Hi all. New to the forum and I would appreciate a little advice. I've been reading here for a while, and have found people here to be VERY helpful so I thought I would pose a question. I'm going to be buying my first brand new quad within the next 6 months and I want some advice on which way to go. First of all, I'll list my choices, in no particular order:

1. 07 Grizzly 450 Auto 4x4
2. 07 Vinson 500 4x4
3. 07 KingQuad 700 4x4
4. 07 KingQuad 450 4x4
5. 07 BruteForce 650 4x4i

Now, I do a fair amount of slow, hard trail riding (that almost sounds wrong:-). A lot of steep hills, creeks, etc. The things that I really like are an independent rear suspension, a 500cc-class machine, front locker, and ground clearance. I'm not really overly concerned with top-end speed, as I don't drag race at all. I would also be plowing some snow as well. One thing I was wondering about was the difference from one of the 450's above to a 500cc-class machine, is it noticeable? I also would really like to stay under $7,000, but not entirely necessary (wife permitting). Also, do sealed rear-brakes make a big difference? The feature sounds pretty cool, but didn't know if it was worth picking one over another because of it. Any input you guys/girls could give would be awesome!!!

 

i whould go with the grizzly and sealed rear-brakes are good but disc brakes are butter for stoping

 

Just an opinion, For trail riding, ground clearance, locking diff, plowing snow take a look at Polaris 500 efi. I have one and am more than pleased. you can pick one up for under 7,000, has what you are looking for. It is heavier than the other's, but for plowing it's great with the weight, it has a great ride on the trail's. It won't handle high speed trail riding like the other's, but it has taken me through and I've never been stuck, never had to be pulled out, and has never left me stranded. Granted, I only have 450 miles on mine but so far so good. Have fun shopping and make sure you ride all before you buy.

 

The sealed brakes are usually disc brakes.

 

Out of those, i would get the Grizzly, but i would get the 700. If you are looking at the KQ 700, why not check out Arctic Cats 700? it has the same motor, but IMO, better options and 4x4 system

 

Wow, I hadn't really looked into the ACs! They look like solid machines! I think the 500 looks d***n good! Any common types of problems associated with em?

 

The 500 is about as reliable as any quad gets. Very well proven, along with the speedrack options, ground clearance, differential lock, and awesome 4x4 system. Go to the AC forum and ask about them, i would be suprised to see any bad remarks on the 500.

 

My old man has a 2000 Arctic Cat 500 that is still running strong, he uses it for plowing, hauling stuff, and some trail riding. The speedrack attachments are awesome, but spendy too. If you want EFI on an Arctic Cat you will have to look at the 700, other then that the 650 H1 and the 500 have the exact same features and frame. Arctic Cats are good for their 12" of ground clearance, 10" of suspension travel, 2" receiver hitch, huge racks, and nice rides. They are not as fast as most others, and if you do a lot of faster trail rides it would be a good idea to get the sway bar. They are solid ATV's though. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

honda leads the atv market for a reason. take a look at the 680 rincon

 

That's also nearly an $8K quad too! I just don't know that they are that much better than an Arctic Cat, or the other brands for that matter. Better enough to spend an extra $1-$2K on.