If you are going to ride 2 people on it buy an TRV. I hate to preach but noone, and I don't care how good on an ATV you think you are, should ride double on a single seat machine. My TRV is very stable due to its length and width and has plenty of power(and speed) in my opinion. My Arctic Cat dealer, also a implement dealer, sells more 400 machines than anything else, mainly to farmers here in Central Illinois. He told me that anything over 400ccs is usually a waste simply because you will lose traction before you run out of power. I have friends that have Ranchers, Rubicons, Polaris 700 and 330, and Grizzley 660s and all of them like their machine for one reason or another so ride a few and pick the one you like best!

 

If price it the driving factor, you will save money generally with a 400 versus something bigger. However a couple of things I think a lot of people have not touched on... First, you usually get more bells and whistles with the larger machine. Things like Liquid cooling versus air cooled motors... also, although a 400 can pull the same loads, it will undoubtedly be working harder to do it... over time that may be an issue... maybe not today, but down the road it may be.

Also there is the question of control. the larger machine will without a doubt be heavier, and in some cases larger. Depending on your trailer and loads, you might find that the trailer is driving the ATV, not the other way around in some conditions... mainly when you are stopping or trying to come down a hill. Which whether you have a real tractor, or an ATV, teh laws of physics will still apply... and you need to be very careful. I believe this type of accident is very common on farms...

I recently purchased a new Rubicon that Honda had offered significant reduction in price incentives to my local dealer, who passed the savings on to his customers. I basically got one for $1200 under retail. At that price, it was less than the rancher. Easy decision for me to make.

I am very pleased with the purchase.

 

you can do all that with a warrior. seriously if you can live without having the biggest and the baddest, most quads will do fine. Maybe a wolverine, recon, bayou 360, rancher, foremen they are all good . it really comes down to comfort and what you are willing to pay

 

If you look at towing weight limits on quads, they are very close for everyhing from 400's on up. This basically means that the bigger machines have the engine to pull whatever you want, but something else is gonna end up breaking. My step dad has an old Kawi 300 Bayou 2x4, and we have had a good 12 -15 hundred pounds worth of trailer and get hooked up to it. If you plan on doing work, you need to take into consideration the racks, how tough the ball mount seems to be, etc. Someone mentioned the Bombardier. Good bike for playing, but look at the reviews this thing got for how useless its rack system is. I would look toward a Honda, Kawi, or Suzuki. They will all have the ability to do anything you need them to. I think the Suzuki will probably be the least expensive (I am speaking of the Eiger).

 

you mention 2up riding so i would sugest the outlander 400xt max . great quad perfect for 2up riding and this bike will handle the use you listed with no problem. the bombardier outlander has the smoothest ride on the market and the power of 500cc quad . it is liquad cooled a great tow rating the best braking on the market it handles like a sport quad . it is the best mid size 4x4 IMO . and to boot it will outperform the comp hands down .

 

The Bomb is, from what I have read, an excellent machine. Don't know how well suited it is for work, though. It also costs a lot more than an equivalent machine. For riding with your 9 year old son, don't spend the ton of extra money on a 2 person machine. Rule of thumb: Don't do anything stupid, and you will be fine. This is of course doesn't take into consideration the actions of others, but that is impossible to account for. If we all considered every possibility and accounted for it, we would be driving around in miniature tanks. I make the assumption that you won't be doing anything stupid with your nine year old son on the back.

 

Yeah, but that is why they call them accidents...and if he gets hurt, you get to stand in front of a judge and explain why you were "endangering" your child... This is a totally differrent world we live in these days... and to think of the things we used to do when I was a wee little buggar.. my whole family would have been thrown in jail by today's standards... Why not get him his own machine... or get a Rhino and bash around together.

 

I'd also like to throw this out at you... have you considered a Rhino for two up pleasure? They are the neatest things since the old Honda Pilot... and would fit your needs perfectly...

 

We settled on the Prairie 360 for doing pretty much what you have in mind. I have found I don't need the extra power of the bigger machines at all. I'll leave the racing and jumping to the younger set.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Most of the time I am using the quad for messing around on the farm, all jobs I used to use a pickup or tractor for but the quad is just so very handy. When checking cattle it sure is nice not to have to saddle up a horse and the quad is easier to load and haul and has yet to offer to bite or kick me. There are some places a horse will go the quad wont but I can find a way around in nearly all cases. Most of the time I am in areas where low speeds are required, on the county or timber company roads the Prairie tops out about 45 but I seldom run above 25 MPH.

Having had very limited experiance with the various brands I hesitate to say more than I am pleased with the Kawasaki P360 and when riding with other old farts that have quads, more old farmers [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img], we all seem to get along at about the same rate of speed and comfort. One Honda Foreman, a Polaris that leaks oil and is nicknamed "Polutus" and another Prairie that I believe is a 300.

So far I'm happy with the belt drive and like the ability to select two or four wheel drive. The selective lock up for the front differential is also a big plus. Major downside I have found to date is the small gas tank but putting a six gallon boat tank on the back rack works out fine. I just syphon gas into the main tank as needed. I'm considering installing a three way valve and plumbing in a line to the boat tank. With the disconnect at the boat tank it could still be removed when not needed.

Pulling a trail cutter mower and a medium size trailer have proven to be no problem at all. I was actually amazed at the ability of this little "tractor" to drag things around. I loose traction with the stock tires way before I run out of horsepower. This is probably a good thing as it will act as a fuse of sorts to keep me from overloading the drive train. I'm glad we ended up with a solid rear axle for pulling, I had looked at the IRS quads and never thought about pulling with them. I read in a couple of places later that the solids are better for pulling. Don't know if this is correct or not but do like having the hitch down low at the axle line to help keep the front end down in a hard pull.

Chances are you will be very happy with any of the well thought of brands, just find something that is comfortable for you to sit and ride on and has the features you want. One of the major reasons we went with the Kawasaki was because of the excellent reputation of the dealership and of the people that work there.

 

I agree with Tencubed...the relationship you establish with your dealer is one of the most important things you can consider... way before you consider price, model etc.