hay bobcatv how do you like the ozark compared to the recon??We are thinkin about getting one!

 

I had a 2002 recon & I traded it in on a ozark,it is a great 4wheeler & a blast to ride. As far as the racks being just for show I have hauled a lot on mine,includeing a nice 4 point buck opening day (7:10am) Mo. gun season. The recon is a great 4wheeler but the ozark is better, the best in the 250 sport utilaty class

 

Yeah, the Beartracker has the McPherson strut front end like all of the Polaris's. It also seems to be a little bit more work oriented than the others with the highest rack capacity and towing capacity equal to the Ozark. My friend has a 94' or so Timberwolf and it still runs great, despite being abused continuously every weekend. I've ridden it and I really dont think it's so bad. Compared to my bro's Scrambler its not much in the way of speed, but the Beartracker has a much larger carburetor than the old Timberwolf, so it should be a bit quicker. I still have to test a newer one though. But in what way is the Recon have a more advanced design than the Beartracker?

 

A friend of mine had owned a Recon and another bought the Bear Tracker cause it was cheaper. The Recon ran good. I'm sure the Bear Tracker did too, but last time I rode it there was a screw for a throttle, no brakes, the transmission would slip out of forward into neutral, and a cracked frame. He beat the Bear Tracker pretty bad but its probably fine under normal riding conditions. I still like the reliability of the Honda though, but would look into the Ozark because it is probably a better buy and might be as reliable. My neighbor's Ozark still runs. I also know of a kid who hates his Recon but it is the only quad he has that still runs. Definately look into the Ozark though.

 

Which one had the cracked frame and no brakes?

 

Well, thats kind of a weird situation to me, Recon vs. Ozark. I sold the Ozark and not the Recon when I decided to downsize my ATV fleet , the Bayou was off limits--Moms quad! I have posted numerous times touting the Ozark as the best overall 250 class utility and I still think it is. It was kinda a combo of the fact that the Ozark would bring a little more money than the Recon as it was 1 year newer and I just felt the Honda was a tiny bit higher in overall quality. I had more seat time on the Recon and just felt more comfortable with it. They ride/handle very,very similar. The ONLY thing I did not think the Ozark does better is shift. The Recon {as all Hondas are to me} is the slickest, smoothest shifting of all. The Ozark stickier shifting was a bigger issue to my 11 year old son than me as I didn't think it was any stickier than a Bayou or Beartracker/Twolf. I guess you could say I chose to keep the 2nd best quad. I do really miss the great brakes of the Ozark however. Test ride them both and see what you think about the shifting of the Ozark, I think only a kid would notice the difference. But that may make the difference of someone fully enjoying their quad and not.

 

I have no experience with the Ozark, But I will say that the Recon is a great machine for my teens. They beat the daylights out of it and it just keeps going. Good on gas, easy starting (needs to warm up before it will idle), it has gone on almost all the trails I go on and usually only gets stuck on deep ruts when it hangs up on the rear axle. My son has made it across some mudholes that stopped Sportsman 500 HO's because the Recon will FLOAT when you get off of it!!

What I don't like is the stiff ride and the front brakes take a lot of maintanance or they don't work.

 

I have a 2002 Recon Es, Its a nice ride the only prob. ive been havin with mine is sometimes when its cold it duzint like to shift. Like ill push it n the ligh wont go on (saying its in the next gear) then sometimes it will work or other times it wont n i have to roll the quad back until it clicks into gear. The only other thing i found bad is i cant find any quite pipes. (my neighbors are ******** they get pissy if i ride my old *** `1979 rm 60 for like 20 min n they call my house n whine bout me)

 

I hate it when people get like that. Buy em some earplugs for Christmas!

 

That could b a problem since like all my neighbors are jewish.... not to b racist or nething people call my neighborhood hebrew hills, little israel, the sinagog, hebrew heights.... etc lol