Hi everyone, I've been reading the forums for a little while and wanting an ATV for a few years. I've owned plenty of cars and many motorcycles but never an ATV and there are plenty of trails near my house and I've finally decided to purchase one just for leisure riding and hopefully for snow removal as well. I'm planning on going this weekend to purchase a 2001 or 2003 Honda TRX 350 FM from here: http://carsonstoys.com/PREOWNED%20ATV1.htm.

Now I honestly have no idea if these seem like good deals or not and if they'll meet my needs. The price is in Canadian dollars but I'm wondering why the 2001 and 2003 machines are the exact same price? Perhaps options or better tires or something like that? Would one of these machines make for a nice first time ATV for my needs? I'd plan on keeping it for a long time and would purchase it outright so I'm looking for something that will be a great first ATV but that will also last me a decade or more.

Another thing is that I'm 6'1" and 220lbs so will these be ok for me? Lastly are they manual transmission or electric shift? They say foot shifter so I'm hoping that means they're manual transmission machines but I'm ok either way.

Thank you in advance for any advice given.

 

If I were you I would find something a little bigger if you are going to be plowing snow.

 

Really? My wife's cousin has an Arctic Cat 300 that he uses to plow his laneway with so I figured a 350 would be plenty. Maybe I'm wrong? Like I said I don't really know much about ATVs so I defer.

 

The Rancher 350 will have enough power to plow snow, but maybe not the weight. We get a whopping 2-3 inches of snow a year so I'm not an expert at snow removal. But with your size you might not be comfortable on this quad. But that will have to be decided by you.
But as far as dependability goes. You can't go wrong. It would make an excellent trail machine for you. These can be either foot shift or ES shifted. Which means by a button. Some people have had trouble with the ES models before. But I did have one and had no trouble with it. They have pretty good power considering their size, but do ride kinda rough. But they will always get you home. The Rancher would make a great first quad for you. Good luck with your decision.

 

The Rancher is a solid, reliable, simple manual transmission machine.....it is in fact the worlds best selling quad! I say always avoid the ES model (electronic shifting) if possible.....best to just keep it simple. It is full-time 4wd, so you would want to install a Warn 424 to turn it into a selectable 2wd/4wd machine. As for size, you will need to go sit on it and test the ergonomics for yourself. If you find it to small, maybe look for a Foreman 450 (saw several of those in there) or 500 instead, which are also good solid manual trans machines.

I didn't look at eveything in there, but I have an 00 Rancher 350 and I don't think I could get even $2,000 for it (US), so I am thinking the prices I saw were extremely high, even for CDN (?????).

 

Well i'll tell you my thoughts. i had a rancher at 400 cc. and the size of the atv is the same as the 350's. as for plowing snow. it's easy.
mine plowed 2 foot snow falls with ease. i highly doubt you'll have a problem plowing snow with the 350. just don't get to big of a plow blade for it. i had the warn 48" and a warn winch. worked great!!
so what i would say is just make sure the atv fits you good. as for the power it'll have plenty, as some one eles said get the warn 4x2 select thing.

not to through you off base here but what kind of trail do you ride? you might look into the IRS independent rear suspension. they ride SO much better in the rough stuff. but it's your money. try and test ride as many as you can. and remember that Honda isn't the only maker of atv's i have an AC now and love it. Honda's are great quads though, just didn't have what i was looking for. anyhow,
good luck.

HR.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. I didn't get out there today but am hoping to go out there next Saturday since I just noticed they're closed on Sundays. I was hoping to get something for 5k out the door and delivered. They're like 8k new here so the savings is pretty decent for a machine that's only a few years old I think. We'll see how it goes tomorrow and I'll post back with what I purchase.

Oh, for the type of trails, it's nothing serious. Mostly bush trails with some hills here and there. I just want to have some fun, not get hurt (or hurt my machine). [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice and help.

 

The comment I made about going bigger for plowing snow was because I see you are in Ontario and figured you get some serious snow up there.

 

Too bad you are not farther South. I managed a brand new Rubicon 500 decked out with IWP tires and wheels and Warn wich for just under 6,000 brand new... bought two and have been failry pleased. My only complain is shifting with the shifter from D to N to R can be a real pain if you are stuck and can not "rock it". I hate having to use the winch but love having it.

 

Remember, though, that when he's talking about $5000, he's probably talking in metric-money...

The Rancher is a really tough and reliable machine. Make sure it runs and shifts well with no knocks or smoke, and look to make sure the wheel bearings and swing arm and stuff are tight.