Everyone porbably wants to strangle me for all the questions, and changing my mind. Please try to think when you were 15, about to pick out your first new ATV? I'd also like to specially thank ReconRanger who has been very helpful and not making me feel foolish with his replys.

I am 100% Sure I want a Utility ATV because of the envirorment I live in. Now the question that faces me, is Yamaha or Honda. I trust Honda, have owned Honda's, and I know they last. Yamaha is new to me, I hear they break apart easy and the engines wear down after a few years of riding. The Yamaha I am most interested in is the Grizzly 450 4x4. It seems like it would be perfect for me, however I think all the bias against Yamaha is like Chevy Vs. Ford. Both are good, but people will always argue one is better. I truely want a Yamaha, but I want a reliable machine. Would I regret getting it? Help me on this last question and I will appreciate it.

 

you wont regret buying a yamaha. they are ATV of the year, year after year. they make a good all around machine. get true 4wd w/ on command diff lock, FIS, all the good stuff. another brand to look at is arctic cat. my family has arctic cat 400s dating back to 2004 with one 400 for every year in between. they have been great for us with no problems never been to the shop, more ground clearance than the yamaha for clearning obsticles and mudding. either machine will satisfy

 

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

Everyone porbably wants to strangle me for all the questions, and changing my mind. Please try to think when you were 15, about to pick out your first new ATV? I'd also like to specially thank ReconRanger who has been very helpful and not making me feel foolish with his replys.



I am 100% Sure I want a Utility ATV because of the envirorment I live in. Now the question that faces me, is Yamaha or Honda. I trust Honda, have owned Honda's, and I know they last. Yamaha is new to me, I hear they break apart easy and the engines wear down after a few years of riding. The Yamaha I am most interested in is the Grizzly 450 4x4. It seems like it would be perfect for me, however I think all the bias against Yamaha is like Chevy Vs. Ford. Both are good, but people will always argue one is better. I truely want a Yamaha, but I want a reliable machine. Would I regret getting it? Help me on this last question and I will appreciate it.</end quote></div>

Honda vs Yamaha is like Geo Tracker vs Suzuki Samauri
Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge is like CanAm vs Polaris vs ArticCat.

 

If Honda and Yamaha were my only two choices I would get the Yamaha. I actually chose another brand 5 times and will get number 6 soon. If I even mention the brand name, tehpwnerer will say it's a POS and I don't feel like arguing about it. All brands are good for something and none are totally reliable. Just get one that meets your specifications and does everything you want it too, and be happy with it.

 

is it necessary to go on every topic i post on and mention that i say polaris sucks? 1st off i wouldnt say it if it werent true and 2nd off, keep your fanboy opinions to yourself. ive ridden many machines by all mfgers andi speak the truth.

 

Everyone is going to tell you what they ride is the best. I like and stick with Hondas simply because i have never been towed out of the woods. Yamahas are a great machine, the only thing i dont like is the belt system, if it gets wet your beat. Only my 2cents

 

Both of them are equally reliable and you wouldn't regret getting either one. The only reason people say that this brand is unreliable and breaks down easy is because they beat the crap out of their quads. Treat your quad right and it'll treat you the same. I own a Honda and have never taken it into the shop for any mechanical reasons and i've had it for 8 years now. Honda makes a great machine and so does Yamaha. Trust me, you won't regret getting one over the other.

 

CanisCanemEdit,
I've owned a number of different brands over the last decade. Of the brands I have owned I would rank reliability as such:

1) Bombardier/Can-Am. I owned three DS 650s and now own a Renegade 800 R. Not one problem from any of them.

2) Yamaha. Our family has owned 2 YFZ 450s, a Wolverine 350, a Kodiak 400, 2 Kodiak 450s, 3 Grizzly 660s, 2 Grizzly 700s, and a Grizzly 125. Total problems from all of them was one broken axle shaft on a Grizzly 660.

3) Kawasaki. Our family has owned a Prairie 650, a Prairie 700, and two KFX 700s. Total problems from all Kawasaki's was a broken cam chain that occured on the Prairie 700 immediately after installing a Four Stroke Tech 800cc big bore kit. The dealer did the install, and covered the cam chain repair under warranty. It cost me nothing.

4) Honda. Our family has owned a 250 EX, a 300 EX, a 400 EX, and a Rincon 650. Total problems from all Honda's included a seized motor/transmission on the air cooled 250 EX. It cost more to fix than the ATV was worth, and it was a total write off. The Rincon had problems with a broken CV joint, the torque converter had problems creeping in gear and needed replaced. We also had constant problems with plastic fasteners falling out, bolts vibrating loose, the battery vibrated loose and fell off on the trail, etc. I wasn't too impressed with the Rincon's reliability, and even though it got the same maintenance as everything else we have owned, it had more problems.

5) Polaris. Our family has owned a Scrambler 50, a Scrambler 500 4x4, and a Sportsman 500 HO. The Scrambler 50 was made in China garbage that NEVER ran right the entire time we owned it, and it was built so cheaply that even with a little 4 year old kid riding it the steering linkage would bend from just hitting a little tiny bump. Both of the full size Polaris ATVs needed CVT belt replacements, and the Sportsman needed the entire primary clutch assembly replaces because it warped from heat. We rode the Polaris ATVs the same as we rode any other CVT transmission ATV, but only had problems with the Polaris CVT transmissions.
'
So you can see that for the most part all of the brands are reasonably reliable. I really don't think you would have a problem with any of them. I think the motor failure on the 250 EX was a fluke, and would not try to sway you against Honda because of that.

DV

 

You won't hear me argue that Polaris kids quads are good. I think any Chinese quad is a POS.

The only time I ever heard of a heat related problem with Polaris ATV clutches was if someone had it in high gear when it should have been in low. The owner's manual specifically warns about this. I've ridden them for 11 years and several thousand miles. I slightly warped one old-style clutch cover several years ago by not doing what the manual said, but it didn't hurt the clutches or belt at all. For several years now they've used a different cover that cools everything down a lot better. I haven't had any heat related problems since I switched from a '97 to an '01.

I don't think any brand of non-Chinese/Taiwanese quad is all junk, and none are perfect either. The top 7 all make good ones and some lemons too. The worst lemon I ever saw was a brand new Yamaha Breeze, but that doesn't mean every Yammy is a POS. It's always good to hear other people's experiences with whatever model they've owned, good and bad. But saying every ATV of any brand is a POS, and having nothing to back it up, is just typical troll behaviour. Any moron can sit there and make up lies all day, but sharing the truth is a lot better for everyone. Luckily it doesn't take long to figure out who to ignore. With some people a few days is all you need. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I have owned 12 Hondas over the years, and the only major thing I have ever had to do to any of them is replace the rear bearings/carrier on the 400EX....and it is really my own fault that they failed.

Yamaha, not so lucly! The Blaster developed cracks on every weld on its swingarm! A detent for the kickstarter that was part of the case, broke off so it could only be bump started....so at this point, I sold it. The Warrior (which I naively rode for many years), was just a very poorly designed machine. Quality was descent, but that can't make up for clunkey handling.

Also owned three Suzukis and one Kawi, and no major problems with any of those.

So, of the 20 or so machines I have owned, only the Blaster was a major problem. Perhaps this is because I am the poster boy for **** retentive perventitive maintenance??? That, and I have always run top of the line ester synthetic oils, from Redline and Maxima!!!

All that said, I love my (non-ES) Honda Rancher 420 and have no wish to own any other utility quad that is currently found on this planet! Same goes for my Honda 450R sport quad! Life is good when you have already found your ultimate ride!!!

I do know one thing....I just don't really ever want to own any belt drive....