Hey guys. I need help deciding which 4X4 ATV to purchase. I am looking for something that is 450cc and over. I will be using it for light trail rides, sandy and rocky beaches, possible hunting, and plowing the driveway. Thanks for any input.

 

How much are you willing to spend up to?

Every manufacturer makes a quad that would easily fit your needs. Really, all I can say is to go and sit on all of the machines that you can and drive as many as you can!

People will all say, oh yeah this quad is the BEST one or whatever, but when you give such open requirements, it's bound to happen.

The Can AM Outlander is a great machine, well I am biased LOL. The new Polaris Sportsman XP is also nice. The Suzuki King Quad, Yamaha Grizzly and Kawasaki Brute Force are also great machines. Arctic cat and Honda also make machines in this class, although I personally am not very familiar with them.

I think a choice that you will have to make will be EFI vs carb. EFI is IMO much better, and most bikes have it above 450cc. The Kawasaki Brute Force 650 is carbureted, the 750 is fuel Injected. I think all of the Sportsman XPs, Outlanders, Grizzlies, and King Quads are also all fuel injected above 450cc.

Out of the group, the three most powerful are the Polaris Sportsman XP 850, Can Am Outlander 800R, and the Kawasaki Brute Force 750. They are also all twin cylinders. If you are willing to spend that much to buy one, those three would be IMO the best choices. If you are looking for something in the 500 or 600 class, there are also a lot of options there.

 

Fuel injected and water cooled Honda Rancher 420. The standard model if you want an SRA, or the 420AT if you want IRS (and a totally unique new gear-on-gear automatic transmission!). This machine rips right off the bottom, and all the magazines say the power of the 420 is more in the 500 class than in the 400 class.

Honda marches to a different drummer! They build a very compact engine with a low center of gravity. The suspension is tight and there is no body roll, unlike the sloppy long travel suspension that is so popular with other manufacturers. This machines is super stable, and inspires confidence in nasty situations where other quads will flop all over the place.

 

In making my purchases over the years I have gone to the ones that know the most about them, the mechanics. Almost all of them have told me Yamaha or Honda. With either one you have reliability, durability, and the largest network of dealerships. I'm not trying to start a war with those that prefer other makes at all, I am just giving you my opinion after much research.

 

I think that is a very inaccurate statement - all of the manufacturers are about even now in terms of reliability and durability. Just the other day, I was driving down the road that leads to my farm with my dad, and we had to help tow a guy riding a 450R out of a ditch. He said that it was a 2007 and that the battery wire had broken or whatever. He had to push it about a kilometer through a muddy field to where he had to cross a ditch to get it onto the road. Why would the battery wire just break like that?

I'm not saying Honda doesn't make reliable ATVs. I'm just every person can probably talk about a problem that he has personally seen with this brand or that brand. But for every person that has a problem with their ATV, there are a ton more that are 100% happy with their machine.

Look - Honda and Yamaha still don't have a twin cylinder engine. Why not? Honda's and Yamaha's are lacking in power to all Can Ams, the new Polaris XP's, and the Kawi Brute Force 750i. Look at Dynos. In 2008 when we bought our Outlander 800 we were looking at dyno charts - every single Can Am engine (whether it was the 400, 500, 650, or 800) made a lot more power than the rest of it's class. The 800 made more power than Kawasaki's Brute Force 750i. Currently, however, the Polaris Sportsman XP is the HP king I believe. So why haven't Honda/Yamaha switched on to this? Obviously in a sport ATV it is a different story. But in a utility, nowadays to be competitive in terms of power you need to really have a twin-cylinder engine.

 

Like I said in my first post, I am not trying to start a war here with my post, I am merely giving the person my reseach findings. I did talk to no less than 5 multi-line dealerships mechanics and almost without fail they all told me Honda and Yamaha. If Honda and Yamaha were only out to have the most horsepower I have no doubt that they would have it. What Honda and Yamaha have is a reputation for durability and reliability that is beyond reproach. For your argument to hold water I guess you could say to Harley Davidson that in order for them to be competitive in the power department that they have to have a 4 cylinder engine to keep up with Kawasaki and Suzuki? I think all of the manufacturers have their niche where they are the best at whatever, and I think for what the person that started this post wanted, I gave him good and accurate advice.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>How much are you willing to spend up to? </end quote></div>

I am looking at spending around $7000 or so. I think I have it narrowed down to the Yamaha Grizzly's and the Honda Foreman. Would like something that has IRS. Don't know much about Arctic Cat. Most of the people I know have the Yamaha.

 

Hello,
I have an 08 700 Grizzly FI EPS and so far it has been great. I paid 7150 for mine last July and I have seen them a bit cheaper since, but not much cheaper. I saw one the other day advertised for 6499 and called about it out of curiosity and they didn't put in the add that there is an $800 set up fee. I bet you can get an 09 for what I paid for my 08. I also bought a 450 Grizzly at the same time and while it is a nice quad, it lacks a bunch of refinement that the 700 has. The EPS is great, as is the FI. The 700 weighs nearly the same as the 450 and is much larger physically. I had to adjust the brake cables on the 450 and thought I would check the 700 while I was at it and didn't realize that the 700 has no cables. lol It is drive by wire for the throttle and hydraulic all the way for the brakes. A nice feature I think. The fuel injection really makes a huge difference when cold starting. Just turn on the key and wait till the fuel pressure is up and it starts almost instantly, which it did when it was below zero as well. I am impressed so far and would make the same choice today if I were to buy again. I want to add that the reason I chose the Yamaha over the Honda was the transmission. With the Honda you can shift gears with your foot or with a button on the handle bars and I didn't like that. I prefer to have it be totally auto. I am sure that you can't go wrong with either Honda or Yamaha. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

As stated before its a personal preference. Go check out the atvs YOU are considering buying, get the feel, test ride them if you can, see what style you like, what features each bike has for your type of riding and so on. Each bike will have something the others dont, so you need to find out what is more important to you. features to look at to name a few would be: ground clearance,rack capacity,fuel capacity,diff. lock(not a necessity,but is a nice feature),easy maintnance,warranty(how long), automatic or shift, efi or carb.,power steering,ect... the list goes on. I have seen each name brand of bikes on the trails and
all of them have been great,some have had small issues but overall everyone has had fun riding at the end of the day. The bike i ride fits my needs and type of riding i do and i love it, the arctic cat 700efi. I do wish it had power steering though. good luck!!

 

Thanks for the info on the Grizzly cody700. I think I am leaning toward the Grizzly 550 over the Honda because of the tranny. Does the EPS make that much of a difference?