I'm going to be purchasing my first ATV. I've only ridden a honda 300cc fourtrax, and liked it, but want more power to go up hills and obsticles, and would prefure the independant rear suspention.
What I'm looking for is:
4x4, preferably w/ diff lock option
400, or preferably 500-650 cc
semi-auto transmission where I can shift the gears
independent rear suspention
at least 9in of ground clearence
reliability
budget is around $6000

I will be using this in Minnesota durring the summer and winter, mainly for exploring, hunting, trail riding, hill climbing, some mud, and for just plain fun. Is there any brands or models that fit the description of what I'm looking for the brute force 650, grizzly, and king quad look good to me, but they all have automatic transmissions/ witch I'ld like to avoid.

any suggestions, experience with any new quads would be helpful and appreciated.

 

The Arctic Cat 500 4x4 has everything you want except its priced over $6K. You can buy a Suzuki King Quad 700 or a Yamaha Grizzly 660 for the same price as the AC500, but the King Quad and Grizz are both belt drives. Give up the front gear lock and the I rear axle you can buy the Suzuki Vinson 500 4x4 semi auto for $4799. Or you can get a Honda Foreman or Rincon thats a full auto transmission without drive belts. Buy the Suzuki Vinson semi-auto thats the best buy for the money. The Vinson and the Arctic Cat 500 use the same engine.

 

I will second the Arctic Cat, as i live in Minnesota, and i also went from a honda fourtrax300 to my Arctic Cat, and will never look back. The AC has done everything i wanted it to in MN, from snow drifts, to cruising a 30 mile straight run in northern minnesota, to the rocky challenge hills

 

I just checked out the arctic cats today. They have everything I want. the price is a little steep at $7,000 after taxes and delivery, but it would be worth it I think.
It's great to hear from someone that lives in Minnesota, since I will be driving it in MN.
Any more suggestions on engine size?
Should I go with the 650 or do you think the 500 will have all the power I'll need?
Again, thanks for the advice and replies.
oh yeah, how fast does the 500 cat go?

 

The 500 has enough power for whatever you want to do. I believe top speed on the 500 is around 60. I personally am a power freak, and wanted a v-twin so i got the 650v2. 7000 seems a little steep for a 500, i would look at another dealer. I paid 7300 all said and done out the door for my 650V2. Where in MN are you located, mabey i can help

 

thats what I thought was funny, the 500 was just barely over 7000 after everything, and they had the 650 for like 7300 after taxes and so forth.
This was at Gander Mountain in Lakeville. I live in Chaska in the twin cities area.
would the 650 be just as reliable? it's not too much power to damage any of the drivetrain, is it?
if not I might as well pay the extra 200 something and get the vtwin. If I can find the 500 for a lot cheaper, then I might go with that. If not, the 650 seems like the buy.
oh yeah, does the 650 come in manual? and wow 700 lbs, maybe 640 lbs on the 500 would be better for mud and snow? I don't know though.
I do think the 6.5 gallon fuel tank is a major plus for long riding

 

wow, ATV's are expensive in ur neck of the woods, around here the Arcric Cat 500 4x4 is priced at $6299, for the same price you can buy the King Quad 700 and $200 more for the Grizzly 680. For the $6999 ur planning on paying for the AC500 for the same money you can buy the Honda Rincon with GPS or the Can Am 650HO 4x4. Shop around a little and look for a better price and ask dealers to match prices

 

welcome to the forums gohip2000. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I wanted to look at a CAN-AM, but I can't find any place who has them. I ask around and people are like, "CAM- what? The web site listed that the outlander 650 is listed at about 7,900 for the cheapest model. As far as GPS, Why would I want that? That's what a map is for. If I go somewhere, and I can't find my way back, then there's a problem with me. The 500 HO is listed around 7,300, but it doesn't have diff lock, and most important, it doesn't come in manual. The arctic cat 500 was priced at around 6,400, but after taxes (like $350) and delivery charge and some other stupid charge it came out to around 7000
ok, so my main thing now is I want manual trans. So any more suggestions of what comes in manual that has at least 9 in of ground clearence and preferably diff lock?

 

Others are telling me that they were hard core manual fans and tryed the autos and never looked back. Are the autos pretty much just as reliable as the manuals and should I take another look at the Auto option before I limit my choices on a quad?