Hey, I'm kind of struggling here, I cannot figure out which size ATV I should get (one that matches my weight but I can have my fiance riding without dying while trying to keep up with me and to just have fun). I'm 23yrs, 6'1 at approx. 176 lbs/80 kg while my girl is 5'3 130 lbs/59kg(22yr). Honestly I've gotten the chance to ride a 01' 660 raptor awhile back and have always wanted one. I currently only ride dirt-bikes(kawa250/kawa450) and skidoo's and want to branch out into sport atv's. I live in the northern interior of BC so we only really get like 7-8months of non-snow days lol. But I usually ride alot during that time.
-Able to handle me fine
-Wont kill my bride-to-be
-Wont cost eat my wallet alive
-so yea I am new to atv's but I make sure we never ride without proper protection/gear and I do understand the need to respect power.

any assistance on this matter is appreciated, I went to the local atv dealership here and was treated like a fool, the guy kept wanting me to get a side-by-side which I'm not interested in yet.

 

So you probably do mostly trail riding then I imagine, I live in northern BC as well and I recently bought a Can Am DS 450. Its amazingly light and a great trail machine, with as much power as I'll ever need, its really comfortable for me and I'm about 6ft tall 190lbs, but I probably wouldn't suggest a 450 for you. They're primarily a racing class and they have powerful, high compression engines. Although they're extremely fun machines, they require more maintenance than your run-of-the-mill leisure quad.

With all that said, there are many people up in my area that ride the Honda 400ex. Great trail machine, reverse, air-cooled, and very reliable. I've personally never ridden one, but have friends who have and say they're great machines, plenty of power. What I have ridden is a 2006 Raptor 700R, a few lbs heavier than a 400ex, but with a nice fuel-injected 686cc single, 5-speed with reverse. All the power you'll ever need, good handling, good trail machine, and an engine that's not as high compression as a 450, so it doesn't require as much maintenance and is very reliable. The Raptor 700R is the more refined version of the 660, better geometry, better engine, etc...

Either the Raptor 700R or the Honda 400ex are what I'd suggest, test drive both of them, see which one suits you best, good luck finding one you like.

 

I agree with Rocker Ace, a couple of things I would add is a 2002(?) and up Raptor 660's are great, not a refined as the 700 but generally a good bit cheaper, you may want to stay away from the 01 model because they had some issues wth trannys.

A Suzuki LTZ400 is also a great choice with good power, reliability and reverse.

You can't go wrong with a Honda 400ex, 2005+ have a reverse and if you want to save a couple of bucks go for an 04 or older, they don't have reverse but they really don't need it. The 400ex is a great design with a bullet proof motor and tranny and it responds well to mods like a pipe and an air filter.

 

thanks alot for the input this why I came here. Now just to find the right places/prices to check these out.

 

Another machine you may want to look at is the KFX 700. They are a belt drive and are therefor easy to ride. They are a 700 so they have lots of power. They are also a shaft drive so no chain to worry about in the sand or where ever. Those are the good things.

The bad things are: They are very heavy and the factory shocks suck. Just another option to look at.