Hey I am buying a new kawasaki this week but im not sure what to get. Any ideas or recommendations. I will be riding in the trails mostly and occasionally on the road. Should i go brute force or go kfx 450. I mean the kfx looks nicer than the brute force but the guy at the store said it may be more practical for me to go with the brute force. Any suggestions?

 

I can't believe you are considering two drastically different types of quads....
KFX450 is a full sports light weight 2WD machine with a manual trans. Think of it as a rice racer like Honda Civic Si.
Brute is a sports-utility heavy weight machine with selectable 4WD with auto trans. Think of it as a full size 4x4 SUV, like Chevy Suburban or Tahoe.

 

I like my Vulcan 1500 but it sucks offroad!

Seriously I've had a number of Kawasaki street bikes and they have all been reliable machines that were a good value.

 

X2 The sport quads are great fun on trails, tracks, and generally smooth terrain. They can do trails with rocks but you spend a lot of time bashing your rear skid plate due to there not being much clearance. Also, if you are goind to be seeing mud any deeper than a few inches you'll spend a lot of time getting pulled out. I've had both types of quads in varying terrain that includes rocky hill climbs with fairly tall steps, mud/waterholes up to the headlights, snow, and ice. I would not go back to the sport type quad unless you gave me one. Then I'd sell it and put it towards a 4wd.
There are some quads out there that are a mix between sport and utility. Polaris Scrambler has a 500 carb. engine, solid axle rear with chain drive, and 4wd. Polaris 500 is pretty bulletproof. CanAm Renegade 500 is, in my mind the best of the three. Has independent rear suspension, 4wd, and a really quick engine. Best in class 500cc. Yamaha Wolverine is a 450 carb. engine, with a solid axle rear that is also a good machine.

 

I vote for the utility quad. I'm more interested in being able to go almost anywhere I want without killing the machine than I am in going real real fast or jumping higher than somebody else. Don't get me wrong, the utilities aren't exactly slow but they don't have that light nimble feel like a sport quad.

If you see a huge mud bog do you want to try and find a way around or just dive in with confidence ?

If you come across a huge rock garden on the trail would you rather crawl over it or turn around and try another trail ?

I feel like a sport quad has limitations that I don't want to deal with.

Don't forget no matter what you buy you need some accessories like serious skid plates at a minimum so save some money for that. You'd be surprised how fast the frame gets beat up without them.

 

I doubt if the OP as any serious about buying a quad because...
> A few of us chimed in and gave our input but the OP has not responded any.
> He was comparing 2 extreme quads...
> This was his FIRST post.

I like big bore 4x4 sport-ute quad which I can put some "show-off" stuff on it and also I can use around my ranch.

 

Always love it when we take the time to help someone out and they don't ever check to see what we've written or at least say, "Thank you".

 

I went from a 1987 honda 250x which was a blast to ride and hit about 59 mph in the straights. Then I bought a used 05 BRUTE 750 - I'll never go back to sport quads. The brute 650 is rummored to be peppier than the 750,but I went for the 750 cause thats what was up for sale at the time - I LOVE THIS QUAD !My top speed on my brute was 58 mph which also feels like she'll pull more.Climbs hills with no problems.It all depends what your looking for,and what you want or expect it to do. I jump my brute over hills,but you won't be doing the jumps that a sport quad is made to handle. The brutes pretty much can do it all.

 

Whats your trails like? On our trails here a 2wd will get stuck plenty of times and the Rocks will make quick work of the rear chain sprocket with its 3" ground clearance. Also Sport ATVs have no racks to carry beer and ice on those long hot rides.

 

I live in Reading,Pa. At our house, we just go to my neighbors back yard,and acess some county property were there is a good flowing 20 foot wide creek with some 5 foot deep holes in spots, some trails through the wooded area with small jumps, and a football size field we can drag race through. Other than that, we drive about an hour up to Pottsville or the Poconos to go riding.Pottsville is the coal mining area with alot of trails and mountaious climbs,and the poconos is alot of rocky trails and woods. I'm 45 old ,and just got back into riding about 2 years ago