Hey,

I am looking to buy a cheap, old, automatic, atv - to keep at my cabin so if its stolen I won't get too mad... It will be mainly used for exploring the 1000 acre state land next to me and to bring us into the cabin from the road on the muddy road. I don't do the whole jumping, wheeling, and so on.

I want to be able to have my wife with me on it and I read that in NY you can only use an ATV that is meant for two... but what is that? I can I know?

I am mainly looking at ATVs on craigslist and I am not sure how to find out and how much of a risk I will take with having my wife on it with me. BTW - I am about 175 and she is 115.

 

Arctic Cat, Can-am and polaris all make two up atv's. There are some out there used with some okay prices. I have a Polaris X2 that has a pick up bed that a second seat pops out of which they started making in 2006. Just keep looking and you can find some touring models from those brands listed. Good luck.
P/S the x2 is great for hauling things with the pick up style bed.

 

True 2 ups are hard to come by used in NY at least. We do have that law though, and I know in areas like Tug Hill that tend to get patrolled you could very well be ticketed. Anything on state land is going to be a risk even if it is open for atv use. 2 rider atvs have a longer wheelbase, and your wife's weight will be between the axles. Using a single rider atv, the second person's weight ends up out past the rear axle. This leads to a higher chance of wheeling over backwards and has a negative effect on handling.

If you really just want to negotiate a dirt road that is to sketchy for the car/going to be on your own property than a single and some common sense should work fine. Better yet, why not get 2 smaller ones

 

Scooter - I also think there is only a slight chance of getting a ticket but I rather not risk it.

My main issue is finding one in my budget because those who sell in that price range of under a $1000 are usually very simple and old...the owners do not really know really mind much about them so they do not know if they are meant for two or not and as far as I can see - it is not easy to tell from photos. I don't want to start driving around looking for one... quite frustrating.

 

you won't find a factory 2-up for under $1000 unless it's stolen or a total basket case. you'd be lucky to even find a 4x4 utility for under $1000 that's any good.

your posts confuse me (the question you asked in your other thread)

you don't want any expensive quad that you'll care about if it gets stolen- and you just want to leave it out in the open woods... but then you also want to explore the thousand acre reserve...

either you think pushing a cheap unreliable broken abused atv across 1000 acres with your wife sounds like fun..... or you're not thinking this plan through very well.

 

beergut - I do see what you are saying and I believe I know why. From seeing many videos about ATVs in the last few weeks and from reading posts here I see that ATV culture today, or in the USA, is different from what I encountered abroad.

Growing up - me and my father had a polaris 250cc (not sure what model) we never tried to drive it super fast, wheel it, jump with it, or try to cross any rough terrain with it, which I will call "sporting". We used it as if we were hiking by foot - making our way while enjoying the outdoors. Doing the whole "sporting" thing will definitely require a stronger ATV especially if two needs to go on it which is why I believe you are seeing it, rightly so indeed, to be confusing. Using an ATV just to drive it in a forest does not require much power....

Do you agree?

 

it's very easy to tell if it's a 2-up atv or not from a pic or an ad...

their are only 3 manufactures that make 2-up atv's
1-polaris Touring
2- can-am outlander max
3- arctic cat

and you won't find any 2-ups for under $4k- actually- you'll be hard pressed to find any 2-ups for under $5k

there might be a couple of 2004 -05 can-am outlander 400 max's out there or a couple of polaris 500 x2 / touring models in the $3k range, but doubtful.

every factory 2-up will have a passenger seat behind the drivers seat- very easy to tell.

 

you don't need much power for easy woods riding- but you do need a reliable atv-

what is your plan for when you & your wife are miles deep in the woods and your $1000 atv breaks (because it will)?

are you going to push it all the way back with your wife? leave it there? pay hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to have it fixed?

Stop looking for a cheap "beater" quad and find a decent used atv that you can be confident on, especially since your wife will be with you.... and take care of it- don't leave it sitting in the woods when not in use- because I guarantee it won't make it 1 year without a major electrical or fuel issue. Northeast winters are brutal, and animals love to burrow in abandoned atv's sitting in the woods.

expect to spend $2500 - $3500 on a decent 4x4 atv (even more for a 2-up) or $1500 - $2500 on a decent used sport atv.

gotta think ahead brother- otherwise, you're just wasting your money

 

I am not trying to be cheap its just that for the main purpose of my ATV - getting me to my cabin on my 800ft of muddy driveway that my SUV wouldn't be able to - taking another route with this ATV is much more expensive and PIMA... Then a more expensive ATV in the 3k range plus a trailer for it plus the storage place that is 30 min away is a lot more then I wish to spend.

You don't think a nice trailblazer 250 from 1999-2000 will be ok? or a suzuki quadrunner 250?

I would really love to hear your input.

 

nothing wrong with a 250- as long as it was taken care of.
but there are no 250cc factory 2-ups (if that's what you're looking for) the smallest factory 2-up is the can-am outlander 400 max,

the 250 trailblazer would also be too small for both you & your wife.

why not build a simple small "dog-house" shed to keep the atv in when you're away- $150 in lumber and 2 hours of time and you'll have a secure place to store your atv on your property

again- reliability should be top on your list.