Say you had a max of a $4K budget, you weighed 165, wanted a pretty fast pretty nimble ATV for riding on both wide open really wide trails and also narrow trails that snake through the woods, needed to haul stuff around the yard such as a small trailer with a 2" hitch, and you wanted something fairly easy to use so in the future you could get a better/faster ATV and let your wife ride this one. 4x4 doesn't appeal to me that much, probably only if it's part-time on-demand, I don't like the way full times steer but I'm basing that opinion on slightly older models. What to get? I don't keep up with new ATV's so I don't know all the different advantages.

 

I do not know, you are in the no man's land created by the ATV manufacturers that several of us are included in (me included). You basically have 2 options--a Wolverine or Scambler, of which nethier floats my boat. You have to compromise, I say get a Z400 and forget the trailer or something like a Praire 650 and deal with the extra weight and size.

 

I have seen a hitch put on a warrior before, in fact I believe Rocky Mountain sells a generic kit that will fit some solid axle atv's. As long as you aren't hauling a ton+, that might work for you. Scrambler might work well also, plus there are 2wd only versions out there.

 

Everyone is replying with just sport quads and I know you said that it needs to be fast and nimble but many of the new utilities can be. I guess some clarification would help there just to be sure. If it can be a utility then you can work and play with it and IF your wife is new to the sport she would probably feel more comfortable not shifting but I am just assuming IF she is new to the sport. (???)

I hear GREAT things about prices from your neighboring state at 2 dealers....Abernathy's (abernathyonline.com) and Southern Honda (southernhonda.com) .......you can get a 500 Foreman 2X4 utility brand new ('05, I think) for less than $3,500. Not to say by any stretch that is a nimble and fast machine but it is an example of their cheaper prices.....that and it is rare to find a utility that is only a 2X4. Here's their site to those prices:

http://www.southernhonda.com/new_veh...Manufacturer=1

 

What about a 2005 Yamaha Raptor?

The only thing I'm afraid about regarding the utility types is that my grandfather has a 4x4 rancher with electric shift and it's just not that fun to trail ride on. It's heavy, it's not that powerful, it's not fast at top speed, I just don't like it, but he's got it set up as a hardcore utility beast too plus it's older. Theoretically I'd like to find a mid sized sport model with an automatic clutch and put a Warn 1.5ci on the front and have a trailer hitch in the back along with a small rack. Surely that can't be that hard to find.

 

I hear ya cluck'n on the Rancher...Not all utes are like that. The big bores have been improved for some time, the mid sized are still getting the trickle down of improvements.

You can get what you want but you must turn to the dark side...Polaris. If that does not bother you check out their Scrambler 500, your choice of 2x4 or 4x4. It would bother me but...

Now you said a price limit so that is why I am not recommending the new Wolverine or the King Quad. You described the new Wolverine to a "T".

The Raptor is a nice quad but plan on ZERO work with it. With your price in mind take a look at the Prairie 650 like I mentioned in the first post of the thread. You can get them used cheap and it is a sporty 4x4 ute.

 

"Theoretically I'd like to find a mid sized sport model with an automatic clutch and put a Warn 1.5ci on the front and have a trailer hitch in the back along with a small rack. Surely that can't be that hard to find"
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That smells more like a sport utility to me. When I first came on here I started out not even knowing what I wanted between a sport and a utility and was pleasantly surprised on how right CBF2 is. A lot of the mid sized utes aren't nearly as heavy as the "big bore" ute quads and are very sporty and quick but would allow the hitch, rack and are better suited for a winch.

I think you could get exactly what you wanted with PLENTY of power in a utility and brand new (if that was a must) if you spent just a little more and shopped at one of those dealers in TN because of how cheap they are.

Kodiak and Vinson come to mind too.

 

Yep, I'm in the exact same boat as all of you guys. I want something fast, cheap, with good suspension, preferably shaft drive for less maintainence, 4x4, that does good in mud and snow, something with atleast a back rack, and something i can haul wood to the house with. The old Wolverine caught my eye, but i dont know if I like full time 4x4. The scrambler was another option, but I think it's a bit too sporty for me, and a bit on the pricey side. After spending some time on my dad's grizzly, I think I'm an leaning toward a utility. But I still want it to beat my friend's tricked out warrior :-)

 

sorry guys but the only quads your are describing that can do all of that and be a great hand me down to the women is the scramble and wolverine. both very nice with the sporty edge going to the scrambler and the utility edge going to the wolverine. both are fun in the trails and fast enough. The scrambler can be made to go real fast if you wish. You can haul a trailer with it and a plow if you want. I see people do it before..

 

I sat on a Wolverine today, I'm in love with that thing. It's kind of stretching my budget though. You can get a 2005 Honda 350 rancher 2wd for less than $3K so it is going to be hard justifying spending twice that much on a Wolverine. If money were no object, I'd get that one. I didn't think they'd be available until February but they said they already sold a white one and now they've got this blue one.