I plan to trail ride, hunt, plow snow and light work, including poss. pull a tree for trail clearing. Also, I am 6'2" 270# and would like to be comfortable. I do not care about wheelies and racing. Would the standard transmission be better for these needs? What problems have you heard with these machines?

 

My 4x4 Bear has been terrific for trail riding, very reliable, turns quick, handles nice. I've owned it for six years, and have nothing but high marks for it's reliability. Can't speak for the Eiger directly, though I know one Eiger owner, and they've been quite pleased with their machine.

Only downside to the Bear was that it was a bit lightweight for my style of farm work. I pull a lot of trees (farm is mostly hardwood forest, darn things are forever falling on fences) and the Bear's pulling wasn't all that great. Not a lack of power, it just ran out of traction when I needed it the most.

If your focus is on work and comfort, and you're not into fast sport riding, you might also look at an Arctic Cat 400i, it's about the same price as the Eiger and Bear. I upgraded to a Cat 500i last spring, which is the same machine with larger engine, and it's a real workhorse. These are true utility quads, heavier with better ground clearance, not scary fast but plenty of pulling power and a real comfortable ride. I spent this weekend pulling large (2' thick) oak logs off of a hillside with my Cat. Had to winch the logs a couple of times, but I was amazed at the size of log that the Cat will drag.

--John

My Cat Pictures

 

i can't complain about my bb400 4x4. ill be plowing soon if we get any snow!! and the bb is a little over 500 lbs both are good machines. ive never seen an eiger yet but heard good things.

 

The Big Bear has good power and ground clearance, the thing I didn't like about it when I ride it, is when I put it in 4x4, the steering gets really stiff and jerky. The Eiger has more power, and to be honest I almost didn't notice a difference in steering between 2x4 and 4x4. The ground clearance between the Big Bear and the Eiger are about the same. The Eiger can tow more than The Big Bear. Yamaha and Suzuki make grat machines. They are both very reliable. I personally chose the Eiger over the Big Bear. But for the cost, the Big Bear is a good buy. Try them out, and pick what you like.

 

You asked about manual vs. automatic. If you are planning on doing a lot of trail riding, the manual is great for putting yourself in low gears for steep downhill riding. I use the low gears a lot for towing, but some people prefer automatic for towing because it is a little bit smoother. One thing I forgot to mention in regards to your size (I'm 6'2" and 200 +), the eiger has full floorboards, and the Big Bear has only footpegs (which you can add floorboards to later)--and full floorboards add a lot of comfort for big feet instead of worrying about your feet sliping off, when you ride rough. I used to have an ATV with only footpegs, but now that I have floorboards--it makes a big difference.

 

I love my Eiger. Auto or 5speed? I would pick an auto, when I ride a manual I find myself wishing I was on my Auto, easy on the leg and just ride and have fun.

 

I feel that manual is better!!! you can get more power out of them and there are no bets to slip! just my opinion[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

I agree if you need it for work, the auto also has a low gear. But for plain fun I would go for an Auto, My friend has a manual Vinson and whenever we do a quick race I smoke his ***, he's to busy shifting, realize I said quick race 50-75 yards, I know in the long run he can beat me.