My wife and I are ready to purchase our 1st quads. We want fuel injection,4x4 utilities. I've settled on the King Quad 700. I think the new Honda 420ES would be great for my wife. However she's not real keen on the push button shifter and a foot shifter is out of the question. Would the Rincon 700 or Yahmaha 700 be to much for her. She's 5'7" tall and 120lbs. She has little riding experience but she's strong. She's 41yrs young, I am 53yrs old.
We plan on mostly trail riding.

Thanks for your help.

 

That is really up to your wife, and the only way to know for sure is to have her test ride one; even if it is only in a parking lot. My girlfriend is 5'5" and weighs 100#, and she is really intimidated by my Kawai BF650. She actually feels pretty comfortable on the Kawai Prairie 360, or the Yamaha Grizzly 350, or 450. Both of these machines are offered with 4x4, so she would be able to go just about anywhere you could. Neither of these machines have the fuel injection, but I am not sure how set on having that you are.

 

I suspect she would be fine riding the Rincon, but if she got it stuck she'd have a hard time yanking the thing around...

You might think also about the new Griz w/EFI and power steering...

 

what about the king quad 450, that is fuel injected and a full auto. Polaris 500 EFI, also auto.
I don't think she would need a atv with that many cc's but if you want to spend the extra cash and she is comfortable with it, then its your two's choice.
If you were open to carbs, you would have alot more choice for 350-500 class.

My fat @ss rides a bruin 350(grizz 350) I'm 215 5'11 I have no problems going anywhere on it, so I dont think she will NEED something that big. (700cc) But WANT is a different story. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I wouldn't pass the 420 up just because of the shifting.....I can have a kid shifting just fine after a couple of hours of practice!

The little 420 is more appropriate for her size. It's fast, it's stable, and it's fun!

 

Thanks for all the input. I am leaning toward the Honda 420ES, I think she'll be able to get the hang of it. It's a lot cheaper than the big bores as well.

I owned a '79 Jeep CJ-7 w/a small block 304V8 for 20yrs. Sold it in 2000. Boy have I missed off-roading. Last year while vacationing in Bryce,Utah we watched these folks having a blast on their quads. The Seed was planted.

 

We live about 50 miles away from Bryce, UT. And we have owned a Kodiak 450 (same as the new Grizzly 450), and also own a new Grizzly 700. My wife definitely prefers the new Grizzly 700, hands down, no contest. The new Grizzly has a much lower center of gravity, is the easiest to drive ATV on the market right now, and has lots smoother suspension. It is a superb trail riding ATV, and with the power steering it is super easy to handle it. Use a little judgement with throttle control and you can go just about anywhere. Although it does have enough power to lift the front end if you get goosey with the little lever on the right hand side.

DV

 

My wife and I went to test ride/purchase either the Yamaha 350/400/450. This is her quad, and being your wifes' size and age with the strength of a 10 year old boy, we thought the smaller and lighter the machine the better. We (her 1st) test rode the 350 and 450. She said either were OK, and we could get the 450 if I want more power (I'll ride when the swamps get too muddy for racers). My friend (manager) suggested she try the 700 because of the EPS. She came back with such a huge grin, I not only knew it was good, I knew I was getting an EVEN MORE powerful machine).

 

My one and only complaint with the 420 is weight....it gained 35 pounds over last years 350. Obviously to keep the price low, Honda didn't spend any extra money on alloy rims or light alloy parts.....but still, it's lighter than most machines in its class!

The light, small 4X4's seems to be a neglected category by all the manufacturers. There are so many smaller riders (kids, ladies) out there, putting them on a massive 600-800 pound machine just doesn't make sense for either a safety or handling standpoint. You wife would probably fit best and have the most FUN on something the size/weight of a Recon....but unfortunately no 4WD available in any of these light little machines.

Does she absolutely need 4wd???? Here in the arid southwest, I HAVE TO GO DELIBERATELY LOOKING FOR TERRAIN WHERE I WILL NEED 4WD. Sure it is nice to have 4wd sometimes, but absolutely necessary...not as often as you might think (snow riding is one exception).

If you are new to quadding, maybe you aren't experienced enough to appreciate the capabilities of a very stable light little 2wd machine???? Light weight can be a huge advantage, that monster utility riders have to sacrifice! My boys (who are your wife's size and weight) ride their little 350 pound 250EX's (based on the Recon, but a hefty 50 pounds lighter) eveywhere I go on my 4wd Ranchers. Sure it's a little work now and then to get them over the big rocks...but really not that big a deal. And, if she got into trouble, you have 4wd on your machine so you could hook here up and help her through...something to think about!

You WILL roll your quads someday....and then you will know what I mean!

 

I don't know. Depends on where you ride, I suppose.

I sometimes ride with my GF's parents, and they were running a 2WD and a 4WD yamaha (older machines). The 2WD did go most places and did have light steering, but it would get hung up several times each ride. For a lighter smaller person, I think it would be easier to hande driving a 4x4 than it would be to handle pushing and shoving a 2WD when it's stuck. Some of the areas we ride have loose steep grades that my 500 Foreman will barely make, so there's no way I could tow a 2nd machine (or push one that far). It would really stink to have to turn the group around because of not being able to make a climb...

They now have a Rubicon, and are much happier. In the smaller machines, the Rancher is a really nice. A buddy has an Eiger that has been great, too. They are great in super tight twisty trails, but both beat a person up a little more than my Foreman in the rough stuff at speed... and the Rincon glides over rocky/rooty trails at a pace I wouldn't want to match on the Foreman...

Anyhow, it depends on how and where you are going to ride, I suppose. Whether you go big or small, if rough trails are in the mix I'd think about IRS and 4x4.

Probably the best course of action would be to let the lady test ride and choose her own.