lower than my Polaris in low which is excellent for steep hills and rock crawling, again, others get hung up or bang up there suspension where I dont even touch.