Hello,
I am brand new to the world of ATV. Me and my wife want to get Atvs. We have never ridden an Atv before and am curious if anyone here can point us in the directions we need to go about getting up and running! I noticed some of you all live in the oregon area. I live in Medford myself! Anyways, looking for noobie atvs where to look what to look for etc. Also maybe places that noobs can ride to get familiar with the atvs until we can ride better! Thanks a ton!

 

where do ya ride

 

Well to be honest, I havent ridden anywhere yet. Havent got any atvs yet so was hoping to get some feedback as to where a noob can ride to "get the hang of things" before riding in front of the "big dogs". Gotta be a pup first right!

 

get a couple of hondas. if ur an adventurous person, and ur not real small. u would like the 400. lots of power and speed. if u think it'll be too much, then try a 300. the 300 has a little bit less speed and power. but it will do more than enough for a noob. as for your wife. the same rules apply. o, one last thing, if you or ur wife don't want to learn how to work a clutch, the you will be restricted to the 250 as the most powerful quad u can get.

 

Instead of the 400ex I would go with the Suzuki Z400 there about the same price as the 400ex but you have more power and you got reverse. More User Friendly. Its faster and all but Reverse is a big Thing when your First Starting out I Think. You will not grow out of the z either. If you want something a little less power wise go with a Warrior 350. It also has Reverse and Everything. Its been around a long time so Its got to be a good all around quad. Ithas more power then the 300ex but I think its A Way better Quad then it to. Its the most selling quad in the world. I would either go with a Z400 or the Warrior. Z400 more power and all but you can grow into and you will like the power in future. The warrior is pretty big like the z400 but the 300 is to small I think. I'm only 5 8 and it feels little when i sit on one. just my 2 cents. Do what ya want

 

the 300ex is a better quad then the warrior!

 

Yeah Right Dude the 300ex Isnt Even Better then a Blaster. In a Drag the Blaster wins by alot and the Warrior best the Blaster by alot. 300ex Top Speed is way behind the Warrior. Warrior has shown alot its been around for a long time and everyone is still buying them. They are Wheely Quads and they got alot of power for a 350 4 stroke. They are a delight on a trail. Good in Snow to. I think it is way better then a 300ex i mean way better

 

And if you consider a warrior, also consider its 4x4 counterpart, the wolv. Also if you start thinking about 4x4s, the Kodiak is a good model to consider. Obviously those are what i picked. If money was no object, I'd watch the Honda Rincon to see if any probs crop up ( thats what im doing) . They ride like caddys, have no engine vibration or engine noises, the trannies shift and work bueatifully. They may be a bit underpowered with big mudders on them. Im hoping there will be aftermarket fixes for that. Im gonna give them a year or two to see about problems and let the price drop. I will say that if plan to do trail riding the 4x4 sure makes life nice when you need it. And if you ride much, I'll bet you end up needing it. One other thing on the wolv. It is a bit underpowered but there are aftermarket kits to boost the engine size up to between 430 and 450. I have other posts up about wolvs, kodiaks, and scramblers. You can do a search by poster name if you wish to get all of one posters opinions on things.

 

I would say it would depend on where you are going to ride and what kind of riding you want to do.

I've ridden on a Yamaha Warrior (2 different '03s), Honda '02 300ex, Honda 250ex (rental), Polaris Trail Boss 325.

I bought Warrior based on it was a little bigger, standard trans and I liked it in black and red. I have really enjoyed riding it and enjoy it that longer I've had it. I've had plenty of power to make it up (or through) whatever I tried. Only one muddy spot gave me trouble, but that was my first ride. Granted, I do pick and chose my climbs as I've only got about 5 mos. experience. I'm not really into jumping, but I recently rode the ATV track at Holllister, CA. It flyed nicely with pretty good landings. Paid $5550 OTD (another dealer offered $5400 OTD but I would have had to wait 1-2 weeks).

The Honda 300ex was nice to ride. But I did feel a bit cramped (about 6', 280) on it. It did turn nice. I was worried if the motor would be enough to pull my big butt up and around.

The Honda 250ex. Now this bike, looking back REALLY impressed me. It was a rental at Pismo. I only got stuck one time and that was because I stopped for someone who was stuck and I wasn't quite to the top (coming around on a side, not the face) of the dune. Hill climbing was easy. If it started bogging down just hit the shifter down, lean forward and go. I would say definately a good starter bike. I've seen experienced riders walk away impressed with them. Probably a great quad for a female getting started who doesn't have great ambitions in riding.

The Trail Boss, now that bike was like driving a Caddy. I almost got one, but the dealer was out. It was about 1000-2000 cheaper than the Warrior (MSRP). I talked to the owner about it and he said he really enjoyed it. Rides it at Pismo with no problems. I was a bit worried about the Automatic and how it would handle climbing (this has nothing to do with any reliability things before someone jumps my butt!). I'd love to ride one in a situation that would test it more just to see how it would have been. It did feel pretty solid when you rode it. It was fun to just kinda cruise it around. The owner often plays the wrecker role and tows back the broken down bikes.

I didn't look at the 400ex because it lacked reverse and was more money (though I may have been able to get them down.)

I also was not looking for a big bike (like the Predator, Raptor, etc.) as I was new to riding and didn't want to get in over my head. I was also looking for a sport bike and not a utility. Though the Trail Boss could have come in handy with a wagon (like you would put behind a riding mower) up at some relatives places who have acreage (they have a hitch plate on them already).

I would say post more info and people can give you more ideas. Try different stuff out. If you can, try and go places where they rent quads and ride some to see what you like.

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If your going to be riding alot of trails and up in the mountains two things i'd get for sure 1- is IRS and 2- is 4 wheel drive. I live in Arizona and ride most of the time alone. The IRS saves my back and the few times up in the mountains alone that I needed thhe 4wheel drive was glad I had it would be a long hike back. One more thing you might want is a winch. I have a Polaris 500 and a Yamaha Grizzly not any trouble with either one and would recommend either of them. But stay with IRS and 4wheel drive I don't know of a trail rider out west that would tell you different. Up in the mountains it's a different game I always carry enough supplies so if something happens I can camp a couple nights. Always hear of someone getting heat exhausion or lost on the traills i'm sure it is the same in your neck of the woods