the vinson was totaled. my adult stepson (38) took it for a ride and did NOT respect the machine. he hit a utility pole with the right front, broke the left lower frame tube collapsing the right frame and supports to the the point where the tire and broken rim ended up against the right foot rest. a buddy has it now and is looking for a frame. after all the flipping and rolling the beast still runs great. pulled the front driveshaft and right front wheel, put it in 2WD and it will wants to move forward and backward. it will live again. anyway that's why i don't have it any more. whatever machine you get, respect it and ride safe within your limits

 

The ideal situation would be to get something with a plow/winch already installed. The less I have to do the better.

Sorry your Vinson was totaled. I'm hoping the 38yo involved was OK.

Since I'm looking at more and more older ATV's with engines no longer in production (KQ 450, Sportsman 500/HO, Grizz 660, etc.), would there be any issues getting parts or service?

 

parts should not be a problem, all very popular bikes with long production runs. stepson now OK after 4 months recovery. 9 broken ribs, 1 collarbone, 1 knee, 1 orbital socket, punctured lung, and lacerated liver. now that he is on the mend, i hope he survives what i am going to do to him for wrecking my favorite bike LOL. i think you will find a lot of used machines with winches already installed, at that point plow is easy to install.

 

The more popular the machines were the more parts are available. Polaris Sportsman 500's have tons of parts available as they were/are one of the top selling quads out there. Goes for Hondas too. Not sure on older quads. In my riding in NH and ME the two most popular brands are Polaris and Can-Am. So, parts for these will be more readily available in, say, ten years or so than others. Just some random thoughts on the parts issue.

 

Any of the quads you listed still have very good parts availability. There are many websites in fact that offer aftermarket parts like starters that cost a lot less than the oem ones and offer quality equal to the original. DB Electrical is one that makes starters and their prices on quality replacement parts are very competitive. Like this starter for a Grizzly 660 for instance DB Electrical - NEW STARTER YAMAHA GRIZZLY KODIAK WOLVERINE RHINO 400 450 600 660 ATV. Under 40 bucks with free shipping. An OEM starter costs several times more, about $160. Popular quads like the Grizzly 660 and Sportsman 500 will have parts available for many years to come. There are still thousands of them still out there being ridden. It makes sense to keep parts available. Those 2 quads probably have the most aftermarket accessories available too like winches, plows, wheel and tire kits, bumpers, skid plates, boxes and bags, etc. Pretty much any shop will work on most brands of quads. Just because its say a Honda dealer, they will still do work on your Polaris or Yamaha for instance. Offering good service for your current ride they think will hopefully cause you to come back to them when you want to replace it.

 

Polaris sold over a million Sportsman 500s so new and aftermarket parts should be available for quite some time. The market is there. When the supply of new parts dries up people will be parting them out so used parts will still be available. Other makes and models should have parts available too. The Grizzly 660 was a really good quad. My friend has over 14,000 miles on his. The only thing I know of that went bad was the stator burned up and I think it needs the top end rebuilt.

 

That's good to hear he's doing better. Don't make him feel like he hit a utility pole with the left side too!

I do see a lot of machines with winches installed. If I did end up getting one without, are they difficult to install? What about a plow installation?

I guess one of the reasons a lot more sportsmans are for sale is because they sold/sell very well. That eases my concerns a little bit.

There's only a few good deals on Grizzlys and most are the 660. One of them has what appears to be an aftermarket radiator/cooler mounted on the front rack. Is this common? Below is the link.
https://nh.craigslist.org/snw/5242588062.html

There are two 2008-9 King Quad 450's for sale, one in NH and one in VT, that I may look at. Both are in the $4500-$5k price range, have under 1000 miles and have a winch, but no plow.

 

Most plows simply bolt onto the bottom of the frame. Easy installation with no drilling or anything else like that. And I wouldn't buy a quad with a relocated radiator. It's likely been abused.

 

That's good to hear. The last thing I'd want to be doing is drilling and tapping holes in winter weather.

That is also what I was looking for. I asked because maybe it was a common issue and everyone had that mod. I guess not.

Thanks jumbofrank

 

I also would avoid a dedicated mud machine. But, honestly, a lot of the trails in NH and ME have some pretty good sized lakes, I mean, water holes that you have to go through. So, quite a few, if not, most, have gone through some pretty deep water and mud if they've done a lot of riding.

Most modern quads have the ducting for the air box up high where the gas tank used to be. CVT quads also have ducting to allow air to flow and cool the system. Good if they duct the CVT up high too.