Thank heavens I found this forum!

I have to buy a ATV for my friend and ship it overseas. Neither me nor my friend have any ATV knowledge, we havent even sat on one ever! This is going to be used more for 'entertainment' than anything - we really dont have ATVs back home, so this will used more as show piece for joy rides in his parties... I know, I know it sounds silly, but hey, he really wants me to buy and send him one.

So, what I am looking for is (in the order listed):

Style (should look big & aggressive)
Reliability (although it is not going to be used much, if it ever breaks down, cant get it fixed there)
Ease of use (although a manual might be ok)

Price range is not much more than 6k. Would prefer Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or Kawasaki brands (not necesarily in the same order).

Again, this is not going to be used for any hard core off roading, just in a farm where things are pretty much flat.

Looking at the websites, I like the Yamaha 660R Raptor purely based on how it looks. But as noted earlier, I really dont know much about ATVs to decide on it.

So please, please help me pick a model!

Another dumb question: How do the new ATVs get delivered to the dealers? Ie, do they come on a pallet/crate? I have to ship it in a container (with other stuff) so I would need to put it on a pallet or a crate. Read somewhere that I have to remove the gas, oil and antifreeze before I ship. Is that all? Any shipping tips please?

Also, is there any suggestions for a dealer in the Wash DC area? Recommendations would be greatly appreciated. (it would have been so much easier if CarMax sold ATVs!).

Thanx in advance!

 

Hi, first off WELCOME to the forums! this is a good place to get just about any information you need regarding to ATV's!

anyhow i would just like to point out that if the Intended rider of the atv has no experience at all, than i wouldnt quite recommend something as big as a raptor, those cool looking sport atv's are very high performance with alot of power. so im just letting you know that they take alot of practice to be able to properly handle them and "show-off". im not trying to warn you away from any of them, im just advising safety. but yes the raptor is a cool looking machine, especially impressive to people who have never seen one. another flashy atv that turns heads as fast as it does tires, is the Polaris predator. yet they are both just over 6k ($6199 each) i believe, they are about to 2 most aggressive looking quads in production. my suggestion is to also get a cool Flashy HELMET with the atv as well. so the rider can protect their head and look cool doing it.

as for the shipping, all new atvs are delivered in Crates. they are usually shipped DRY with no fluids in them, and if you ship overseas, i think the machine cannot have any type of fluids in it at all. from what i know!
altho i dont know how the shipping thing is handled when one is baught and than shipped to the intended owner who lives overseas.

im not too familiar with DC area dealers. i live within 150 miles of DC and i used to live within 40 miles, i can point you to a few great dealers in WV tho. it depends on what manufacture you want.

hope i hwlped at least a little. good luck with your venture!

 

Thanx PmanX8 for your input.

I am going to skip the Polaris, cas it is not known brand back home. Looks like it is hugely popular in the ATV circles here though..

I am going to try a few dealers in this area - how much should I shoot to pay below MSRP for a 6k ATV? Read postings that said that I shouldnt pay MSRP, so looking for some approx price...

And yes, good tip on the helmet!

Thanx again for your input..

 

For a party quad I would look at the two rider Arctic Cat TRV. I can imagine giving rides to some of the guests - so one would want a ATV built for that purpose. You can squeeze two people onto many ATV's but its not as comfortable for either driver or the passenger. I suggest Arctic Cat as they have a reputation of being extremely durable, rugged and dependable. The 2 rider TRV can be dressed up with chrome wheels for classy points and you will have an aggressive looking machine that has the longest wheel base and highest ground clearance of any ATV out there. It has a large presence, automatic transmision and single hand brake that controls all 4 brakes. As far as reliability - Arctic Cat is as good as any other. And better than most. See the bottom right picture on my page here - click on the camera to the left.

Where is home anyways?

 

Let me look at Arctic Cat...looks little more heavy duty...

Somebody suggested Honda 400EX, so looking at those at well...

choices, choices!

Where is home anyways? - India.

Still waiting for folks to help me on prices to pay ie, how much off MSRP should I shoot for..

 

Price / discounts from MSRP can vary considerably. The Arctic Cat TRV will run between $6800 and $7300 depending on demand, inventory etc. I've seen them sell new on Ebay for $6300 and I bought one last year for $5300 with 4 miles on it. When looking at different models - check the specifications for weight, length etc. The Honda 400EX is a smaller sport bike. If you want real ease of use - stick to the automatics. A monkey can be trained to drive an auto - but not a manual transmission.