I am in need of some advice about buying a new ATV. I have been to almost every major Dealer in Alaska(my home). ARTIC CAT, SUZUKI, KAWASAKI, HONDA, POLARIS AND YAMAHA. I have found no help from the dealers who obviously say their rides are the best. ive spoken to friends who own, but similarly they states that their rigs are best. im requesting help in determining which bike is best. here are a few of the negative things ive heard about the bikes i considered. ARTIC CAT 500 4x4(high groung clearence makes it top heavy and not to speedy) Grizzly (fuel line overheats lots of mechanical issues) Vinson (unreliable in colder setting and under heavy workload) Kawasaki Prarie 360 (not enough power in deep bog) Polaris 500 sportsman (breaks down and slips to easy.....A neighbor of mine races polaris and hunts in deep woods and states polaris is the ONLY bike to own)... I have also been looking at the Kodiak 450(i havent herd anything about it other than it is a workhorse in the 500 classes but cant hold up to 600-700 class)
I understand that most riders are territorial, i need info from folks who have ridden these bikes. i want to stay in the 500 class and i am considering the vinson, kodiak 450 and AC 500. I ownt 2 Hondas: a motorcycle and an SUV, but the ATVs, which rate exceptionally well dont really catch my eye.
I will be using this bike to trail ride, mud bog and ride on the glaciers(we have several out here). I dont hunt yet, but it is not out of the question. Obviously it need to perform in cold environments.

Any help would be appreciated, and if anyone knows an impartial ATV rating web site, please pipe in.

Thanks,

Dru

 

First off, I personally wouldn't own ANY automatic.........either the belts drives or the Hondas. I just prefer the simplicity and time tested reliability of a manual transmission. So, that narrows it down to just one bike if I want to go big bore, and that is the new Foreman 500 with manual transmission. If you absolutely refuse to shift with your foot, you can get it with electric (ES) shifting.

http://powersports.honda.com/atvs/ut...elId=TRX500FM5

As a second choice, I might consider one of the Suzuki manuals.

 

Fortunetly not everyone hangs on to old technology. We could very well be flying airliners in a old Ford Tri-motor with 3 radial engines if we wanted to keep things simple and original. How about a tail wheel on the 747?

I would like to think that I've rode in the worst places with some of the best riders. The automatics have performed just as well as the manuals and for the most part everyone with a auto wouldn't go back to a manual shift.

Yes, get a 500. Anything less is likely a good girls quad. I absolutely support Arctic Cat for having a great quality and reliable machine. I like the Hondas - if you have the money you wont regret buying one. Polaris is a good quad also. But they do not take a severe beating like the AC and Honda will. Fortunetly parts are plentyful.

And I have a Honda with ES and it sucks. I wouldnt recommend that to my old boss. Or maybe I would..

 

Hey Bwanna, I have the Arctic Cat 400 and have been extreamly happy with it. No matter how cold it gets up here it will start like a champ. That said, I would recommend you get the 500. It does have a high ground clearance but then you won't get stuck in the mud[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I really don't think they are too top heavy either, as I take mine up the mountains all the time and never have a problem with it. If you have any specific questions for the AC just let me know and I will help you as much as I can. You are right though, it isn't going to be as fast as some of the others, but when they are stuck in the mud you can go right by them. And you can get it in a manual or auto. My vote is for the auto.

All the others are good too, just be sure you ride something before you buy it to make sure it is right for you. Good luck

 

Yeah, problem with autos is you can tune them for farting around or for performance. Can't seem to have the best off both worlds. Guess they all have their place, though.

 

The Vinson 500 is one of the better ATV's suzuki has made, very reliable. If you really want something that performs in the cold buy the new KINGQUAD 700 EFI, it has no choke and adjusts constantly to elevation, and temperature. I have not noticed any difference in starting mine at 80 degrees or in 10 degree weather, just hit the start button without giving it any gas and it will fire right up!

 

I suggest you PM ALASKABOY from this site... He lives and rides and hunts in Alaska.. He can fill you in on dealers, and what works and what doesn't up there. Tell him Dragginbutt said to go to the source.. and gave you his name...

Matt will tell you the truth.. he is a standup guy...

 

Bwanna,

How long have you lived in Alaska? Looks like you are right up the road from me so you'll probably be riding on the same trails as I do. I ride with many many other riders and all have different machines and let me just say the little 350 machines go everywhere the bigger 700cc machines do. In fact a few of my best riding buddies live in Eagle River and you may even know them. Now they are not as powerful or fast but they follow the rest of us just fine. But I do have to say they have to work a lot harder getting there than the larger quads. First off let me ask you how much money do you want to spend? I too was in your shoes not to long ago and here was my thought process:

1. I did not need to the biggest baddest machine out there and I wasn't willing to spend the kind of money it took to have one. Unless you are going to do some extreme mudding "all the time" and are going to be dragging trees out of the forest "all of the time" you do not need a big 700cc machine. With that said, if you have the money then by all means get one, why not. I would have if I had the money.

2. I didn't want anything smaller than a 500cc machine. Yes I said the smaller machines could for the most part follow the larger quads they are not as fun, comfortable, or have as many options as the larger quads. In my opinion a 500cc machine is just right and gives you the best of both worlds (all the options you get on the larger quads for a nice price).

3. After months of research I broke it down to two quads the 450 Kodiak or 500 Vinson. Both machines are quite capable to go anywhere here in Alaska. The Vinson is much sportier and the Kodiak gives you a much more plush ride due to the new IRS. If you look back at all the 500cc class shootouts every last magazine put the Vinson on top by a very large margin. In fact it was so good that they even put it up against the larger 700cc machines.

4. I chose the Vinson because of the awesome reviews, it fits my style of riding, it looks great, and you can't beat the price.

If it's speed you want I can tell you that on the trails you will be riding you will not get beat unless the rider has a lot more skill than you do. The only place you will ever get to top out the Speedo is Jim Creek. Most other trials are narrow so you will hardly see anything over 30mph. If it's power you want you got it. From plowing, hill climbing, mudding, or pulling a moose out of the woods you will have no problems. I've even found that it does better than many of the other 700cc machines because it's lighter.

As for mudding or snow riding I would highly suggest getting some Mud Lite tires. This makes more of a difference in this situation than the power of your machine. I've seen little 300cc machines with after market tires go places some of the larger 700cc machines couldn't.

In my opinion the Vinson is the best all around machine in the 500cc class but if you want a softer ride go with the Kodiak. I can tell you that I haven't had any problems with my machine not wanting to run in the cold but maybe it's not getting cold enough up here in Alaska...yeah right! Let me just say this too. If you have the money go with the King Quad. In my opinion it has the best of everything you would ever want from a quad with the exception of large racks.

One thing you might also want to consider is that the Yamaha dealership here keeps more parts in stock than most other dealerships. One bad thing is that if you need to have it serviced you drop it off and they'll get to it when they get to it.

The Suzuki dealership here does not keep as many parts in stock but if you need to have it serviced you make an appointment and in most cases you get it back the same day.

When you get your quad give me a shout. There's a great bunch of guys around here that love to ride. We have a web site that tells you where all the trails are and their current condition. We also have a forum somewhat like this one as well as scheduled rides. Most of our rides are slow to medium with a barbeque midway where we love to shoot the $hit. Sorry to ramble on but if you want additional information please let me know.

Whatever you decide I know you will be happy because when you are out on the trails enjoying life, the name on the side of your quad does not matter.

 

Thanks for the info Guys(and gals). I opted for a 05 Grizzly. i had mudlites and rims added as well as a warn winch and Grip warmers. I mut say that i got the most help from this entire site and the reason i didnt go with the Kodiak was they didnt have all the options i wanted due to the fact that the 05 kodiak was newly redone and the parts werent available yet for that model. I pick it up this Wed and i have a ride scheduled for the 12th with a bunch of my crew from Elmendorf Emergency Department.
OUTRAGE: I would love to hook up and ride. the 12th is a ride up the Kanik river to the glacier. We got 7 bikes going including mine(unless we get another 2 feet of snow).Id love to ride up one of the mountains when it warms up. Ive been in alaska for a year and a half now and have been riding here and there on other peoples second bike. one of preference was an 04 vinson. you are right, it is a great bike with tons of power. any new advice on options i need here.