Which one should my brother get he wants to use it under these conditions:

1. Hauling
2. Mud riding
3. Fast trail riding
4. Slow trail riding
5. Sugar sand
6. Hard Pack
7. Jumping
8. Riding through water
9. Hill climbing

He needs a diverse machine that can do all of the above. He doesn't really care about whether he has to shift or not. And he also wants one that can keep up with me on the trails. (I have a 300EX) All of your comments will be appreciated. And don't go on to different machines just these please.

 

I would pick the Rubicon. All of the machines you listed are good choices, but overall the Ruby would be my choice. Having a choice of shifting or not shifting is a nice feature that I enjoy. I used to own a 450ES and I prefer the Ruby over that machine. The 450ES was geared lower in 1st gear which might make it nicer for slow mud riding, but the Rubicon does have a low range to go to if you want to. The Ruby also is the fastest of the machines you listed, so that might be a deciding factor if he wants to try and keep up with you. The handling of the Rubicon is excellent for a utility machine. If he is a good rider he will be able to surprise other people with this machines ability to keep up with other machines on the trails. The Ruby has a stiffer ride than the Kawasaki 400 Prairie if that plays into his decision. Another feature that is nice about the Rubicon is the excellent engine braking. Well, I hope this information will help.

 

I really like my Rancher. It is small and sporty enough to be a good trail machine, but large enough to haul a reasonlble load. The other machines you mentioned have more cc's, but remember, they are bigger and heavier too. With the stock tires it's even a pretty good jumper, but has to work darn hard to keep with the 300 (which is more than 100+ lbs. lighter!). For 2002, the 450 will have selectable 2wd/4wd, so you might want to take a good look at it. That will greatly increase it versatility.

 

i suggest none of those models, for all thoughs conditions mentioned the POLARIS SPORTSMAN 500 HO is the way out.

Heres ten reasons why:

10. reverse override (who wants to go 3mph in reverse)
9. decent stock tires (not those piddely knobby things, LUGS)
8. large gas tanks (theres not gas stations on the trails)
7. comfortable seats(unlike honda or yamaha's that will send a person with hemorrhoids to their dead bed.LOL.)
6. automatic transmissions (automatics shift faster than humans.hehe.)
5. full floorboard (not half crap boards)
4. most suspension travel in each machines class(no use for suspension when you don't have travel.
3. Macpherson struts (comfortable ride and found on all four corners of the sportsmans independent suspension system.
2. locked true 4x4 ( the rest of the companies might as well call there machines 3x4's.LOL.)
1. True AMERICAN craftsmanship (yes I like to wave the American flag on occation)

2000 SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400

 

A Polaris Sportsman is not one of the choices here is 10 reasons why:

10. The Prairie has reverse override
9. All of the given machines have great tires
8. The Honda's have small carbs so they don't suck up the gas as much.
7. The Prairie seat is a work of art. And the Honda's are almost as good.
6. The Prairie and Rubicon are automatics
5. Rubicon and Prairie have floorboards and so does a Rancher ES and Foreman ES
4. All of that travel is of no use if you don't need it all I have still not used all of the travel on my 300EX.
3. Macpherson struts are nice but they don't handle aggresive riding as well as regular double a-arms. At least in my experience.
2. True 4x4 is nice, but, you don't really need it where I live, theres mud but not tons of it and not real deep.
1. Honda's are made in America the actual company is from Japan but the are manufactured in America (American Motor Corporation)

Also...
1. Honda's are known for reliablility
2. The Sportsman is wider than a horse
3. We don't need Independent Rear Suspension. We don't do that technical of riding where we need all of the wheels on the ground. (I have done some suprising stuff with my 300EX)
4. I believe in the beggining of the post I said and I quote, "And don't go on to different machines, just these please."
5. It is also heavier than anything else which is why it needs all of that suspension.
6. The day I get a polaris will be the day they bury me alive. I used to have a Polaris and it was a piece of junk. It was fast and all but it spent most of its time broken.

 

well i would say get the RUBICON and also scramdaddy400 are you retarded ? 01TRX300EX words were "And don't go on to different machines just these please" , not brag about some canadian pos !

 

01TRX300EX, after reading all of the conditions of what your brother needs a machine for, I thought they all would be great at those things. But then you said it had to keep up to your 300EX. That gave my vote to the Rubicon. I have first hand experience of drag racing a Rubicon and my '98 300EX. The Rubicon will get anything off the line, and the 300EX will work its way through the upper gears and win. But if the rider on the 300EX is not a fast shifter, the Rubicon will win. So the Rubicon has the most chance of keeping up with you.

Scramdaddy,

10. Reverse override is real handy when you have a plow mounted on. Then you need to put the machine in reverse, hit the throttle with your right thumb and hold the handlebars, use the left hand to lift the plow, and when you're sitting there in 2wd because 4wd won't work unless the override button is pushed, you won't think much of the override. I guess you need to run the throttle with your right foot and push the override with your right hand. It's also handy backing up a trailer. If you're an owl, you'll have no problem looking back at the trailer while you have both hands on the handlebar, one running the throttle and one pushing the override.

8. They need large gas tanks because they're gas hogs. My 300EX, with a 2.2 gallon fuel tank, can go the same amount of miles as my relatives Sportsman 500's, non HO's. That goes to show how much the extra weight of the Polaris' makes a difference. I can't imagine how much gas a HO would go though with the bigger carb.

5. Which machine listed doesn't have full floorboards? Except for the Rancher manual or 450S.

3. First of all, the MacPherson struts are only found on the front end of ALL Polaris quads. The back of the Sportsmans have double a-arms. And I would take a double wishbone front suspension anyday over MacPherson. That's why I'm glad the Grizzly 660 has double wishbone front. You don't see racers running MacPherson suspension in the front of their machines, do you? The reason is because they are unstable when turning and going over rough terrain. But Polaris thinks it's OK for their only sport machine in their lineup.

1. Wow, there's something to be proud of. The company with the worst reliability record and you're proud they're made in America! To be technical, the engines are made in Japan. Did you ever see the name on the engine. It's Fuji. And second, most Honda's are made in America. They've got one plant in Marysville, OH and another in South Carolina. It's kind of like saying I've got an American made Ford truck. Chances are greater it's made in Mexico. And Dodge, a German company.

01TRX300EX, good luck with your brother's quad.

 

I used to own a Prairie 400 before I bought my KVF 650 and I loved it for the most part. I owned it for 4 years and put over 9000 kms on it without any major problems which is why I had no reservations in buying another Kawasaki.
I will list what I had to do to maintain it.
1) Put 3 belts on it at a cost of $50.00 a piece.(not because they slipped but because it lost some of its low end grunt)
2) Had dealer replace some wear bushings in the clutch twice. Parts cost about $15.00 + labor(clutch got rather noisy when it needed these things)
3) Rear shock was replaced under warranty shortly after purchase.
4) 1 front wheel bearing at about 4000 kms. I thought it was rather expensive at $70.00.
5) Two sets of rear brake shoes. Kept getting wet and wearing out until I discovered that a new seal($50.00) + some silicone on the back of the seal where it snaps onto the drum guard was all it took to keep things dry. Went for 2 years and about 4000 kms without hardly even having to adjust the brakes after discovering how to keep the water out!!!
6)Two sets of front brakes until I bought a set of metallic pads which lasted for about 3500 kms and still had about half of their life left when I finally traded it in on the ultimate ride.
7)Changed the oil and cleaned the air filter at recommended intervals.
Thats pretty much it in a nut shell other than I always found it to be a bit underpowered but really loved the ride quality.
I was also impressed with how well it kept its trade in value. The dealer still gave me $3500.00 against the kvf650 even with all those kms.....

 

Hey KKKILLER, Polaris ATVs are made in the USA, NOT in Canada. That's Bombardier...

And Rooster, I know that its nitpicking, and that it doesn't REALLY apply here, but I'm quite sure that Polaris manufactures all of their 2-stroke engines here in the US. I would also recommend the Xplorer400 to 01TRX for his brother, but he said nothing else... soo...

 

That sure is a pretty broad selection of choices. The prices range from about $5200 for the Rancher to $6999 for the Rubicon. The Prairie is I believe $5999 and the Foreman $6200. Does Money play into this? I know I would like to get a 4X4 quad this fall, but I really want the V-Twin Prairie and I don't see that happening unless I sell my Mojave and I don't want to do that. I can only tell you my opinion and it is this: After owning one automatic with out engine braking I would not buy another and to the best of my knowledge there isn't an aftermarket kit for the Prairie 400. It is a shame because I've heard a lot of good things about the ride,power(for a 400)and reliability of the machine, but if you live around mountains like I do I'd scratch it off the list. I would also say that for the extra cash the Rubicon would be better than the Foreman so I'd scratch the 450 off of the list. That would leave you with the Rancher for almost $2000 less than the Rubi. it would also leave a manual shift -vs- an auto. Those two factors alone should make it easy decision. If your on a budget get the Rancher, they're a really nice quad. If he needs the auto get the Rubi unless engine braking isn't a big deal then I would seriously consider the Prairie 400. Just the way [b]I would break it down, hope it helps shed some light on your decision![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]