My cousin just bought a summer place that happens to have ATV trails nearby and he asked me to help him pick out a new machine. He needs something in the 250-300cc range (nieces and nephews will be riding it so I don't want anything too powerful). An automatic transmission is a must and 4wd is not needed. He's not going to want to spend more than $3,400. The only machines I found that meet these requirements are made by Polaris - the Trail Boss and Trailblazer. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Polaris but it seems that the rest of the manufacturers don't produce machines to fill this niche. Did I overlook something? Any recommendations?

Thanks for the help.

 

I have a 2000 trail boss, and it is perfect for what you describe. It has decent power, very controllable, comfortable, and very easy to ride. This is my wife's machine and she loves it. If you take good care of it and don't trash it you should have very few problems.

I also had a 2000 trailblazer, and if you don't mind a 2 stroke it's not a bad choice either. The two are about the same speed but the trail boss is more comfortable and had more lowend if you wanted to tow or haul anything.

I would buy another Trail Boss in a minute. I've had 3 Polaris's and none of them where ever in the shop. I do take good care of them and do regular maintenance, and I don't try and use them for something they where not designed for (ie. big air on a Trail Boss would not be a good idea)

 

No, I think you've about covered it. There are some off brands that make machines that would fit I think, and the Yamaha Breeze (though under the CC limit) fits the automatic limit. Honda makes some machines within that range that, while not being true automatics, offer electronic shifting at the fingertip.

Frankly, however, he's either going to need to give on some of those limits, or buy the Polaris. I think the Polaris machines you mentioned are ok machines, however. Perhaps he doesn't know that today's quads, with their auto clutches, are much easier to shift than he may be thinking. My son actually PREFERS the shifting on my 400 over his uncle's automatic 375.

S'phunny that we have the reverse problem at the top end of the spectrum. Anyone know of a 600cc+ ATV that COMES with a manual tranny (ok, the DS650, but I am thinking utility ATV's here)?