Hi guys!

I am about to purchase a new ATV and need help determining the right machine.

Some background that may help:
I live in Colorado and am an avid hunter and fisherman. Would like engine braking.
I just bought a house that has a long, steep driveway and succesfully convinced my wife that we need an ATV with a plow to keep the driveway clear.
I will sometimes use it to tow a small trailer with firewood, rocks, etc.

What would be the best ATV for these applications. I assume that I will need one with some decent power. I don't care that it is the biggest or baddest, as long as it is capable of handling the above tasks without falling apart.

Thanks for your help.

Ken

 

How about the new Kodiak 450 4X4 or maybe the new Honda Rancher 450 4x4.


Nocando

 

I am thinking either a prairie 360 or if you want something to play with too, a prairie 650 or grizzly 660 would be good.

 

Check out Arctic Cat,it has plenty of low end tourque for towing and plowing.It is also very reliable.I also think you should check into all brands as not to limit your options,test ride if possible.I own an 02' AC 400i and I do all kinds of towing(large trees,rocks and such) and still haven't had any problems or lack of power.Good luck in your search.

 

If you have the money, you can't go wrong with a Honda. Eitheir a 400 or 450 would probably work the best for you. Both are easy to maneuver when plowing snow or pulling stuff around and can still get you where you wan't to go in the bush. They are also quite simple to operate and quite reliable.

 

Since you don't care about having the biggest and badest look at the 400 or 500 class. You can't buy a bad machine (no matter what some people will tell you). Since it sounds like you want a more of a work machine I'd look at the Cat, Polaris and Bomb lines. Test drive as many as possible and see which fits you best.

 

It sounds like almost any of the 4X4s out there will do the job for you. Every manufacturer out there these days make quality machines so it probably comes down to personal preferences from a price and ride perspective. I went through the process your going through now about a year ago so these are my thoughts.

I ride a Honda Rubicon - its an automatic and has fantastic engine braking. Its larger in size and plows snow easily. Tons of power for hills and mud and will keep up to any 650 out there although you may not win the race. Very reliable and resale value is probably number 1 if you ever decide to trade for another one day.

Arctic Cat and Bombardier are both very good working machines. AC has a better ride and has fantastic torque so it will do all of the jobs you listed with ease. Because it is torquey you don't need a large of a machine - my AC 300 has no trouble pulling deer or moose out of the woods. Acceleration is not as fast though on most ACs as any of the competitors.

For both fun and work consider the Yamahas or Suzuki's. Owners love them because they are very sporty and easy to ride. Yamaha ahs the Big Bear for lower cost and work machine and the Kodiak for work and trail riding (Kodiak is narrow though so its a little tippy on side hills). Grizzly is a great machine too but of course costs more than the others. Suzuki has the Eiger and the fast Vinson - both great machines.

Kawasaki's seem to be more of a trail machine. The 360 and 650 Prairie's are fun to ride but have soft front springs and don't handle plowing as well as most other machines unless you replae the front springs with stiffer ones. Prairie 650 though is scary fast and handles great so its worth a look.

Polaris despite its past relaibility history makes great machines now. Their independent suspension is one of the best and it soaks up bumps better than any other machine (except for maybe the Honda Rincon 650). The machine is heavy but the engine power makes up for it - they are also very fun to ride. Any Sportsman will do the job for you.

I rented a few machines and rode as many others as I could before I made my first purchase. Key for me was to ride them. I liked the Honda because of its smooth auto transmission but I liked the ride of the Polaris much better. Another consideration is your dealer - some dealers stand behind their machines better than others. Not to say you will have any problems but if you do a good dealer will make your purchase much easier to live with.

Good luck with yoru decision and have fun with your purchase!

 

All the brands have 400 or 500cc machines that will fit your needs. Here's my 2 cents and please don't everyone cry because I don't think your brand is # 1.

First, I bought a 450 thinking I didn't need the biggest baddest machine and wanted to be a cheap b@ast@rd. Now that I started riding I REALLY like it and wish I would have bought the biggest baddest machine, the purchase price difference would have only been 1000 bucks or so. This may not be you, but you never know. After riding for about a year here is my impression of brand quality based on my own bike and friends relatives with the same other brands. I did substantial research before buying and my opinion has not changed much.

1. Honda - Most reliable but lowest featured and least technlogy for most of the line. ie no diff lock, low range, mostly air cooled, etc.
2. Suzuki - Seems to have a bit more features and a few more problems. I hardly ever see a 10 yr old ATV still running that is not a Honda or Suzuki and more Honda than Suzuki's.
3. Yamaha and Kawasaki - Noticeably more breakdowns than Honda or Suzuki, but not bad enough that I wouldn't consider one
4. Polaris - A full line of full featured bikes but they do seems to have their share of issues.
5. Arctic Cat - Less speed and features than Polaris and seem about the same in quality/reliability. They have had at least one large recall, around 45,000 bikes


I don't really see or hear anything on Bomb, they aren't very big around here. You might comb the forum for each brand and see what kind of issues people write about.

Later

 

450HondaForemanS,

Nice post....good to see some unbiased opinions rather than a bunch of Make/Model bashing. I would agree with you but would say that issue that Polaris is now having are rather minor and can be totally avoided by doing certain things. For example, the new 700 having a coolant leak but that is becase the plastic casing it is in was being melted by some riders flooring it right out of the box.

Most car manufacturers will tell you not to take a brand new auto out on the road and run it 80mph. ATV's like other things, need some time to break in and then you can really break it in and push it to their limits...ride on [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Ok I'm not crying but I do wonder where you get all your info. The large recall (ball joints) was handled quickly and efficiently but Cat which is more than what some manufactures do. The dealer explained to me that they had no seen a ball joint failure, but cat felt it was an issue since most people mount larger, heavier and more aggressive tires. As for as reliability Cat has far less issues than what people think. Fun you should mention less features because Honda up to just recently didn't offer a 2wd/4wd option. Right now Honda's feature drum brakes, no low range, standard swing arm (except for the Rincon) and have a higher MSRP. Oh yea before I forget, Cat uses Suzuki engines and trannies... So how is Honda #1?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]