I was looking at geting an oddysey, an fl350, or something like that (unlikely a Pilot).
Anyways, I have seen several for sale, the newest being '85 FL350 I think. Does it make sense to get something that old? Also, anything to look at on it(chronic, common problems)?
Finally, I was hesitant about purchasing one. I was wondering why so few people have them(I understand how few were made and all) but still, a lot are for sale, and have never seen anyone on them. Is there some unseen advantage to a standard quad? Thanks for your help. It is hard to get knowledgeable help concerning these things.

 

The reason you dont see them to much anymore is quite simple,compared to quads,they are at a distinct disadvantage.They simply cant take on the same terrain as quads.They set to low to the ground,they dont come close to a quad when hill climbing,mudding,going thru snow, or working.If your trail riding partner is on a quad,you'll never keep up with him.Quite simply,they just are not as practicle as quads.====BILL

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I figured they wouldn't be as good in mud, but even in snow? I have seen one, and it had good ground clearance. And they aren't good at hill climbing? I thought that they had a lot of power. Or am I mistaking it as simply a great duner, but with little torque for trails or hills?

 

YES,in fact they are pretty good Duners from what I can see,but in the other mentioned areas,no match for quads.===BILL

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W*T*F*!!!The oddysey not having that much power??YEAH RIGHT,the FL350 has plenty of power to get you where u wanna go,along with reverse and electric start,my uncle owns one and has lots of ground clearance and great suspension(not as good as good as the pilot's though!!)that thing does do pretty good in the mud and exellent in the snow.I would love to own one,You can have just as much or even more fun on an odyysey or pilot than a quad w/o having to worry about anything.In Arizona down here i see lots of people with odyssey's for sale and a lot of people have them.Talk about get up and go!!Bill,I think you were thinking about the FL250,but those are a lot of fun too.

 

Odysseys and Pilots are fun in their own way. I have two 350 Odysseys and riding them together is great. However, riding one with a group of Banshees is not. They weigh more with less power. They are not very powerful from the factory for their engine size, but this just means that bolt on mods make a big difference. I ride mine in the trails, in the snow and on the dunes, but I don't race sport quads or follow 4x4 quads over rock piles.

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Steve Bishop Banshee FL350R FL350R (soon to be FL500R) YZ490

 

This award goes to Livewire,he explained the differance probably better than myself.I like when he said riding Odysseys together are fun.I think so to.But keeping up with the things a quads capable of?Not entirely true. Thats all im trying to point out===BILL

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I have owned a FL250 in the past and currently own a FL350R. Steve, Bill and Ryda have made some very good points and evaluations here. Here are some of my observations on these unique ATV's.

FL250: Save your money and get a FL350R.

FL350R:

Good things:

Faster than most utility quads.
4-wheel independent suspension gives good ground clearance.
Awesome hill climbing ability.
Goes through the snow very well (10" fresh powder).
Easy to send into a 4-wheel drift at high speeds.
Really stable, doesn’t feel tippy at all.
Very safe, it can handle a rollover without injuring the driver.
Auto trans. and all controls located on "steering pod" make it simple to drive.
Ideal for persons with mobility impairments.

Not so good things:

Not as fast as most sport quads.
So-so front suspension, VERY stiff rear suspension. After market shocks definitely recommended.
Exposed belt and low seat height limits mudding and water crossing ability. I have the best way to make it through any wet stuff is at high speeds.
Air cooled engine sets behind the seat, gets hot sometimes.
They are 15 yrs old, things tend to break easy or be worn out after that amount of time.
Too wide (61") to fit down most ATV trails.

Overall:

I like mine. It's allot of fun and beats the heck out of becoming a couch potato. I don't believe they are for everyone though. They are at thier best in the dunes or in wide-open areas such as fields, gravel roads or wide trails. If money is no object get a Pilot; they are twice the Odyssey at twice the price.

If you are interested in learning more about these cool ATV's check out this guys web sight:
<A HREF="http://www.uti.com/~hoser/">www.uti.com/~hoser/</A>


His page is mostly about Pilot's but his links page has allot of connections to Odyssey pages in it.



[This message has been edited by Eric Zeh (edited 01-26-2000).]

 

I wish I would have seen this topic sooner! I can't add a thing that hasn't already been said!

Personal experience:
When I was a kid, my brother and I had Fl250's. Rode 'em everywhere TOGETHER! (couldn't follow the quads) Then my Dad got a Fl350, so my bro. and I each got one (still rode everywhere TOGETHER, still got smoked by quads). Then our old man got a Fl400 Pilot. They were hard to find and cost $6000 (10+ years ago!) so my bro and I got Banshees. Now our old man has a Banshee and our Pilot collects dust (we used to take it out a few times a year for the wifes to ride but no one has riden it in a long time).

If your friends have odysseys, get one. If they have quads, get one of those.

Fish

 

Thanks