Hello All. I am new to this forum. I would like to thank all on this site who provided me with information. I read most all posts from all the brand discussion forums religiously every day for the last 6 months. When we (my wife and I) started our search about 6 months ago, we were not sure if we wanted a utility quad or a sport quad. These were to be our first quads. We expected to drive on Michigan trails. We looked at all the manufacturer's quads. We initially decided we needed a four wheel drive utility quad. We wanted quads that were capable of going most anywhere and we wanted them to be very comfortable. So for the first few months, we looked at all manufacturers but eventually narrowed it down to three manufacturers utility quads: Polaris Sportsman 400, Bombardier Outlander 330 and Honda Rancher 400 AT in order of preference. We decided we did not need large engines because we are not performance minded riders. We wanted automatic transmissions, so the quads we chose were all automatics. I preferred independent suspensions for articulation and ride. I continued to read the forums and came to the conclusion that we would not be riding in deep mud, we have snomobiles for the snow and we don't need to tow large loads (trailers and such). Many forum posts indicated that a two wheel drive ATV can go most everywhere the four wheel drives can go with the exception of deep mud and snow. I was also somewhat concerned about driving/manuvering a 700 lb quad. This changed our view of quads because now we could look at sport quads in addition to utility 2x4 quads. However, there are very few automatic sport quads. Just to be fair we looked at all the small to mid-size sport quads (200-350cc). Besides the fact they were manual shift and most with manual clutches, most seemed to be very small with little suspension travel. The only sport quad that really stood out seemed to be the Polaris Trailblazer. However, my wife did not the looks of it. She prefered the utility quad look. She wanted the racks. She did like the price. When I showed her a Trailblazer with a rack on the back, she became happy with the looks. We ended up buying two 2004 Trailblazers.

I think the Trailblazer is a unique quad for the following reasons:

1) Very smooth suspension, soaks up most any bumps due to 10 inches of travel in the back, 8.2 inches in the front.
2) Very good brakes, single handle that are easy to use. This is a big plus for my wife.
3) Steel braided brake lines for solid brakes.
4) Very good gas mileage 20 miles per gallon, even though it is 2 stroke. The 3.5 gallon tank means we can drive all day.
5) Perfectly balanced chassis, excellent through the whoops and stutter bumps.
6) Large chassis with wide track and long wheel base makes for a smooth, stable ride.
7) Short turning radius makes for excellent manuverability.
8) The automatic transmission makes for simple trail riding even in the slow tecnical areas. I was concerned about the lack of low range, but that proved to be a non-issue due to the low speed crawling capability of the Trailblazer. This quad can easily go down to 2 or 3 MPH.
9) It has stump pulling power, rated at 840 lbs. Capable of going up most anything I pointed it at.
10) Powerful enough for all but the steepest sand hills. With stock tires (fully inflated) I was able to take it up Bull Gap hill although I had to sit back on the seat to lighten the front.
11) Bomb-proof chassis, this same chassis is used for the 400 and 500 scrammy 4x4.
12) Although some may argue that it is heavy at 461 lbs, it is not particularly heavy for an automatic transmission 2x4 quad.
13) The concentric chain design assures that the chain stays at a constant tension.
14) My wife is very confident on it and she finds it easy to drive.

The first day out, we took the quads to the mounds. We took the quads up every hill and path there. We gained a high degree of confidence in our quads at the mounds. We came upon two Ranchers stuck in wheel deep muck. I stopped and asked if we could help. One guy asked if I could pull them out. I did not expect that I could budge either quad as they were so entrenched in mud. After all, the Ranchers were 600lb quads. To my amazement the Trailblazer pulled the first quad out without even trying. He used his quad to pull his friend out.
The next day we went to Ambrose Lake trail and rode without incident for about 4 hours. Many trail sections were very slow and narrow. The Trailblazers easily negotiated these sections without complaint. The next week we went to Bull Gap and rode two days enjoying the views and beautiful trails. We were both impressed with the climbing capability and ease of driving of the quads. I was quite surprised that I could go as fast as I wanted over the whoops and stutter bumps. Bull Gap has most any type of trail you will see, slow technical, fast and smooth, stutter bumps, whoops, banked corners, sand, hills and on. I believe that this quad is a very good quad for people like myself and my wife who like to get out on the trails, but want a smooth, comfortable, easy to ride quad.

 

Welcome to the forums. and welcome to the sport. All ATVs are designed to fit a market. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Hope they treat you well and give your numerous hours of enjoyment. ride em safe and see what they can do [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

you could try the yamaha bruin 350

 

I think the Bruin, like a number of other utility quads , got points against them for various reasons: drum brakes, low suspension travel, weight, track width. I came to the conclusion that if I was going to go with a utility quad, it would have independent rear suspension, water cooling, high ground clearance and automatic. I also prefered the strut suspension as opposed to double A arms. The Honda was an interresting exception because the automatic was hydraulic. For the utility quad I prefer the Sportsman. For high performace sports quads I like the DS650, Predator and the KVX700. Although in reality, I think I would only need one of these sports quads for the sand (Silver Lake).