So I had a 2003 Yamaha Kodiak 400. Loved the quad as it was super reliable and fun to kick around. But after years of riding it, I found myself in many situations where I really wish I had more power. This lead me on a quest to find something better. Can Am's looked awesome but I knew nothing about them. I went to a dealer and drove an Outlander 1000, and I instantly fell in love, all up to the point where I saw the sticker price and knew I would never be able to afford a $14,000 quad. Even on the used market most seemed to be in the $8500 range for an older one. So I looked elsewhere.

Eventually I came across Kawasaki Brute Force 750's. They seemed to offer a lot of power all at a price I could afford. They also seemed pretty good maintenance wise with a few exceptions, so I started my hunt for one. I have been researching them and looking for months and found a really nice on in my price range.

Randomly while looking on Craigslist in the meantime I came across a killer deal on an outlander 800 though. It needs new rear brakes and a yoke on the rear driveshaft, but other than that it is in great shape and runs awesome. The guy just doesn't ride it much and said it was way too much power for what he wanted a quad for.

So, I have not done a ton of homework on the Can Am's as much as I have the Kawasaki Brute Forces. Are the Outlander 800's pretty reliable? This is a 2013 model. I just don't want to get into something that I am going to have to constantly invest money in to enjoy. I want something reliable which I know the Brute Force will do for me. But I love the looks and power of the Outlander 1000 I drove. Granted this is an 800 but that still should have more power than the BF750.

Thoughts? Opinions?

 

I should add that I mostly just trail ride, but I do use the quad for some pulling and plowing around my house. I don't plan on mudding the quad, but I do find the occasional puddle (nothing deeper than the wheels).

 

brute force will def cost less. I can get a New one without eps locally for about 7 grand might be higher where you live though.
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Yeah, budget is really closer to $5,000, so anything much north of that is just out of my range. This is why the used market for BF750's have been awesome. It's just that I found this killer deal on this Outlander that has me wondering which to go with.

 

yeah the used 800s are usually pretty pricy. Hope it's a good one.

 

Yeah, it's a bit of a gamble but I hope it's a good one also.

 

Buy the outlander, that Rotax engine is awesome. I bought my Renegade 800 new in 2008. The only problem I have had was a small coolant leak at the t-stat housing. I just removed it and used a good gasket sealer. Didn't cost me anything to fix. I ride the Oregon dunes a lot and can climb out of any idiot hole there. I have never lost a race to any stock quad in the sand. TRX 450's, Banshee's ( I have 2), and YFZ 450's. I did race a LTR 450 that beat me,
however it was not stock.

 

I'm on my way to buy it now...

 

I just picked it up. For sure it's been rode pretty hard. The U joint is really shot so I couldn't really drive it more than just baby it to load it up. The brakes are shot and because of that it did not like shifting into gear. It's got a lot of high dollar parts on it so worst case scenario I could probably part it out and make my money back. I'll find out more tomorrow after the dealer looks at it to find out if I am hosed or not.

 

I hate when that happens. I was looking to buy a different truck last week and the truck I went to look at turned out to be not as nice as I thought. I passed on it. Ill just keep the one I have for a while. Its mechanically solid, just a bit of rust on the body. That other truck I think had the transmission about to go out, didn't want to mess with that. I should have passed on the Grizzly 660 I bought before the Brute Force I have now. I could tell it would need work but the price was so good, I hated to pass it up. I almost wish I'd bought the Honda Foreman 450 I passed on to get the Grizzly. I'd probably still have it. The Honda was definitely slower than the Grizzly but I doubt I would have had to anything other than routine maintenance to it. Oil changes, new tires, winch and probably brakes. And then just ride it. The only reason I bought the BF was the Grizzly was going to need a lot of work and just decided to trade it in instead.