Hey guys, I have just started my search for my first quad. I have just moved to Maine and now have a place to ride and store an atv. I am going to use it mostly for recreation, but some plowing and yard work. Anyways, most of my friend have big bore atv's, so that is what I am looking at for a # of reasons.
1) I am a big guy at 6'5" and 270lbs, so I would need a 500 + atv anyways
2) If I am going to spend this kind of money, I don't want to trade it in after 4 months to upgrade
3) I want to be able to keep up with my friends
4) I like playing in mud / water

I took a look at the new suzuki king quad, yamaha grizzly, sportsman 700, and honda rubicon. I have yet to drive them but would like some opinions on each. I have searched some forums and have heard some negative & positive things about the sportsman, honda, and grizzly. There seems to be a lot of brand loyalty, so I would like unbias opinions, if possible. I know that the suzuki is kind of new so not a lot of people have reviews of it. But at the moment I am leaning towards getting the suzuki, because 1) I like the look of it 2) it seems like it would fill all of my needs 3) and it is cheaper. The dealer said it would run me $7200, which is MSRP, is this what most people can expect to pay? I heard of some people on a few forums getting theirs for around 6500. Of course I have not looked around yet or really tried to talk them down. As far as plowing goes, in general (not just the suzuki) can an atv plow a rather large driveway area effectively? I saw a pull behind mower in the polaris mag, if I bought the suzuki or another brand I wonder if I could use it? I would think it just attaches to a normal atv tow hitch anyone have any experience with this mower? Well, I would like to say thankyou in advance and I am sorry this post was so long.

 

My quad plows the snow with ease. I have a Moose 60" County plow for it. I raise and lower it with a Warn 2000 winch. Our driveway is around 470 feet long by 12 feet- main driveway. It is alot of fun plowing. Get yourself a strobe light flasher too, to add to the package![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks for the reply, my drive way is probably about 1/4 of a mile. I justed talked with a guy working on my house who plows with his atv, and he says he has had no problems plowing.

Has anyone had experience with the pull behind mower / brush hog from polaris?

 

The pull behind mowers are not very manueverable. Not a yard machine if you have any quantity of trees. I borrowed a buddys pull behind and the best part of using it was taking it back to him. I could see using one on large open lawns. Otherwise I think the standard riding lawn mower is more efficient - and less damaging to those things that down't get out of the way.

Don't forget to look at Arctic Cat and you may want to look at the heavy duty springs available from HighLifter. I use them and it makes a big difference not only in maintaining the ground clearance but also helping to reduce the roll out in cornering.

 

indamud, thanks for the insight on the pull behind mower. I have a pretty big open field with hardly any trees, so I think it would do alright in that respect. But it is interesting to hear about it manueverability and definitly something to keep in mind. Also the tip about the heavy duty springs, sound like I might have to invest in some.

 

If you want a good quad i would say that the kawasaki brute force 650 is the way to go. I wouldnt look at a rubicon for you. I am a 14 year old kid about 110 pounds at 5'5 and i got a rubicon and it is down right puney for a 500cc I handle it with ease. But since your a begininer and not sure i think the rubicon would be a good thing for you. It has an EXCELENT transmission. you can have it all automatic or you can throw it in Elcetric shifting program(esp) which is excelent if you want it for speed. the top speed is around 55-60 so its not fast but it pushes snow for me.
But if you want sumthing to play around in the mud and rough terrain you will need a true 4x4 or a front differential lock. But the bruteforce 650 is at a reasonable price for a 650 at an msrp of 6,600 while i spent over 7,400 on my rubicon when i got it brand new in 04 and a 150cc diffrence is alot in power. GO WITH THE BRUTE FORCE

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04 Honda Rubicon
03 Kawasaki prairie 4x4
01 polaris scrambler 500 4x4
01 yamaha wolverine (soon to hopefully come)
98 yamaha banshee