Hi guys...first off, great forum ! I have already found lots of information on atvs which i will be using for my first purchase......

I live in NH, and i believe some on this forum are familiar with the trail system around here.....That's where i will mainly be riding.....I believe it can be fairly steep and rocky terrain from what i have heard......I also will be making my own trails on my own property...i have 6 acres and i will be running stuff over (it's woods) to make some trails....

I was just looking for opinions on the different brands.....

So far i sat on a honda and a kawasaki (not rode though - no sales guys around).....I test drove a Articcat.....

I am not going to go with honda (too low ground clearance)

The kawasaki was the most comfortable of the 3, but ground clearance seems a little low....

The articcat seemed ok, but a little boring maybe ?

I am also considering a suzuki, the yamaha grizzly and the polaris sportsman....I would like to go around 500cc 4x4 utility.....

Comfort is big to me (bad back).....Other things I would like to possibly have are power steering, EFI, different 4-wheel drive options, higher ground clearance, a backup pull start, built in GPS, decent braking system - I think yamaha has a sealed braking system ?

I will be test driving a grizzly, and a sportsman in the near future....any advice, opinions, and/or suggestions are appreciated....thanks guys

 

Welcome! All the quads you you listed are great quads! I will try and make this short and sweet for you if you want the best ride Sportsman, Fastest Can-Am, Quality Honda, Alla rounder Grizzly!

 

im gonna go out on a limb and guess that you will like the grizz...the suzuki is probably gonna be the friendliest to your wallet. good luck!

 

For your back, I'd have to say Polaris, many say it is the plushest ride around, with the Grizz as a second choice. the new 550 xp and Grizz are supposed to be 2 of the best mid size quads out there right now.

 

Get a yamaha or a honda if you wanna ride more than work on them..suzukis are good too except the brakes use up fast and front bearings also..

This is your first ATV purchase and the honda is a no go because of ground clearance? lol Ive owned probably 20 atvs and ground clearance has Never been an issue..Unless you got some serious stump and rock action of the likes I have never seen before...

 

well i know a guy who has lived in this area, and is familiar with the trails around here, and he told me that ground clearance in kind of a big issue....

also, unfortunately i have heard nothing but bad things about the local honda dealer.....

 

My last 3 ATV's were Yamaha's and now I have a King 700. By far more reliable than the previous Yamaha's (wheel bearings on all of them under 2500 miles) while I have had minimal problems with the Suzuki (3500 miles-no bearings). The Suzuki is a plusher ride than my Yamahas (one was grizzly) but not as plush as the Polaris. I prefer the Suzuki and Yamaha belt systems however.
The down side is the chaep plastic pins Sukuki uses.

 

the bad back makes me think 'SPORTSMAN' smothest ride but you should test ride the brute also

 

wow you are the first person to tell me that suzuki is more reliable than yamaha.....i just found out a guy at work has a king quad 400 and loves it - he mainly just uses it for trail riding, and says it's awesome

 

looks like i could be leaning towards artic cat now....the dealer is only 5 minutes from my house (i am in the boonies)....he is decent guy to deal with too.....and i might be getting a good deal on an 07' AC 700 efi...plus financing is only 1.9%