So this is my first post and I'm not sure what I want exists, but here goes:

I need to buy a 4x4 ATV to haul wood and help with some yard work around the house (I live at 7000 elevation so I'm assuming anything smaller than a 500 won't have the high altitude power I need). Then use the same quad to tear up the trails. I've got a lot of experience with quads and used to race a Fourtrax 250R in the 90s, then got into dirtbiking and ride KTMs (plus a lot of time on a Big Bear 4x4 and my parents' Grizzlys).

That said - the 4x4 quads I've tried are way too utility oriented (and aren't that fun on the trails due to lack of suspension, weight, and top speed). I would love something that I can both haul wood with, then RIP trails... with 8 inches of suspension and hit some jumps/drops. Does this exist? I'm not looking for a banshee.. but I'd like something a bit more versatile than a Big Bear for trail riding.

Any suggestions and/or stories on what has worked well for you would help.

Another question is -- any good recommendations on trailers for hauling wood? My hill isn't gnarly/steep, but I don't have much of a run on it, so I'm assuming I'm looking for a lighter trailer and will end up doing smaller loads. Can an ATV even handle this? We used to haul 500+ lb trailers w/ our Big Bear but we never had to start on a hill.

Thanks!

 

Try a Polaris 700 efi x2 it might be a little heaver than what you are looking for but a great all around quad non the less. Look at it here. Good luck!

 

Take a look at the Honda Rancher 420. It is fuel injected and water cooled. I ride mine at high altitude (4,000-11,000'), and it does a superb job (if 7,000' is your base altitude, any FI machine will benefit from a remap!). Very peppy, and the throtle response rips right off the bottom.

It is a rock solid reliable trouble free autoclutch manual tranny machine, with a very stable ride and low center of gravity. I know IRS is all the rage, but I like the stable planted feel of an SRA machine, especually if you want to rip around! Suspension is descent. Does well in the snow, with the right tires.

 

The Can-Am Outlander 650 or 800 or wait till the 800R comes out. These Can- Ams are said to have belt slipping problems but I have never seen any slipping belts on all the Outlanders I have ridden, driven, and seen. If you buy the ATV with the XT package, you get a Warn 3,000 pound winch, front and rear bumpers, better looking rims, very nice radial tires, and...well, it just looks pretty awesome. These ATVs have the best suspension and very good towing and hauling capacities. They both have 12 inches of ground clearance with 26 inch tall tires. Here is their website-check em out and if you don't like them, no problem:

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.can-am.brp.com/en-US/Vehicles/Outlander.800/
">http://www.can-am.brp.com/en-U.../Outlander.800/
</a>

Shown in this window is the Outlander 800 XT-another words...the best ATV EVER!!
They are comfortable toooooo.

Try looking up some videos of the Outlander 800 or 650 on Youtube.com!!

Oh and is 9 inches of suspension travel and 75mph good enough for you??
Here it is, all in one package.

 

Brute Force

 

Take a look at the Grizzly 700. It has won more shoot-outs than anything else recently. With an excellent motor, and power steering, if you can afford it you really can't go wrong.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: BradW

Take a look at the Grizzly 700. It has won more shoot-outs than anything else recently. With an excellent motor, and power steering, if you can afford it you really can't go wrong.</end quote></div>


The Grizz would make a excellent choice as well!!! [img]i/expressions/beer.gif[/img]

 

Ditto on the Outlander. Every time you read a shootout on the big bores, they always refer to the Outlander as the sports car of the group. I just put in over 500 miles up at Black River Falls in Wis. last week. Enough suspension and power to skip over the tops of the whoops.

Jaybee

 

Not sure how big of a quad you are looking for, but I really like the scrambler. It is a mid-sized quad with the luxury of 4X4 and the feel of a sport quad. With a pipe, jet kit, and a clutch kit they are very snappy. I am not sure on the newer ones, but as far as the older models they did not have a high and low range. This would have been there major down fall. The Scrambler is far from a big bore stump puller like some of the others mentioned, but it doesn't handle like one either. I can ride mine with right along side 400ex's and hang right with them through the trails, and then go through just about anything the big 4X4's can. In my opinion its the best of both worlds.

 

I believe the Scrambler is the best sporty 4x4 too. People who ride little Japanese sport quads say the Scrambler is too heavy, but <u>the Outlander 650 weighs 90 pounds more</u>. Nobody ever mentions that it's a lot heavier than the other quad that people say is too heavy. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] The Scrambler has 10.5" of rear suspension and 8.2" on the front MacPherson struts. It's a shaft-drive front and <u>concentric</u> chain drive rear, so the chain has constant tension no matter what the swing arm is doing. There's less chain stretching and breaking than other chain-drives. Plus <u>the Scrambler is $1,900 cheaper</u>, and you can get it for less than $115 a month. That's less than $4 a day and you can buy a lot of gas with the $1,900 you save. The Polaris true 4-wheel-drive system works better than the Visco-Lok, that's why Polaris only made one model with Visco-Lok and discontinued it the next year.