Check out the new renegade 800 from can-am. Its spendy but awesome. It would have no problems carrying a big guy on it. If you are looking for just sport, the Raptor 700 is the way to go.

 

While the utilities will haul more weight, the price you will pay is that the quad itself will weigh 200-400 pounds more than a sport quad! Why haul that much dead weight iron around if you don't need to???

I'm no fan of the current crop of big bore utes, but of the bunch the Yamaha Griz 700 is the only one I would ever even consider owning.

 

You can always try out the DS650, It is a large quad. It would suit your weight just fine. It has plenty of power for ya, but not everyone like this machine because it is to big and hard to throw around. I'm a little guy and I got use to it. Some times you just have to give it all you got.

 

have you looked at the 525 outlaw or ktm supposed to be fairly strong

 

hey bio, whats up..
i'm 6' 4" and 265lbs. i bought a 400ex last year. and ended up selling it. you will be too uncomfortable on any 450 or 400..measure the seat to peg distance to compare machines for leg room . unless you want to modify pegs by lowering them. ( pretty easy if you have a welder) normally utilities and sport quads dont mix well, utilities are alot slower to get up to speed and once there, they are wound out, if you are riding alot of long,straight stretches ( of course your son only has a 250 so it doesnt apply as much)...another thing about utilities is if you ride state forests, you aint gonna find much use for the 4 wheel drive.
. if i'm cruising at 3/4 throttle on a 450sport at 60mph .you are wound out on your utility and asking for trouble.. sounds like you dont want a tank and you like the thrill of shifting and faster acceleration. you want something torquey to pull your weight around. and also can lug down all day in the low gears. (450's have like to be wound out all the time). i would look into any of the big bore sport machines. dont under buy power you will regret it.you should be able to find a 06 raptor 700 for 5000 . buy stock. the raptor big bore is only 400 pounds..

 

Definetly buy the raptor 700. As far as your kid he should be able o ride a 250 without too much trouble. or give it to your wife.

 

I had pretty much decided on the Raptor 700 after hering everything on this message board. But then the other day I got on a 2004 Predator 500. I don't know much about Polaris ATV's, but this quad felt very comfortable and handled very well. I test rode it around a field for a few minutes. It felt like it has less get up and go than the Raptor I test rode last weekend, but the handling was much better. I felt like my center of gravity was much lower on the Predator. What are your feelings on this quad? Would it hold up to a big guy riding it hard on the trails?

 

if the price is right on the preddy get it but the raptor will have more power.have you looked at the polaris 525 outlaw. the irs is the same weight as the 700rappy but with 11" of ground clearance and the ktm powerplant. it would be better than the preddy.