I am looking to purchase my first atv before the end of August 2000. I have been comparing the Yamaha big bear, the Artic Cat 400 and the Honda 350 rancher. I am looking for a machine to use for hunting not to abuse. Price and reliability are my number one concern. I live in northern va. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Hey Wizard, being a Cat owner myself, I guess you already know what I'm going to tell you. The three machines you are looking at are all good but only one of them is liquid cooled and only one of them has the most rack capacity and only one of them has the largest fuel capacity and only one of them has the most ground clearance.
All three machines are reliable but the Cat being liquid cooled would be my choice again. My Cat has never let me down, whether I'm hauling a deer out of the woods or dragging a tree or just going for a ride in the mud.
Consider this though, if you are going to be interested in alot of accessories, there are not as many for the Cats as the others. Check out "denniskirk.com" and order thier catolog and you'll see what I mean.
Hope this helps ya...

 

One other thing to consider, at least in my experience, the Arctic Cat dealers were much more inclined to "deal" on their sales price. I think they really wanted to sell their machines, whereas some of the other brand dealers wouldn't give me the time of day when I visited their shops. Just a thought to remember before you make your decision.

 

I have a Rancher, with 500+ miles & zero problems. The one downside on the Rancher is they are selling so well the dealer might not be willing to deal. I would test drive all three & then see which dealer is going to give me the best price. All three off the quads you mentioned are pretty good quads.

 

My reply didn't take last night so I'll put it in again. I would take the Rancher hands down over the others you mentioned. I think it is probably pound for pound the best quad made. Other than the beefy racks of the AC, I think it has the nod in every category. Unless you can save some serious cash with something else, I would go for the Rancher 4x4.

 

I rode a rancher. I found that they don't turn worth a crap in mud and had a hard seat, but the suspension was very nice.

I feel that the Dual range tranny and slighly more powerful motor will out do the rancher in the work area. Not to mention the racks are way better on the Arctic Cat.

P.S. The ES is just bad luck if you ask me. I know two many people that have had problems with them to get it.