First off, hi all! I just found this forum in my research for the right ATV. Been reading a couple days now and can't seem to find an answer to my exact situation. Here goes:

I live in central Florida on the east coast (sandy and wet) and we just recently purchased some property and built a house. The property is 2 1/2 acres of grass and trees. all cleared. needless to say, the rider mower I brought with me died a painful death. I was looking at the commercial mowers ($6000+) and had someone recommend using a Swisher trail behind finish mower and an ATV. I like the idea of being able to put away the mowing part of the setup and go have fun. Our property is backed by miles of wetlands that are covered with trails. You can hear the bikes and ATV's all over in on the weekends.

I have been a dirt and enduro bike rider all my life. been riding for over 25 years. Only rode a quad once, about 10 years ago, a friends suzuki quadrunner 500 I believe. first tim e I tried to turn I put my foot down out of habit, ran over my own leg and was thrown from the bike. I have not looked at one since. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

Anyway, I am in the market for a ATV for our purpose. It would need to spend about 2 hours a week pulling a swisher 60" pull behind mower around a fairly level smooth piece of property. maybe pull up an occasional stump, haul yard trailer around for yard debris etc..
and the rest of the time would be a play vehicle for wet sandy trail riding. Not looking for speed or sport. If I want that I will pull out by DR350 :-) I would think it would need decent power, maybe 450cc plus?

I would assume the atv should be water cooled for the slow mowing? Also, would like four stroke for quiet and maintenance, plus I would think 2 stroke would foul at excessive slow speeds? They still have this issue? My old dirt bikes used to. Also, it will probably be used quite a bit with my wife mowing or trail riding as well. How are they on your wrists? she was injured a few years ago in an accident by someone evading the police and smashed her vehicle. Her right wrist got pretty smashed up. took several rods and pins... anyway, it is pretty strong now, but hard jarring makes it hurt a bit. What braking, drive type ect should I look for or look out for in the sandy wet climate?

So, I am looking for your recommendations for our situation. I would like to say under $4500 if possible but can try to work it out if the perfect machine turns out to be a bit more... I am leery of buying used for fear of getting more problems than I know how to deal with for a lack of knowledge and experience with atvs.

Thanks for your time and input,
fsumarc.

ps. any other info I need to provide, ask away.

 

My aunt mows her 20 acres in ohio with a 2003 Honda Rancher FE. Its only 329cc and air cooled but it never has a problem doing the job. It has plenty of power to pull the mower and other things like small flatbed trailers around the property and through many inches of very nasty clay. She also uses it and a plow to plow her driveway in the winter months.

I just figured I'd let you know that it can be done with a smaller machine without all the bells and whisltes. Honda utility atvs are at their best at work. The rancher uses an auto clutch 5 speed manual or electric shift transmission. For 04 you can get a 400cc model with a mechanical cvt trans. The advantage of honda as towing/hauling atvs is the fact that they do not use belt drives. I own a kawasaki atv with a belt drive and it works fine, but if I wanted another utility machine it would be a geared honda.

 

I would go with liike a arctic cat 500 they are definatlky a sweet machine thay are totaly a work horse but they know how to have fun. I think it is a shaft drive. and can be got in 4x4. which would be very good for driving in wetlands just in case. and they are a very solid built atv.

 

I havent had a chance to try out the new ac's. My friend does own an older ac 454 and it is a tank. Lots of grunt, very reliable, and works well. I think ac would be a good choice as well. They have 4x4 quads from 250 to 500cc with manual trans. The 650 would be overkill for your application.

 

My father uses a Cat 500 auto 4x4 to take care of his 5 acres, mowing and all, works great. ZERO problems in all that time, still going strong.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a few more questions that came up from the replies.

I was suprised to see majority suggestion for Arctic Cat. I read on here somewhere someone recommended going to ATV TV
which I did, and they ranked AC 8th out of 8. http://www.atvtv.com/Test_Info_results.html I dont know if this review is up to date due to my lack of knowledge on the bikes or if it is even acurrate. The nearest AC dealer to me is 100 miles away. riding something called "arctic" is kinda funny in florida too! :-)

I was actually leaning towards Suzuki Eiger, but had an aqcuaintence recommend Polaris, and there is a polaris dealer less that 2 miles from my house. I hear they are a good family oriented small dealership that takes good care of customers... Anyway, does anybody have a reason I should avoid Polaris in my comparison? I kinda like their new ATP... the turf mode thing intrigues me... though it is probably just more stuff to break..

In this regard, would 4x4 be worth it and maybe protect the grass better then 2wd? Is this "turf mode" something worth while or is it a "sell gadget"?

Thanks again for your input,
fsumarc

 

fsumarc
I'm new to this forum too and it seems that one rule around here that whatever kind of ATV the writer has is the absolute, hands-down, best. I'd suggest you study them all a bit and get whichever one you like best.

 

I would recomend test driving a Honda. They make some great quads, and very low maintenance. You can always move up in the future. The rancher or foreman have great reputations. Let us know what you decide on......have fun!

 

Thanks all for the replies!
I am indeed still researching and shopping. Still in the air[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

This morning while out and about I came across a pair of atvs for sale in a driveway. Just dont know
if it is a good deal or not. Here it is:

03 330 Polaris trailboss 2x4
03 90 polaris predator
hauler/trailer with ramp gate.

asking 3k for 330, 2k for 90, and 500 for the trailer. The price seems a bit high. The bikes are both clean, unmodded
and stock. (I am told) 15 hours on the 330 and a couple hours of yard riding on the 90.
I see msrp on 04 models is 3700 for 330 and 2300 for the 90. trailer would seem to be 500 new at the most..
what would be a good offer to make on these?

thanks,
fsumarc

ps. would the trailboss 330 2x4 be able to handle what I need to do in the beginning of this thread?

 

sorry too say this but a 90 wont pull notthing !
the 330 is a good quad personely i think that the polaris quads are the best alround.

a nother thing if your intoo a smooth ride get the -SPORTSMEN 400 it has irs-