I've recently come into a position to buy another quad and would like to upgrade to a bigger quad to handle bigger tires and have a general all-around kickarse mud quad. I have an foreman 500 right now and I love it. I've always been a Honda man but I also know that my 500 does not have the ample power to turn big tires. I know honda makes the 680 Rincon now but it seems like it's not a very desirable choice for a mud quad. So anyway if you had to choose a new quad in the 700-800cc range for a mud quad what would you choose? Above all I want the quad to be reliable and strong. Obviously I want it to perform well and have alot of power but I don't want that to also come at the price of having to fix it all the time because of broke axle shafts, diffs, etc... So pros and cons here. I don't wanna ask what the best big cc ATV out there is as i'm sure people will become brand zealots, but I would just like to get y'alls opinions and feedback. Thanks for the input

 

I think you are describing the Yamaha Grizzly.

 

I own a Polaris 850XP (and love it), and still think the Grizzly is a darn good choice. The Arctic Cat Mud Pro 700 is maybe the best choice, depending on how much money and time you have to spend on modding a stock 'trail' quad. It's a turn-key mudder, and I have seen one in action. Very capable, going places we weren't taking our stock machines. (Two popo's, two Kawasaki's, and a Can-Am.) I have driven a couple generations of AC's, and I think they ride like a deuce-and-a-half. But that's what I'd buy if I came into $9500+.

No brand zealotry at all.

 

I've ridden a polaris 700 and liked it until I sheared off an upper arm bolt somehow giving the sportsman a gangster roll all the way back to camp, but still a great machine. I guess i'm just used to the dependability of my honda. I just want a big 4 wheeler with a bunch of power and dependability. Here's my limited view of the big wheelers out there right now (feel free to chime in as this is what they seem like to me. I'm gonna try and leave out axle breakage as I know any wheeler is gonna see that with big tires) :

* Grizzly 700 - great, capable, and fast. Been around the longest but heard there were a few bugs, but not sure of what
* Can Am 800 Outlander - Bad *** power, and very capable, but expensive and even more expensive to fix
*Brute Force 750 - uber powerful, but so much power that it destroys it's drivetrain
*Polaris 800-850 - don't know too much really. Powerful and I'm sure very capable, but I'm scared of polaris's because it seems like 1 in 10 is a complete lemon.
*Arctic Cat Mud pro - like previously stated, the best out of the box wheeler but not sure of AC dependability
(feel like i'm leaving somebod out. ??)

Anyway feel free to tell me anymore experiences or knowledge you may have as I would greatly appreciate it. thanks

 

You left out the Suzuki King Quad. Remember that while you may gain some by putting on 30" tires, you will be sacrificing dependability and durability. It is no different than jacking up a truck and putting huge meats on it. Everything else works harder to do it. For myself I have been in situations that bigger tires would have been the difference in having to be pulled out or making it through, and I have also been glad that I don't have the bigger tires as well. It's a trade either way. For my money I would stick with Japanese makes.