Hi...I've been searching for the best compromise ATV for some time now...I have talked myself into half a dozen machines so far only to look at another and have the saleman convince me I was wrong....anyway....in order of importance my needs are;.....(#1) must be able to push a 60" snow plow 1/4 mile (each way) up and down my gravel driveway, complete with a 60 ft 20% grade hill, in the dead of a northwestern Ontario winter (-40 c) without complaint...(#2) must be able to haul my boat/motor/trailer out of the lake (15 ft rock, grass, cliff at about a 30% grade, doing it with my neighbors 95 Toyota 4X4 pick-up and a couple of tow straps now without problem...truck stays up on levelish ground while the straps extend to the trailer....it's pretty dramatic).....(#3)...must be able to run around on the trails year round...LOTS OF ROCK...lots of up and down.....Am I asking too much of 1 machine?...thats all I can barely aford right now!
So far I have been convinced I need the Suzuki King Quad (700 cc), the Honda TRX500 Foreman (500 cc), and the Bombarier Outlander (400cc)........given all I need it to do do you guys/girls have any opinions or thoughts.....Thanks in advance....Tim

 

I have heared good things about the Rubicon with it having low and everything, but the Forman 500 should do fine for you because it has a low first gear and you will save a little money, I think that the Outlander might be a little underpowered and the stearing on them is really heavy so that would get very tiresome in a short time.

 

If your doing that much plowing and towing, then I reccomend a good 4x4 truck. That much continious work will be alot easier on a truck then a little bike, and warmer too, plus you can have a few tunes playing to boot. Then you can pick pretty much any bike out there for play.

If budget is on your mind, you could pick up a decent used truck and bike for about the same or not much more then 1 brand new bike and have the best of both worlds.

 

For that much snow plowing you'll definitely need the power of the KQ 700 EFI. Plowing is the hardest thing you can do with an ATV in my opinion, but trust me they will push it and they work very good for plowing, but the more power you have the better, you need at the very least 500cc IMO for 1/4 of plowing with a 60" plow, that's a lot of snow! With temperatures that cold you definitely don't want a carburated ATV, I plowed with a carbed Polaris 400 last year, and it took forever to warm up in the cold conditions, in fact it never ran right the whole time I plowed with it. The EFI on the KQ will take care of that, no annoying choke to mess around with, It starts up like a new car, all the power is there from the begining. You will need to find out how much your trailer weighs because the KQ's pulling capacity is around 1000lbs, but it could tow a bit more than that.

There are a few other options that have Twin cylinder engines as well as EFI. The Bombardier Outtlander 800 EFI is the most powerful quad out right now, and it could push snow even better than the KQ, but it's at least $1500+ more than the KQ plus it's a first year machine so all the bugs aren't worked out of it yet.
There's also the Polaris 800 EFI, it's actually 760cc, it's a very heavy quad at 760lbs vs 600lbs with the KQ, that can be good or bad. Polaris isn't the most reliable company either..I had a Polaris 400 and it wasn't as reliable as I'd have hoped. But Polaris' can tow a lot.
Just make sure you get a quad with enough power at least 700cc for the kind of work your wanting to do with it.

 

I think the 500 Foreman would have plenty of power for your needs and they handle great...I just bought one and love it.... A true work horse also great on the trail's....

 

You might want to look into the '06 Rincon from Honda. They are expensive, but the car style tranny may be more durable for what you intend to do with it, plus efi for those cold winter months.

 

I think the utility for that job would be the arctic cat 650 H1. would be perfect for towing and plowing heavy weight and great for the ruff trails and they are very reliable.

 

Take a look at the new Bomb 800 EFI. If your'e going to pull or plow it has the torque and the weight behind it. I would talk with someone who has one just because it is new, and see if they have had any issues or concerns.

 

i would look at a polaris 700 or 800 with efi or a suzuki kingquad. In temps that cold you arent going to want anything but EFI.

 

Well if you think the Outlander 400 is underpowerd @28hp, Why on earth would you reccomend the Forman 500?