If I was looking for a 10ish year old hunting ATV what would be the go to? From what I have read the Yamaha Girzzly and Suzuki King Quad are awesome because they have true lockers (anyone else?). What other makes/models would you suggest if capability and reliability were paramount? Also is EPS that big of a deal (maybe for my 70 year old dad)? I will choose one that has EFI without a doubt.

Thanks in advance!

 

My 2014 cat had a true front locker as well and was a pretty reliable machine. Now im on a Can am and would and will never rid anything else

 

All the major makers have quads that have some way of locking the front. Suzuki and Yamaha use a limited slip system when you put them in 4wd. Then you have to move a lever, and push a button to fully lock the front diff. Kawasaki uses a lever that you squeeze to progressively lock in the front end. I personally don't care for the Kawasaki Brute Force for that reason. If your quad is tipping to the left side and you're moving your weight to the right side to compensate, it's a long reach to lock it. Can-Am and Polaris use a progressive automatic locking system. You put it in AWD and forget about it. The front locker kicks in as soon as there is any difference in speed between the front and rear tires. All Polaris Sportsman models use this system. Not sure about the Scramblers. My son has an older Scrambler that takes longer to engage. As long as the Can-Am system says it's Visco-Lok QE (Quick engagement) it's seamless in locking the front. Honda also has a couple models that you can lock in fully. Not really fond of Hondas. They are lower in power than most other makers' comparable quads and have fewer features.

Polaris tends to have the most comfortable rides, tied for best power per cc with Can-Am, best rack capacities, and towing, and best on board storage options. Can-Am also has a good ride and really good power. There numbers are similar to Polaris.

 

This is just my opinion but Polaris has the worst racks system out their.. The concept was good having storage built into the rack system but i have yet to see one that has held together. Just about everyone i see is held together with bungie cords, or the owner has replaced or repaired the hinge system or latches. Mind u i see and ride with maby 10% of the polaris around and id say 50% of them say they would never buy one again... Once again this is just my opinion
When i had my cat it was a great machine a little 500 that was pretty nimble and i could go anywhere the big boys could and sometimes farther because i was so lite. Possibly if it was not for the fact that the local dealer treated us like a pile of crap after i bought 2 machines, trailer, and all my gear from them. After that i would not give them once cent, not to mention Cat does not seem to know what direction its going and did not want a machine with no support after. Polaris and honda i never even considered, rode a few yamaha's and found the seating and bar position the most uncomfortable thing out their. Felt like you were siting way above the machine..LOL

 

Just purchased a 2020 King Quad 750 and I think it's Great. But.... it's my first 4 wheeler so I have nothing to compare it to. It is very comfortable on the trails and has never had trouble getting out of any spots. Haven't needed the locker lever yet, but it does work smoothly. Only have 350 miles but its Rock Solid so far. I use it for hunting, trail riding, plowing and working around the cabin. I really like the front and rear racks ... they're set up nice.

 

I would highly recomend the locking diff...in my many years of four-wheelin (70 yrs old ) I have saw Polaris with the most repairs, yes they are best sellers but way to many plastic components that break to easy, not built heavy duty. However parts are readily availiable if you dont mind fixing. Suzuki maks good stuff but replacement parts are very high priced, probably 33% higher than others. Kawasaki are well built as are Yamaha machines.
Had a Praire for 16 yrs, used it as a work horse and worked it hard, kept up with all maintence and used premium lubes on everything, no issues in 16 yrs and 3500 miles! Currently own a Kymco...made in Taiwan, not China. ( big difference) owned it for almost 6 years, 2500 miles, works hard, 0 issues, built very heavy duty compared to other brands in its catagory. Test ride any machine that interests you, only you will know how it feels!! Nothing worse than an uncomfortable machine!!

 

How much did the locker help? Why would you never get anything else?

Funny you mention the Kawi, the two quads we are leaving are KFX700s. They have been dead reliable just need 4x4. I thought I read about the ocker being delayed on the polaris, has that not been the case for you? Maybe the new years (2010+) are better? That may be better for my dad being that he does not ever have to think about it...

Awesome, however it seems like you trashed everyone lol! Any ones that you personally like? haha

Thats good to know, thanks!

I've heard that about polaris also. Honestly, I drive jap cars (except for the cummins) and their reliability is insanely good which is why I lean that way on bikes. Thanks for the input!

 

The selectable locker on the cat was great when it was locked you knew it. I find the viscoloc on the can am sometimes runs into a situation where it will not lock but most of the time its reliable. That should get better with the new 4loc... The power, comfort, ride, to me on the can am is far superior to everything else. Not to mention my dealer takes care of their customers..
Don't get me wrong i loved my cat... hated my dealer... so since i had no local support for Cat and the fact that cat really does not seem to know what its doing lately it did not seem to be a safe choice. The comfort between can and can am are pretty close to the same. I pushed my cat hard and it never failed me..

 

The Kawasaki KFX is a powerful 2wd quad with an automatic. If you put aggressive tires on the rear you might be surprised at what it will get you through. The trouble comes with snow, mud, and slow, rocky technical trails. After you pull 2wd's out enough times you'll be looking for a 4wd. If you don't deal with those kinds of terrain a 2wd will do the trick.

I've had a 2002 Polaris Xplorer 250, 2006 Polaris Sportsman X2 500, 2005 Sportsman ATP 500HO, and driven many other Polaris machines. They all engaged the 4wd quickly. To the point I couldn't tell it was all locked in except it was pulling the quad through, and over with all wheels turning.. It seems like Polaris made it so you need more RPM's for the CVT to engage. The 4wd engages seamlessly on his quad too. I was confusing the front axle and transmission. It's the transmission that engages slowly in my mind on the Scrambler. My son had a 2009 Can-Am Renegade 500. On that machine it slowly engaged the 4wd. It did engage and get him through everything every other machine got through. The system to look for on the Can-Ams is called Visco-Lok QE. I've had that on a 2012 Outlander Max XTP 650 and my current Outlander Max Limited 1000r. Both are seamless and engage fast enough that I don't notice it and the traction is right there as soon as I need it.