Hi there, I'm new to this ATV stuff and new to this website. It appears as though you guys know what your talking about.
I need to get an ATV and I also want one.
I need one for plowing snow. I plan on doing residential driveways only, no commercials or anything very large. As far as playing goes, I would use it for trails, back in the woods, and hills. Speed is really not a criteria for me as there is really no place for it. I'm guessing that a 4X4 is for me and a full automatic would probably be very nice as well, especially for the plowing part. I've already ridden the Yamaha Kodiak. It seemed very nice, but I have nothing to compare it to. Do I need to go larger than a Kodiak? What else should I be looking at?
The models I had in mind are: Rubicon, Grizzly, Kodiak, Sportman 500, Arctic auto 500. If there is anything you guys feel strongly about let me know. If there is an ATV on this list I should stay away from let me know that too. This is a major purchase at these prices and I want to make sure I get the best and correct ATV for me for the money.
Thanks, Eric

 

I recently bought a kodiak, but i looked and research this for 1 year before buying the kodiak. I too was afraid to buy the wrong machine. I now feel that their really isn't a bad machine out there. I bought the kodiak because of these reasons. Two wheel or four wheel drive....nice option to have. The auto trans.....i'am not worried about the possible belt slippage.......i'am almost 50 years old and will drive around a mud hole....to lazy to clean the mud off. I thought my wife could run it easier with the auto trans.......i'am buried in snow or should i say "was buried". Here is what i paid for the kodiak....$5599 + tax, warn plow $229, warranty for 42 months $486. I hope this helps........come to Michigan we have alot of trails....plus great fishing

 

same here mister bill, I bought mine for the same reasons as you did, I got an sp500 and could not be more pleased. 2 or 4 wheel drive, auto, power, and a great ride, 1100 miles and no problems so far. ride as many as you can, there are some very nice 4x4s to choose from

 

mr bill,
is right on the money.Check out all the 4x4s,take your time.Leave if the dealer wont let you take the quad for a test ride.

I liked my 500cc Sportsman alot,I like my Xplorer even more.There are ALOT of nice automatic 4x4s out there today,every manufacture does a great job of producing a very fine ATV today.

Mr BILL,
I see you are from Mich to?Im from Burton near Flint Mi,I ride with a bunch of good ole boys ages from 40-53.Your invited to get together with us for a wk end trail ride this spring?
Bill

 

Bill, Thanks for the invite. I'll take you help on the offer. Do you guys ride up by Black Lake (Onaway) area? I'am new to this riding, what helmet would you suggest? I quit riding motocross bikes back in 1978 so i've been out of touch.

 

Mr Bill,
I've been a member of the CCC [Cycle Conservation club of Michigan]for going on 3 yrs now,I am also a member of MATVA [Michigan All Terrain Vehicle Assoc.]And I will very soon [March] become a certified licensed ASI[ATV Saftey Instructor].I started out in 1983 with a 3 wheeler,and switched to 4wd ATVs in 1986,been riding them since.I currently ride a 00 4x4 Xplorer,I bought a Honda Recon for the wife,though my friends have MANY more miles on it than her.Most the guys I ride with are laid back and we like to take in the beautiful scenery that Mich forests give us.The guys that want to go fast can[about three of them],we'll catch up to them later.With my CCC membership,they give me a yearly booklet of EVERY LEGAL riding area in the State of Mich.We have not yet road the Black Lake trail yet,however, it is in our very near future plans.We ride some Poker runs in the U.P of Michigan to,they are an absolute blast!

As for the helmet?Buy a full faced helmet that is at least DOT Approved.[Dept of Transportation]All DOT approved helmets will have the printing DOT in the rear of the helmet,so if you see one that does NOT say DOT on the back side of the helmet,FORGET IT!Now you can even go one step better than a DOT approved helmet if you like,but they usually cost more $$.Look for a helmet that is DOT and SNELL approved,it will have both printed on the helmet.Do NOT cheap out on your helmet.Glad to hear from you and looking very forward to having you join us on future rides,
HAPPY TRAILING,
Bill

 

eaaicf,

i have an arctic cat 500 4x4 auto and wouldn't have anything else. it has plenty of power and an extremely high torque low range. it doesn't take off as fast as most other 4x4's but it more than makes up for it in raw pulling power. arctic cat builds its atvs to work first to play second. if you hear polaris guys telling you that arctic cats only have 3wd not 4wd, know that it is just a line of bull. i tried to pull a large stump (16" diameter hackberry) out yesterday (i knew it was hopeless) but all i was able to do was to dig FOUR (4) holes in my lawn.

texascat,

 

My needs for a 4 wheeler were nearly identical to yours, plow snow and work first, then some play. I looked at many, read the stuff on this board and wound up buying a used (99, low miles) Polaris Sportsman 500. Let me tell you, it makes short and fun work out of the normal tedius task of removing snow. I plow 2, 700 foot+ driveways, and this machine works great. There are several things to consider when using the machine for work. The weight of the machine, the ease of shifting between low range and reverse were major issues for me. A light, small quad will get pushed around more by snow, and snow banks. The traction and power the SP500 has is incredible. It is also very easy to shift between low gear, and reverse. The only negative I can see with the SP500 is the turning radius is not as tight as the shorter wheelbase quads out there.

 

Check out the new Sportsman 400...it's cheaper than the 500 and has a 425cc 4 stroke engine in it. It wont be as powerful as the 500 but it will be close.

The Kodiak is nice, it won ATV of the year in 2000 by an ATV magazine.

The Honda ATV's are built to last a long time...their engines never give up.

 

My needs are a little different than yours. I don't work the quad or plow snow. But if I were, then I think the Polaris Sportsman 500 would do the trick. I love the all wheel drive system it has. This is a heavy quad, which would be beneficial for plowing snow. I used to own one and I thought the motor was great. The new H.O.(High Output) probably will be even better than the one I had.

My only advice if you buy a Polaris is to buy the Polaris extended warranty, and make sure you do the routine maintenance. I feel like the Sportsman requires a little more maintanence than some quads, but it will be a fine quad if you take care of it.

Good luck with your purchase.....