I have been considering a a variety of quads in the 500-650cc range. Perhaps some of you can chip in with your experiences and/or observations, or point out things (or quads) I may have overlooked. I seem to have narrowed it down to:

Sportsman 500 HO
AC 500i
Grizzly
Kaw Prarie 650
Honda Rubicon

My riding is largely in heavy woods with fairly narrow, winding trails, bags of hills and lotsa big limestone rocks and creekbeds, mostly on my farm in central KY. More technical stuff than high speed hotdogging - if you're going faster than 40mph on my trails, it means you're about to smack a tree. Riding is some work and some play. Okay, it's a little work and a lot of play, being married requires some form of rationalization. But, I'd still like to be able to pull the occasional downed tree, and haul a trailer load of firewood. And I do cross a creek, 1-2 feet deep. No mud - it's a fast moving creek - but some good bluegill fishing.

Given this style of riding, the two that seem to top the list so far are the 500HO and Cat 500i. Grizzlies are a bit pricey, dealers are NOT dealing on them, and while I love the locking diff and extra power, it doesn't appear to be worth the extra $$$ I'd have to pay: $800-1k over the others. $7k seems to be the average, $6.7k (before tax) has been the lowest I've found so far. The Prarie and Rubicon don't really have the sort of rough territory performance I'd like to see, though both are excellent in their own right. If I'm paying this sort of money, I want IRS. Pretty much the same reason I crossed off the Suzuki, a fine quad but not optimized for where I'm going. Sharp looking machine, though.

That leaves the sporty and the cat, both appear to have good rough territory capabilities, and they are priced almost exactly the same, both list price and eventual negotiated price. The Polaris has better power, while the Cat has better ground clearance. I tend to lean towards the cat due to the availability of a manual transmission and wider track, but in all fairness, any difference between the two will be slight compared to what I ride now: 91 big bear 4x4. They seem to be roughly comparable. Or are they? Am I discounting the Kaw and Honda too quickly? Prices on both are fairly good.

--John

 

All on your list (plus many others) will do what you need. I just wouldn't be too quick to discount a non-IRS bike. I went from riding an IRS bike for years (KingQuad) and when I started looking for a new ride, IRS was one of my 'must have' options. I dicided instead on a two-shock solid axle (Eiger) and have no regrets. I ride in a lot of rough country and way back in the woods trails and I haven't missed the IRS at all. I'm sure if you were riding in 'extra large tire snorkle type deep mud' that IRS would be a real benefit but for most trail use I think the main plus is a cushier ride. Besides, it's hard to beat a solid rear axle when you decide to powerslide whenever you are ..um.....working with your quad.

There are so many good quads out there that it's hard to go wrong. Basically, most any new 400+ ATV will be worlds better than your Big Bear.

Jaybee

 

I own a 400 4x4 Arctic Cat manual. I'm pretty happy with it. I have ridden with 3 different Polaris 700's. From what I saw they seemed to take the bumps quite well. Good power(duh) and looks good. I saw one at an outdoor show for less than the 500 HO.

 

for what it's worth..
when shopping & looking at these models
kodiak
Grizzly 660
Ac 500
Prarie 650
prarie 400

I started looking at the weight,,the 650 was within 10 lbs of the 400 cc class machines..I wanted diffrent things than what you listed.. I wanted power, smoothness, high rack capacity, liquid cooling, good brakes, locking front end, selectable 2/4 x 4, but did'nt want it to ride like a full time 4x4, so those things limited my choices..

I haul a lot of things around in my work, I liked the large rear rack, & long seat, normally my quad has 2 8" pvc tubes strapped to the front, & 2 8" pvc tubes, & a 4" one strapped to the rear, then my instrument gets strapped to the front, & a cooler gets strapped to the back, by the time I load it up with 2 tripods, 50 4' flag stakes, 25 5/8" rebar, 2 prisim poles..you get the idea..I probally could have gotten any quad to do this,

but when you nail the 650, a wicked grin comes over you when the back end stays planted & powerslides..so I actually have 2 scooters, one for work, one for fun..

the thing that works for motorcycles & boats works for quads..get the one that when you get off of it makes you turn around for a second look, but again the joy of these things is how they move underneath you.

The quad is moving up on the list of toys the more I get to pleasure ride with it. before I got to do that it was just a work tool. no diffrent from anything else I have.

there are a lot of choices, make the one that suits you the best.

 

Hmmm... interesting note on the 400i - I was looking at them yesterday, and it was priced $1k less than the 500i. I have to wonder if 100cc is worth $1,000. One Spam wordSpam word Spam wordSpam word Spam wordSpam word Spam wordSpam word ling little complaint about the manual tranny cat - why did they put high-low shifter in that silly location? Detracts from an otherwise well thought out machine.

Dealers are sorta dealing, and sorta not. So far, I've found: 500HO - $6300 with 2500 pound winch. 500i - $6100, said he'd sell me a winch for $300. 400i - $5100. Rubicon - $6500. Prairie - $6300. Griz - $6900.

I tend to lean a little towards the cat due to the wider stance and availability of a manual tranny, but I'm also going to take a fresh look at the Prairie, it has that torquey v-twin, bags of pulling power. If all IRS gets me is a little better clearance and a little more comfort at the expense of higher repair cost, it may not be worth it. However, I get the feeling that any of the quads I'm looking at would work out just fine. Maybe I'll give their marketing people fits, and flip a coin...

--john

 

John O,

I do many of the things that you do and I looked at some of the same ATV's. I went with the Prairie 650 with no regrets. As Surveyor said, when you hammer down the throttle you will crap your pants at the acceleration. I thought I wanted IRS too but up here in the north I drive through woods and slough bottoms. The ride is not uncomfortable, I don't get stuck, and cleaning a solid axle is easy as pie. The 650 may not rock hop as well as a Cat or 500HO but it is nimble and swift in the wooded trails you talked about. The solid axle allows for a sporty ride and awesome powerslides.

I loved the Polaris 500 HO but I did not want to grease zerks, especially in the winter with snow packed to the bottom of my ATV.

The Cat has a great tranny but its accerlation is unimpressive. Great workhorse ATV though. $6,300 for a Prairie is a great price.


Daryn

 

Hey JohnO! What bout the Vinson 500? It has good power,nice ride,good water protection,good at pulling, and it looks awesome.

 

Yes, I just had a look at a Vinson. Wild looking, especially in flaming yellow. You could find that quad under six feet of water.

Lots of choices out there. But, as I have a pretty good stable of go fast machines, I will probably be getting more of a workhorse that can kick it's heels up on occasion. Tough choices, but ain't it fun?

--John

91 Big Bear 4x4
90 Lotus Esprit
87 YZ490
82 Honda CBX
70 ZR1 Corvette (in pieces right now)

 

The Cat has everyone beat for torque. For trail riding getting up to 35-40 MPH is pretty quick, anything above that takes a while to get there. But that is a lot of weight to get going. On mine the dry weight is around 630lbs + my weight of 250lbs + fuel and oil. You are talking around 900lbs to get moving.

Only complant is the Dunlop tires. Not good in the sticky mud. Other than that I love it.

 

No doubt that the Cat has great torque and great looks. But I merely test drove a 500i manual before making the decision to go with a Kawi 650. I did not have any offroad time with it. But if you want class-leading pulling power and great torque, try the 650. I use it for mudding, hunting, trail-riding, and recently for hauling rocks. Great all-around ATV. And it does not hurt to know that you can beat any other utility ATV in a drag race.

Daryn