Hello all. While I don't yet have a quad I will be buying one in the next two weeks. I have been coming into the ATVConnection Forums for several weeks looking for as much info as I can get. I am impressed with the willing help you all provide and would like adivice on my purchase. By now I am sure most of your are tired of answering the question; which ATV to buy. So, sorry in advance of asking one more time.

I live in the Trinity National forest in far Northern California on 6 acres of heavily forested property. Our cabin is on about the only flat land on the parcel. We have been here for nearly 10 years and draging chicken feed, litter, bales of hay, wood, rock, dirt and gravel is getting more and more difficult as I age. Not to mention shoveling snow and a near useless snow blower. My neighbor has a Suzuki 400 w/ a snow plow and finds good use for his quad thoughout the rest of the year. So...duh! it dawns on me I need a quad runner to help around the place.

Don't plan on to much trail riding even though there are 100's of miles of logging roads and skid roads and forest service trails through out my area, but cruising on them might be fun. However, like my neighbors my quad may never leave the property.

At this time I am considering Suzuki, Yamaha, Polaris and Honda. Most of these in the 420-550 cc range. I have gleaned from the forums that I realy can't go wrong with any of them (although have read some ugly on the Po). The dealers are all over an hour away from my location so my shopping has been infrequent and short. Hopeing to pay about $7000 out the door with quad, wench and plow. Not sure this is even realistic.

Should I add CanAm to the above list?

Any and all advice appreciated

Joe

 

Yamaha, Polaris and Honda make excellent quads. But for around the yard utility work and some trail riding I would suggest getting a 2005-08 Polaris Sportsman ATP or 6x6. You can get a 2005-08 with low miles for roughly 6000 or so with a winch used. And then pick up a plow for 200-300 bucks...
I would try searching craigslist, sometimes you can get some good deals.

You can def. find bad reviews on Polaris but then again you can find bad reviews on all the other makes you mentioned too....

 

As much as I like Can-Am, I think you can keep them off your list. While Can-Ams can do the work, they lean very heavily towards the sporty side of 'utility' ATV.

I think I'd go for the Honda Rancher as the best bang for the buck for what you are looking for. But, as you have already found out, there are not too many loosers out there these days.

 

I'd have to agree with jaybeecon. A Can-Am WOULD do the work, but it isn't really designed to do as much work as other quads.

If you hit the trails oh, say every week or so, then a Can-Am would definitely be the way to go.

 

I have never been able to warm up to the automatic belt drive transmissions. So, that happily leaves just a few choices that I have to deal with. For a mostly work quad, I like the Honda Foreman 500....nice simple machine with a time proven record.

The ES push button system has had its share of problems, so I would stick with a good old simple foot shifter.

 

As mentioned above the Honda Rancher 4X would be a good choice for a work vehicle, but not real comfortable for old bones if you decide to ride with it. You may want to find something with Independent rear suspension. Although I think the newest models out of the Honda Rancher do have independent suspension, they still are not the smoothest ride.

I'm partial to Arctic Cats, they pull just about anything and climbs like a goat. Very Sturdy, designed to be a work horse and you can buy almost any attachement for the farm. The rack system is superb. I was leaning towards the Honda Rancher when I purchased, but the Independent Suspension and ground cleareance won me over to the Arctic cat (Not to mention a much better price). And if you really need a smooth ride look at the TRV Model. This is a two up machine but has a bit smoother ride due to the large wheel base. I had a friend who was in her 60's come for a ride this past week. She came with a little 300 2X model, and we soon put here on our arctic cat as the 2X could not handle some of the areas we were going. She enjoyed that ride, but it got a little rough for her, then we put her on the TRV Model. As soon as she got home she was scouring the internet for one as the ride was very smooth for her.

Good Luck in you search!

 

Simple, for a work quad a Polaris X2 or ATP or a 6x6. Does any other brand even make anything close?

 

Oh yeah a 6x6 will be REALLY fun on the trails...

 

trinityquad
Don't plan on to much trail riding even though there are 100's of miles of logging roads and skid roads and forest service trails through out my area, but cruising on them might be fun. However, like my neighbors my quad may never leave the property

 

The Polaris Sportsman 500 X2 is a workhorse. It's the only quad I know of (other than the Polaris 6x6) with a 400 lb. rated rear suspension. It's soft enough for cruising and strong enough for the rated weight. It also converts from a dump bed to a 2-up quad. I just got back from 3 days of riding a mix of 1-up and 2-up and am doing well, even with a bad disc in my back. I've used it to pull an ATV dump cart filled with wet firewood and it pulls the 800-900 lbs. pretty effortlessly. It's like nothing else out there as far as versatility goes. If you want to use the dump box, you fold the 2nd seat under the box. Takes seconds to do. If you want to go from work to 2-up, same thing. Easy. I recommend the 500cc. Strong enough for everything but the highest elevations that rob all gas engines of some power. Very bulletproof engine.