I was at a dealer last night contemplating buying a new atv. I've been researching all the makes and I narrowed it down to two or three for what I wanted. The Suzuki Vinson, 450 Kodiak and the 500 Honda Rubicon. The Honda seemed way overpriced and the Kodiak didn't even seem to compare in size quality etc.

For the money and quality of atv, I thought the Suzuki was the best buy, but have never owned one. I previously owned a Prairie 400, but it was a 2X4.

What can anyone tell me about the Vinson and how it performs or any of the other quads I mentioned....good points and bad points ALL welcome!!

Thank you!

 

Well i agree with the kodiak not being up to the quality of the others so we will just forget that one. Naturally i am a honda fan but i will try to be not be biased. The honda is more expensive for starters but we have to think long term....the transmission doesnt have a belt so you wont have to worry about flat spotting, slipping or wearing out a belt ever. The honda allows you to have a choice between manual or automatic settings. If you are a fan of good good engine braking then the honda will be your choice. I will admist the vinson has a little be nicer ride and is a little cheaper but its not as stable as the honda and doesnt have as many options....but it depends on what you want to do with it that should be the big decider. AS far as reliability the honda will beat it just look at stuff like the axles and a-arms and you see how much better put to together the honda is but im sure either one will make ya happy.

 

Ohter then your loyalty to Honda, how does the Kodiak not stand up, have you had problems with them or just rumors? I have purchased one after riding my King Quad for 9 years and todate have been impressed with what I have bought, is there hidden problems that I did not find out about this quad on the differnet sites?AlaskaBoy.

 

My loyalty to honda aside i have ran into one "problem" with the kodiak450 and one "issue" the problem being i was riding out at knik and was rossing jims creek with my buddys ( we traded rigs for awhile to try each others ride out he was on my rubicon) and i ended up slipping the belt. The issue was i thought unless you tighted up the preload a bit it dove into corners to much if you were going at a good pace.

 

So what you are saying is you went in to deep{over the gas filler} and sucked water into the belthousing? Understanble, that you would not like this situtation. So other then picking the wrong crossing, that is your problem with it. HMM, did the same thing on my King Quad at Jim Creek, but instead of a belt geting wet I sucked water into the carb, solution, wade the crossing first, do that already just did not on that day. Still don't see any major problems. It sure was wet out there this year, loved watching the trucks and bikes getting in over their heads. Pulled a few out as well, but if you are not sure of the crossing wade it. AlaskaBoy.

 

yea jims creek is interesting se the fact that its epth changes every five seconds but its still fun...o well that was my personal experince on that quad(4 months ago) my buddy lieks his though he admits the tranny options on the rubi are nicer and the rubi isnt as plush a ride he thinks that its a little beefier built but different quads for different people. i now just own my 250ex.....im a sport guy at heart haha....

 

You say you have a 250ex now so you might be able to answer this for me. Other then Jim Creek and Kings River were are there good trails that you can run with a 2x4 quad, the reason I am asking as there is another guy on here called Outrage and he was asking were to ride if he had 2x4 and I was at a loss. Every trail I run is a deffiant 4x4 trail and would not want to run something that I would have to winch out all the time. Any Ideas?AlaskaBoy.

 

Here are some specs I picked up between Kodiak and Vinson and why I went with the Vinson. I eliminated Honda all together because of the higher price and I didn't see anything they had that would prove to be worth the $$ difference.

Kodiak 450 vs. Vinson 500

gas tank: 4 gal. vs. 5 gal.

Fr. Suspention: dbl. wishbone vs. dbl. wishbone

Rear Sus. Str. Axle with 1 shock vs. Str. axle with 2 shocks

Dry weight: 551 vs. 604 lbs.

CC: 421 vs. 493

4X4: Auto 4X4 w/ locking front diff. vs. Straight Auto 4X4 (no locking diff.)

Lighting: reg. lights vs. reg. lights + handle bar mounted light.

Wheels: reg. steel rims vs. Aluminum alloy rims

Gr. clearence: 9.7" vs. 9.8"

Price: same vs. same


For the same price....pound for pound, you get more for your money with Vinson in my opinion. I also read many reviews on both and the only complaint I ever heard about the Kodiak was the rougher ride and thats it......I have not heard any complaints about the Vinson as of yet.

 

i think the vinson is a better buy as well

 

Eureka isnt a bad place....not as big but hell a dirtbike is fun around there...other than that i dont know of any places close by.....upper huffman has a dropof point where you can ride int he mountains but i have never been there even when i had the rubi so i dotn know what the terrain is like......haha and in town there is always kincaid mx track