First, I'm not asking this question to start any "contentions", I'm just trying to get some outside points of view to help make a decision on my next ATV.

I've ridden/worked on ATVs for 20+ years so I'm not a newbie. I ride primarily in the mountains of east Tennessee so there are a lot of hills, rocks, and creek crossings, with a few mud holes thrown in just for fun. I've owned Suzuki, Honda, and Yamaha so I'm open to any and all suggestions. I just sold my last 4 wheeler and want something different; can't afford a new one so I'm looking for a good used one.

I know I want a big bike, 700+ cc, preferably a V-Twin, 4x4 & EFI are a must, and I would like 4-wheel independent suspension. I need low-end torque for crawling through the hard stuff, horsepower for pulling a trailer and other ATVs, and enough ground clearance where I'm not beating the bottom of it apart in the rocks.

So, what are your suggestions and why?

 

ive got a 500 outlander,arctic cat 700 and a polaris rzr 800. When riding these 3 machines and others that friends have like the grizzly 700,king quad 750, and brute force 750(v-twin), i have never felt a better low end torque than what a single cylinder produces. Single cylinder engines tend to have the power for work and low speed. It maybe just me but when riding the can am and the polaris that i have(both twin,500 is a v-twin and the Polaris is an inline twin) they both work harder to pull hills and trailers. while my single cylinder cat pulls hills and trailer with less effort even has 28" tires on it. Gearing is also a factor but a bike built for speed will not have the low speed torque,while a low speed torque engine will not produce speed.
The atvs with the highest GC (ground clearance) are the polaris,arctic cat had 12" a few years ago 11" now,and the grizzly. king quad is around 10" i think as well as the brute force and can am. These measurements may depend on year and model.
All these offer,efi(depending on year), 2/4wd with some offering the front diff lock and IRS.

king quad, cat,grizzly and the brute force offered the front differential locker. Kawasaki has a lever you hold. the other are a button or a flip of a lever. Again,depending on year.

to narrow it down, and im not bias as i own 3 different brands. im a fan of arctic cat. The machine offers everything im looking for for my style of riding and hunting. My next choice would be a grizzly, they are hard to beat for an all around atv.
3rd would be a king quad. Awesome power and the largest cingle cylinder (722cc) today and they tend to be cheaper than others. they have a rear sway bar that takes away from rear shock travel but you cant just take it off too. the others are good machines also,but a few things i like or would rather have that the others dont have or offer.

Honda i think offers the rincon. i think its the only model that may be what you are looking for that they offer.
to me(and others) Honda is stuck in the past and builds their atvs differently than the others. So im just not a fan of what they build,personal choice. to name a few things they have or lack: a true front locker of some kind, depending on model the transmission has a torque converter without low range,dumb. rack space tends to be smaller and the power is enough to get by,others offer a lot more. some models have drum brakes. Nothing wrong with hondas just not for me.

 

well- given your options- twin cylinder, low end torque and IRS / efi over 700cc... that rules out honda, suzuki & yamaha-

you're choices are... can-am outlander or renegade 800 or 1000cc,
kawasaki brute force 750
or the polaris xp 850 / 800 sportsman.

my choice in order of favorite would be...

#1 can-am outlander
#2 polaris xp 850 or sportsman 800
#3 there is no viable third choice since it's a kawasaki- and I hate the brute force 750's for many reasons.

the can-am will give you the most usable GC overall, due to the lack of rear a-arms in favor of the TTI & SPAR chasis.

I've had'em all- have opinions on all of'em.


enjoy your new can-am! you'll love it- full bragging rights

 

mudslinginfool - That is what I'm looking for, opinions on different big bikes. Since you are a fan of the Arctic Cat, how is it in terms of reliability as I have never actually owned one? As for a Honda, that is what I just sold and I wasn't really impressed.

beergut - it doesn't absolutely have to be a v-twin, but it does have to be 4x4 and EFI. What are your experiences with the Brute Force? As for the Can-Am, I can't go new, but how are the older Outlanders like around the 06-08 model range?

 

the cat has been pretty good overall. I had one issue 2 years ago that ended up being a wire that got pulled out of the ECU that was hard to track. Ive only got 1500 miles on and had the 28s on it since new and other than the wire no problems. I even swamped it once,took a bit to get it running again as i think water got into the fuel tank. Prior to that i had a 500 that had 5,500 trouble free problems other than broken axle that was my fault. Its not a small bike but if im in the rough i choose the cat. The outlander does not compare. Suspension works totally different( i can explain if needed,some love it i dont. ) and the 4wd system on the can am will leave me stuck do to the 4wd system it uses. The cat is 2wd 3wd and 4wd lock.
The outlander 500 that i own is an 2007,it had 250 miles on it when i got it and it would over heat which i found out it was the radiator. Problem was fixed under warranty and its been fine since. only have 600 miles on it now. Super amount of power compared to others in its class and fastest. Its sporty and low sitting handlbars make it difficult to turn if your tall(my 6'4" cousins words). Over all both are great bikes.

 

The Can-Ams around the 06-09 are great quads with one exception in my mind. The Visco-Lok system at that time took a little bit of spin to get the front tires rolling when in 4wd. The newer ones have Visco-Lok QE which engages quicker. Not a huge deal but something to note. Can-Ams tend to have the best horsepower per cc, Polaris have good strong engines and the most comfortable ride and good on board storage options. The 2012 and newer Brute Forces are a better machine than previous models. Better ride, power steering is available, and a little better storage options. Only thing I don't like about BFs are the little lever you have to hold in to get full lock in the front end. Could be a problem if you're in a tricky situation that requires you to stand on the right footwell.

 

Stay clear of the 06 - 07 can-am's. Can-Am merged with BRP / Rotax in 07. The 08 Can-Am's had many, many updates to the front visco, brakes, wiring harness, fuel maps, they went to an all digital dash in 08, corrected cooling issues and made a few other aesthetics to the tail light.

I prefer twin cylinder engines- torque wise. there's double the power strokes, and a lot smoother running. Can-Am gets fantastic gas milage.
if you buy a can-am outlander or renegade, go with a 2008 or newer, and one that has under 1500 miles on it. The Can-Am Rotax is the industry leady in HP. They are amazing engines.

I have not experienced the new brutes- but I owned an 05 & 06 BF750 and both were nothing but trouble. Both had carb jetting issues from the factory, it rode like a scottsdale 350 chevy with dual rancho shocks- in other words- it rode like it didn't have any springs- just solid blocks. the seat foam was way too stiff, the front diff locking lever is a nightmare... you have to pull a little lever in to lock up the front diff, and hold it in the entire time you want the diff locked the cables were prone to stretching, freezing and breaking- they still use that same stupid lever on the new models. They also put a stupid toggle switch that hangs down over the cvt belt- when the belt gets lose, it trips this toggle and puts you in "limp home mode" to reset the limp home mode you have to remove the cvt cover, unplud a harness under the seat, use a factory jumper on a wiring harness, flip the toggle and then sacrifice a chicken and do some indian water rain dance and pray that you're "limp home mode" was reset. The worst part was, the toggle would trip if you were riding fast over rough terrain (happen to me) and leave you in limp mode on the trail
Also, they lacked simple inner fender shields, which allowed water to splash all over the air intake- many people had problems with that... and there alaso seemed to be a lot of people having crank bearing issues-

going from kawasaki to can-am was like going from a pinto to a caddy

I liked my 09 polaris 850 xp very much, but I got a dealer demo that had issues, and then I rolled it (twice).... so I sold it.

I liked both of my honad rincons on the trail... when they shifted right. The tranny & engine share fluid, so on a cold winter morning it had to warm up befor shifting smoothly. They aslo lack a low gear, a front locking front diff and their OHV made literally 1/2 the hp as the same sized OHC engines on other atv's. I would like to try out another honda once they update their antiquated full size atv (anyday now )

the grizzly was way too squishy & lazy in the corners for me, didn't like the handle bars. had plenty of power, just didn't like the ergo's.

the suzuki KQ700fi was a good quad, I kept bending tie rods with the 27" tires. plenty of power- the 05 had charging / ecm issues but there was a recall for that.

can-am 's have a wide saddle at the knees, which can be a little uncomfortable in you're a small guy- whereas the saddle on the XP's was like riding a dirtbike! very nice and narrow.

atv with the best ergo's is the polaris xp-
the most thrilling atv to ride was the can-am renegade- pinning the throttle from the stop would take your breath away and easily pull the wheels skyward.

 

So really you just want 700+cc, since most all big Bore 4x4s have a true AWD system and low range there all going to pull hard, they all have IRS so ground clearance will not be a problem and they all have efi for awhile now.

The only 2 you can count out is the 700 Grizzly and 750 King Quad since there the only big bore that are single cylinders rather then Twins.

Hondas only big bore is a 680 but it only makes 39hp and has no true 4wd option or a low range and is also a single and a OHV single at that, so do not go there.

Happy shopping after that though.

Here's a good link when buying used. http://www.atvreviewnetwork.com/enth...iclecategory=2

You just chose any year make or model and people who own them write a review and rate there ATV out of 5 stars and tell you what they like or do not like.

Beware though some are whiners and just will never be happy with any thing. LOL

I don,t know anything about a 700 Artic Cat from 2007 but from this http://www.atvreviewnetwork.com/enth....asp?veh=38048 I,d say people who bought them like them enough.

The reason I bought a 350 Grizzly/Briun was after seeing this page. http://www.atvreviewnetwork.com/enth....asp?veh=21737

 

If you don't have to have a v-twin I'd go 700 Grizzly Bear . I'm about to soon put / have 5000 miles on my 2012 700 totally problem free . The machine handles and rides like a dream and the EPS is amazing , it puts a smile on my face every ride .

 

that's one clean looking atv for 5000 miles! you must have some wide trails to ride
looks like yamaha hides everything behind plastic also? that's one of the great things I love on my can-am, nothing is covered up-

love the stone work in the pic btw