<----- will put out for the right kind of nest egg

 

who are you kiddin bob? you'll put out for a <u>boiled</u> egg

 

Ok, everyone here knows I don't own a quad, but after doing all my research on ATV trails and such guess what? Yep, I've been bit by the quad-bug.

Now I'm not trying to say that I want a quad, it just seems now that I NEED a quad. Actually, I need TWO of them - one for me and one for my wife. And if she won't ride with me I'll let my girlfriend ride it (HA! - I'm just kiddin').

ANYWAAAAAAYYYYYYY, .... My wife and I aren't into high-flying, loop-de-loop or barrel of death type riding. Nope, as a former MXer I've done all that. Instead (since I recently turned 40), I'm looking for trail-riding quads - something I can explore on without the worry of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere and relying on my wife to pull me out (Lord knows how men hate that).

I've heard the 660 is absolutely awesome and has great hole-shot power - Is that true? And, isn't it automatic 4-wheel drive?

Look, I don't want to have to search all over the internet or go to dealerships to find what I need. Instead, I just want to rely on my buds here to help me get what I need for what I want it to do.

Oh, and if you're thinking I'm a grandpa ATVer type, THINK AGAIN!! I'll climb the highest, steepest hill against any of you OLD guys (you youngsters can just dream of having the opportunity of riding against me ... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] )

You youngins' know I'm kiddin'. Right?

Anyway, give me your opinion on the quads.

James

Course, my wife may need a smaller quad. If so, what would you pros recommend?

 

James,
You will get lots of opinions here. I personally won't buy any utility quad that doesn't have Independant Rear Suspension (IRS). They ride some much smoother than a solid axle. Others on here wouldn't have anything except for a solid axle.

My wife and I both ride Grizzly 660's. Our sons ride sport quads. I also have a Kawasaki V-Force (700cc sport quad) that I haven't rode since I bought the second Grizzly, but my favorite toy is my sandrail. My wife is in her late 40's and I'm 51 years young. We ride at Litttle Sahara Sand Dunes 10-12 times a year.

Yamaha now makes the Kodiak (450cc) (baby grizzly) in the IRS.

What you need to do is get some of us together that have different quads and go ride them. I personally will let you ride my Grizzly's. That way you could see the differences.

Ronnie

 

James,

I recently purchased my Suzuki 700 and I like it really well. I like the ability to lock (or not) the front differential and the 2/4 wheel drive selectibility. The only knock I have on this machine is that the storage compartment is under the seat, so you must remove the seat anytime you want to access your knick knacks. I purchased this model after having ridden Brent's Kawasaki (Kawasaki and Suzuki kinda merged or did some collaboration, etc etc etc). I will say this...Bargain with your dealer to make them throw in a winch at low/no cost. The winch is the most important part of the machine if you get stuck as often as I do. Hahahaha. IN all honesty though, I grow more impressed with my Suzuki each time I take it out.


Bob

 

James,

I' agree you will get a lot of opinions. I ride with people that swear by Polaris sportsman 700's , then also in the same group are the grizzly 660 ( who love them but watching them on some off cambers seem a bit top heavy,,,,tip heavy) my opinion. The prairie is great they keep up and haul and are as comfortable as they come. They all pretty much come with a locking diff. any more so I would think the price would be the deciding factor. Definately get the winch!! The first time it is used will pay for itself and more!!! The new quads I don't think you can go wrong, just see which one feels best to you!

Aaron

 

James,


Aaron brings up one point I had forgotten to mention and that is comfort. The feel of the quad is about as important as the mechanics (in my mind). You would be disappointed if you purchased a machine based solely on technical specs only to find that you really didn't enjoy riding it that much because it was not the most comfortable beast. Being the lard *** that I am, I needed a larger framed bike so that was my primary requirement. The Suzuki Twin Peaks that I bought has a much larger frame than the Honda Rancher I used to ride. After riding the Suzuki for a few hours, I discovered that the seat did not have as much padding as the Honda did, but I happen to have an extreme abundance of natural padding so it's not that big of an issue. Hahahaha. But again, comfort and "feel" are very important aspects of the purchase decision much as they are in purchasing a car or truck.


Bob "pointing out hte obvious" Bobman

Winches are good....

 

I knew I came to the right place to ask about this stuff. You guys brought up issues I didn't even think of.

So, will the dealership let you take the quad out for a test drive like auto dealerships do?

James

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I need to produce an economic impact study to present to the City Council depicting how much revenue would be generated for our community if we get the Sportsman ORV Trails Project approved.
If you have access to such a study, please forward it to me at harmony@okplus.com

If you don’t have access to such a study, please help me develop one by answering the following questions;

NO INDIVIDUAL INFORMATION WILL BE SHARED WITH OR ABOUT ANYONE - ONLY THE FINAL "AVERAGED" NUMBERS WILL BE AVAILABLE.

Economic Impact
a) In the vehicle you drove/rode in on your last visit to an ORV park that charged for riding, how many people rode with you?
b) How much did it cost for each individual to ride at the ORV park?
c) Were there any camping/lodging costs involved? If so, how much for each night?
d) How many nights did you stay?
e) How much did you spend on fuel?
f) How much did you spend at restaurants?
g) How much did you spend on food/snacks at local grocery stores/quick stops?
h) Did you or anyone with you spend any time in town shopping for items not associated with ORVing?
i) Did you participate in any other events like boating, fishing, swimming, horseback riding or other event while on your last ORV outing? If so, please list them and the costs associated with them.
j) Please list any other costs you incurred while on your last outing to an ORV outing that charged for riding.

General Information
1) Please list the estimated ages of all those who went with you on your last ORV outing to a trail system that charged for riding.
2) How many male? How many female?
3) What did you like most about your trip?
4) What did you dislike most about your trip?
5) How many miles did you travel to get to the ORV Park?
6) How many days did you stay?
7) How many ORVs did you or your group take?
8) How many trips like you have described do you take per year?
9) How did you learn about the ORV Park you visited – flyer, word of mouth, brochure, magazine, signage, newspaper ad, radio, TV, other (please specify)
10) What is your annual household income? Under $10,000 $10,000-$20,000 $20,000-$30,000 $30,000-$40,000 $40,000-$50,000 Over $50,000 Do not give actual incomes please.

I appreciate you guys helping me with this very vital study. Please copy and paste this and type your answers into an MSWord document and email it to harmony@okplus.com
I must have your answers and this study completed by this coming Tuesday morning August 10th, so please get your answers to me as quickly as possible.
Once I have the final averaged numbers, they will be available to anyone who wants them.


Thanks for your help,
James Hale

 

James,

Test drive policies vary by dealer, or so I am told. Oklahoma Honda and Suzuki look at you like you're an idio to even suggest it due to liability reasons (Yet I hear they let people test drive 2 wheel bikes all day long). To the contrary I have heard that Jones Off Road (in Jones, OK) actually has a small track out back for you to get the feel of themachine better than just driving it on pavement across the parking lot. I have no clue about any other dealers, but like any business, the consumer is the one with all the power so if you want to test drive it, tell them that the test drive is a deal breaker.

Bob "Brent used to be a dealer he can tell ya more" Bobman