cherokee99: I appreciate the advice. My wife says she would go whenever I go, but I'll likely go a bit myself. I think I'll get her one, she'll eventually get into it.

conranger: good advice - I think you are right, the sport quads are probably better for the terrain here, and I like it that they cost less.

Canadian144: very helpful, thank you. Good idea on limiting the throttle at first. I will post some craigslist ads when I find good options.

Great advice all of you, thank you VERY much. I know this may be a loaded question, but is there better machines in terms of reliability? It seems like Honda is rock solid, then maybe Yamaha? I am sketch on Polaris, my brother got a loaded brand new one and it always had problems... I just can't afford a lot of issues and am not the most mechanically inclined, nor can I easily transport the quads to a mechanic. There are a lot of models here to choose from, I am sure a lot of it will vary based on opinion, but is there generally one or two bands known to be most reliable and hold there value better? I have always heard such of Yamaha and Honda.

Perhaps I should just get some sort of 4 passenger dune buggy or 4 Seater Yamaha rhino, Kawasaki teryx or Polaris ranger? Maybe that would be more affordable and we could all 4 have fun? Or is 3-4 separate quads about the same price and more fun for everyone?

Thanks again!!

 

you have more fun rideing than you do just sitting in a seat, IMO. iv never ridden desert areas so i was not the expert for this one lol, but there are some great people on here to back me up!

it is really a loaded question lol, ik recon ranger and i would say get hondas! but name brand is really the way to go! honda bikes have rarely let people i know down. polaris is sketchy for me to...some days i think i might buy one but i always see past it. but i would buy anything from the big 4 in a heartbeat!(suzuki, yamaha, honda, kawi)

if your kids are sketchy on using a clutch, i really recomend starting the oldest on a honda 250ex. it has a stall-proof clutch so no worries if he just dumps it! i way over 200lbs and iv ridden one [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: cherokee99
if your kids are sketchy on using a clutch, i really recomend starting the oldest on a honda 250ex. it has a stall-proof clutch so no worries if he just dumps it! i way over 200lbs and iv ridden one [img][/img]</end quote></div>

Is the Honda 300ex the same as the 250ex in terms of the clutch?

I will certainly be buying from the main 4 - I bought a chinese pit bike once, it lasted like 6 weeks and was toast.

 

i dont believe so, its a feature listed for the 250ex, and the 300ex's iv ridden havent had that feature.

but the 300exs are good powerful bikes! you could ride one if desired

http://powersports.honda.com/2009/trx250x.aspx


link to honda 250x page. the 250x and ex are the same bike.

 

The more I research, the more I find people wanting to trade their quads towards sandrails - perhaps I should just find a 4-pax sandrail for &lt;$5-8k and then we can all 4 be together [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

That's probably the best idea. The only way to legally ride double on a quad is to get a 2-up utility and they wouldn't be much fun in the desert. At a minimum you'd need 2 of them for the family and they would cost more than a good used sand rail.

 

Riding 2-up on a sport quad is not a great idea!

Rails are fun, but have their limitations. A Jeep has the huge advantage over rails and UTV's of being street legal, so you can drive it to wherever you want to off-road.

With the economy bad, there should be tons of great deals on used machines!!! You can't go wrong with the machines from the big 4. I have owned may Hondas, a few Suzukis and Yamahas, and a Kawi, and never had a major problem with any of them!

 

The bang for your buck camps of ATVs are the Honda 420 Rancher, 400 Suzuki King Quad and the Polaris Sportsman 400 H.O (Actually a 455cc).

I would say the 350 Yamaha Grizzly but it cant hit 50 mph like the others.

 

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

The bang for your buck camps of ATVs are the Honda 420 Rancher, 400 Suzuki King Quad and the Polaris Sportsman 400 H.O (Actually a 455cc).



I would say the 350 Yamaha Grizzly but it cant hit 50 mph like the others.</end quote></div>



None of those are good desert quads!!! Listen to those of us who ride desert every day, not somebody from Minnesota or wherever........

The 350 pound Honda 450R is the king of desert endurance racing! Like Baja and Vegas to Reno....you know, start it up and ride 1,000 miles non-stop!

Some typical terrain: http://www.atvtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5432


(The burried motorcycle is the "Husky Monument", an tribute from friends of riders who have passed away.)

 

I would say for you, the DS 650 is the ultimate Desert machine, nothing compares to it's stock ride and power in the desert. It's also the most comfortable and reliable machine out there.. And you can get a very nice one for around $3000 or less. For the wife a 400cc sport like the Z400 or the 400ex would be perfect. And for the kids anything under 250cc should be good. Since the kids are just learning you might want to get something small in cc's like a 150 and when they get more experienced, something like a Raptor, DS, Suzuki, etc 250. Good luck and have fun shopping!