im new at this and am looking to buy my first 4wheeler, i heard that Honda and Yamaha are the best! Im looking for sport atv, not utility.... I really like the raptors but where i am from (puerto rico) they are the most popular and are really expensive... I was thinking anything from 350cc to 500cc, i am a 22 and 5'10 and weigh 185pounds.... I will be rideing in mud, sand, dirt and some rocky areas.... What do u guys think of the 2006 polaris predator500? Is polaris a good brand? I have used thier utilitys but never something sport. Also how do i know if i need 2wd or 4wd?

 

If you're going to be riding in a lot of mud, get a 4wd. There are lots of machines in the 500 cc class that will work. Suzuki King Quad, Polaris Sportsman, Can-Am Outlander and Renegade (Renegade is pretty sporty for a 4x4), Yamaha Grizzly 550 or 450.

 

I owned a 2006 predator 500 troy lee edition for 4 years and they are very fun high quality quad that are great for all round riding. I sold it to buy a Polaris 525 outlaw. The outlaw really impressed me also so you really cant go wrong with a polaris sport quad they have nice machines that run very well. There are alot of performance modifications you can add to them also. Hope this helps

 

The Pred is a decent machine. I don't think they stand up to the years like most Honda/Yamaha machines do though. The Suzuki Z400 is a great quad that I would have on my short list.

As for needing 4wd, did you need it when using the utes previously? If you have friends that ride, what do they have? Unless you have that crazy urge to bury your quad seat deep in goop a sporty should be fine.

 

If you like chugging through mud slow as can be,and crawling over rocks get a utility quad. If you like fast trails, hillclimbing, light mud, get a sport quad. If you're gonna go sport get a Honda 400ex, Suzuki LTZ400, even a Can-Am DS 650 if you don't mind not having reverse on such a beast. Stay away from Polaris sport quads, alot of people on this forum might be biased because Polaris are built in the USA, but up here in the great white north, they dont last. Predators handle awful, shaky shaky, if you like a dancing quad here you go. The Outlaw 525IRS was a cool idea, see alot of people flipping them while doing donuts (bigger sway bar needed). Polaris makes good utility quads and snowmobiles though. As Scooter said though, it depends on what your friends ride, if they have utilities then they'll no doubt go through mud, and mud's no good for a sporter's chain. If they have dirtbikes or sport quads though, then you're set. Stay away from 450s if you can, they're a little too much quad for most people, if you must get one though, I'd suggest the Honda TRX 450r.

 

Rocker brings up some good points. One thing with the Outlaw IRS is that some people set the rear shocks too soft. You can get a nice firm ride out of them that rails pretty well in the corners by just adjusting the rears. I found it could be set up almost as firm as a swing axle. I didn't get to ride one. Just impressions from some butt time. The KTM engine is one of the fastest out there in the sport quads and the clearance you get with the IRS will help it get through some rough areas where the solid axles get hung up a bit. Was just riding up in Claremont, NH with my son and another gent remembering when we had a couple 2wd with us. One was a Honda Recon 250 with a gear box in the rear on a solid axle. The other was a Kawasaki Lokota 300 with a chain drive solid axle. While we were amazed at the places you can get a 2wd there were some areas where they either could not get enough speed up (too rocky or deeply rutted) or just didn't have the extra traction needed to get through some of the mud/waterholes up there. On rides we had with those machines with us it usually meant yanking them out about a half dozen times per ride. Just some random thoughts.