I need to buy a new or used 4x4 atv for surveying work in the mountain west. I'm 5'9", 180 lbs, and might need to haul as much as 100 lbs of equipment and/or ferry a helper to and fro. The work would be in mountainous areas of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, sometimes at high altitude. Terrain would be steep, rocky and sometimes brushy. I mention brushy because of the fire hazard inherent to some vehicles that accumulated grass and twigs around the engine and exhaust.

I've never owned an atv but have a little experience with a couple of early 90's hondas when I worked as a geologist in Nevada. They seemed pretty adequate and reliable, although severely lacking in wheel travel.

I don't think I want a huge/heavy machine and don't think I would need a big motor as long as the gearing was adequate. I would lean towards a manual tranny simply because I just like to shift. I assume lockers would be a plus.

Any recommendations?

I looked at a new Honda 4x4 recently with a 350 cc and manual tranny. I don't remember which model. Price was around $4950. I liked the compact size but wondered if it would power out on a steep rocky high altitude trail with a load.

 

Polaris EFI. A new one will set you back! I'd think you would want EFI for elevation changes. Also better on gas. Myself, I'd prefer an "Off-road truck" which is what I have on order. The Ranger series,500cc, and 700cc.I got the 700.They both have 26" tires, Auto-trans,Hi/Low range,true 4wd with the push of a button,11" ground clearance,8"suspension travel in front, 9" rear.Independent Rear suspension.Smoothest riding.Will fit in a full-sized pickup,just barely.60"wide x 75" Tall x 113" long. Will tow 1750 LBs. Payload with passengers:1500 LBs.

#1 Award-winning,innovative engineering.Rear dump box w/tailgate.Made in usa, all steel chassis. 2" reciever stock in rear for towing.

Accessories: Just about anything you can think of.

 

I ride a Rancher 350 at high altitude in technical terrain, and it's a very capable machine! The Rancher is a nice size, because it's not to small and not to big. It doesn't have a low range, but doesn't need one because 1st gear is real low. The weight is low in the frame, so it isn't as tall and tippy as a lot of big machines.

I use a trick of opening up the airbox lid as I ascend in altitude, and it works real well. Kind of a crude method of rejetting. I will find a post on it and get you a link........

 

See my comments in this thread.........

http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...word1=altitude

 

Reconranger

The Rancher 350 is probably what I was looking at. I liked the size but was concerned whether the gearing was low enough. Since you're from California you're probably familiar with the Rubicon Trail. Now I won't be riding stuff like that intentionally, but I have seen ATV's on it from time to time and was wondering what kind of rig would be necessary. Most of my riding would be from 5000 to 7000 ft in elevation but from time to time might take it down to the San Juan Mountains. I just wanted to be sure a Rancher 350 would have enough oomph to climb a steep, rocky, jeep road at 13000 feet.

That's interesting about the alternatives to rejetting. I would probably want to reject to 5000 anyway since I probably wouldn't be riding lower than that.

I'll take another look at the Rancher 350.

 

For what you need , I dont think there is a better machine than the Arctic cat 400 .
Available with a manual tranny and has the most ground clearance , suspension travel , rack capacity and fuel capacity of any machine on the market .
12" of ground clearance , 10 inches of suspension travel at all 4 corners , 6.5 gallon tank and real locking front diff .
Compare those features with any other brand and you will see , the Cat is the best , period .

The only thing it does not have is EFI , but I personally think its overrated , my Cat starts right up in sub zero temps and I have ridden it up at 7-8000 ft without a problem , carbs are simple and cheap to fix , if an EFI unit goes 100 miles in the bush , what are you going to do ?

One other thing too , the Cats have a 3 year warranty vs everyone elses 6 months .
$ for $ , feature for feature , nothing is better than an Arctic cat .[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

First gear on the 350 is very low. It's a "granny gear". Not having a transfre case, keeps the machine lighter and simpler.

If you want a larger machine, take a look at the Foreman 500.

Even if you jet for 5,000', still use the TPI as you go up from there. It's a good fix for those of us who ride large changes in altitude.

 

ditto, just picked up a noncurrent[ new, but didnt qualify for the 3 yr warrantee] tbx 400 auto , a mule for lack of better description and as a bonus has a abbreviated pickup bed/ tilt dump,[very handy], it shares the same powerplant that my eiger has [more than enough power], my only reservation had been the auto [cvt/belt drive], but after using a friends 04 400, even that is a non issue, works fantastic,very positive