Hello every one i am new to this fourm and would like your help. which atv would be good for me i am 6ft one in weigh about 259 and am getting an atv to help in my relic hunting with my metal detector. there are so many choises out there i dont know what to get. i live in south west florida. i would appreciate any input thanks
manny

 

You are my size. Many people will tell you get get a big bore. I don't really think thats necessary. I'm currently in the market and looking at the Grizzly 550, Grizzly 450, Kingquad 500AXI, and Sportsman 500. I've test drove all except the Suzuki and felt they were all plenty powerful enough to haul my big butt around. The 550 Grizz is the same size as the Grizz 700. The 450 is the smallest of the bunch but even it feels large enough for me. The 450 is the most manuverable.

 

Welcome to the forum. The polaris bikes all have smooth ride. jmo

 

A 400-550 will do about anything you need them to do. As said, Polaris Sportsmans are a very comfortable ride, have best on board storage options and have the strongest frame, Yamaha Grizzly is a great all around machine, Suzuki King Quad is also nice and is usually best bang for the buck, Kawasaki doesn't make a 500 class machine but the Prairie 360 is a good all around machine, CanAm Outlander is usually fastest per cc but have a weak frame design in my mind. We put an insert in my son's CanAm Renegade for peace of mind. I don't know a ton about Arctic Cats. Honda makes probably the most reliable machine out there. My only gripe with Honda is that the front end can't be totally locked like all the other makers. Only an issue in severe terrain where you're in deep, deep mud or in situations where a tire or two may end up in the air. If you can, go to the dealers and try a few of them out.

 

Welcome! The thing to remember is that there are very few things a big bore flagship model can get through that a well ridden smaller machine can't. Many of the manufacturers are using a full size chassis on anything 400cc and above, so they will all fit you. Stay away from the offbrand models unless you are handy with tools and repairs. It doesn't appear you need anything to crazy, so I would start off looking at the 4-500cc machines.

 

You going to be buying new or used? What price range are you looking at? Might be able to help us narrow it down for you. Other than that, big x2 on everything posted above.

 

Are you looking for something to really fly around on, or something just to get you here and there in the woods? If your just looking for something to to haul your stuff and help you out with your metal detector stuff, I'd say a 2x4 utility would do just fine and save you a few grand over a 4x4. I find 2x4 will get you pretty much anywhere you need to go, unless your going through crazy deep mud or going on in heavy snow.

So if your just looking for something to help you out and carry your things, I'd suggest a 350 utility. They'll still go pretty fast and you can still have a blast on them, and they'll save you a good buck over the bigger ones. If your looking for something with a bit more oomph, maybe look 500cc or up, but IMO I don't think that's necissary.

Here are some quads you could check out:

Yamaha Grizzy 350 2x4 ($4799)
Kawasaki Prarie 360 2x4 ($4799)
Polaris Trailboss 330 2x4 ($4299)


Those are just some of the ones that come to mind for me. If your looking for a 4x4, the Grizzyly 350 also comes in a 4x4 version for about $1500 more. Like I said though, a lot of times I don't think 4 wheels drive is even needed. But it's all in where you going. My 2 wheel drive will get me even in the craziest placiest.

My opinion, go for the Grizzly 350. I've read in a magazine the chassis is SLIGHTLY smaller than the full sized Grizzlies, and it's nice and manuverable. They really seemed to like it. And as always I thinkt he Grizzlies are reliable.

 

if i could find a nice used machine for about 3000 to 5000 dollars it would be nice

 

Robscherer makes some really good points. If you're going to be on beaches you don't really need a 4x4. Soft sand doesn't present a problem for a 2wd. In the few spots where there is soft sand (not many) up here in New England, we are always in 2wd High. The only time in soft sand where we use 4wd is going up soft sand hills.

 

You may not need 4wd, but If I weight 260lb ,I sure would want a roomier more spacious full size chassis, like the 450KQ,SP500/400 have but the 450 Grizzly does not have.