Sorry it took so long to get the link to my few pictures posted. I've been pretty busy lately. But, here they are. I apologize, I don't have any action shots, it's sitting in my brothers garage at this point.

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First of all... BattleGun, thanks for being one of our heros! I admire anyone who serves our country fighting for the things the rest of us take for granted. I served during desert storm, my younger brother has done 3 tours in the latest war. 1 in Afgan, 2 in Iraq. You are appreciated!
You can have a good time on anything. Personally, I'd buy the 450 yamaha. I've never owned a polaris or AC (only honda and yamaha), but I do ride with several guys on both of them. Every single polaris AND AC that I've ridden with has had problems. I repeat, EVERY ONE of them! I'm not saying this is true for all of them out there, but it's definitely true from my experiences and therefore I know that I'll never own either of them. So what kinda problems are you wondering? Well, as far as Polaris... I've seen at least 3 new (yr old or less) with holes burnt thru the plastic from poor exhaust routing and or heat protection. Headlights come loose, sometimes fill up with water. Kinda looks like little fish tanks sloshing around. There's one that can't keep cv's from wearing out. Their clutch belts slip more often than other quads too (in mud and water). As for AC... I've ridden with 2 that constantly get overheated. Yeah, they're caked with mud and that'll sure make em hot, but so are everyone elses quads too (with no probs). So you tell me. Also, whenever you're close to an AC, you can just hear things rattling and pinging like the whole thing is coming apart. They may have good engines, but if you're gonna buy a suzuki engine equipped quad, why not just buy the whole dang suzuki? After several miles on both, the plastics and such don't seem to fit as well. So for what's it's worth, in my experience, I'd go with the yamaha. They have the best auto trans, they're proven and dependable plus true diff lock. Good value for the money. I don't know the numbers, but I'm willing to bet the yamaha is the cheapest of the 3. I currently own 2 yamahas. Not because I ran out, bought them, and now I'm trying to defend them... It's because my last ride was a honda and I observed other riders on the trails and rode other quads whenever I could. My wife rides an 06 400 kodiak, mine is an 06 660 griz. My good friend bought an 02 450 kodiak brand new (straight axle) and has never had the first problem with it...EVER. It's also had 26's on it since about 400 miles. I've never had probs with my 400, but I did have a front diff leak fixed on the 660 under warranty. They all can have problems, but I like the odds better with the yamahas. I hope this helps.

 

earlytimz...please don't thank me. It is you and your brother who I thank. Thank you for paving the way for the troops today. It will always be the ones that served before who have my respect. Don't get me wrong. I am VERY thankful for our Soldiers serving now. They have one of the most complex if not THE most complex missions in the history of modern combat. But it is the men and women who served before us that have given us the ability to fight for democracy.

And for those who think this war is "wrong", please hold your opinion and go to your local recruiter or church mission and get over here. Then and ONLY then, after you have seen this with your own eyes, should you express your feelings. I'm not saying I understand everything that is going on, it is SO complex, but I do see the suffering of EVERYONE involved.

Now. Sorry for that rant.

Thanks for your post on the Y.

It is my observation from here, other forum sites, and from raw data that no one quad is "superior" in all catagories. No one quad is perfect. I have a theory that user riding habbits and style, dealer installation, and luck have everything to do with how these quads hold up and perform. All of these brands have had some issues with their quads, but from what I've seen it is usually rider induced. I stress "usually". Sometimes s__t happens. I know this. I expect this. It is a fact of life.

I can not stress enough how much these posts have helped me. Not just with the research involved in buying a quad, but for the entertainment value as well. I have looked forward to coming back and reading these posts whenever I can. They are informative and mostly very realistic. I also think its funny when people get their underwear all bundled up over this brand or that. That is such a small and distant thing in the reality of it all. As several people have insisted, no one brand is the best at everything. It is all preference. This is why I have posted this thread. I was going to go to several other rooms and start more conversations just like this one, but I have had such good response in here that I don't think I need to do that. Everyone has posted something worth reading and has either entertained me or informed me. Thanks to EVERYONE who has taken the time to post in here. I thank you all because everyone of you did so in the hopes of helping another person.

Sorry for the short story, but I haven't had much chance to post lately and I wanted to stress my opinions.

 

legendary, thanks for the pics! Nice looking ride. No suprise that the hemi block has torque. I can't remember...does the h1 have efi?

 

I just brought a 500 X2 home today and just got back from my 1st 5 mile ride. This is a very smooth riding machine. I tried a couple difficult hills and it just walked up and down like nothing. Had it on the pavement for a couple miles and it cruised along 50 mph just like a little car. Turf mode and it steers on pavement very easy. I loaded all my stuff in the front and still had room left over?!?
I really like it!
I picked it up slightly used a 2007 500 X2 Deluxe with plow 35 hrs. and 225 miles.
$6000, he paid $8800 this March.

 

The 650 H1 has a carb but the new 700 H1 is fuel injected. I'm not sure at all on the price difference, though for a new one.

 

battlegun,
I don't have a lot of experience with ATV's.......I have only had Polaris 500's.My current ride is an '07 500 H.O. EFI and i REALLY like this bike.My previous bike was a 2000 Sportsman 500 and it was trouble-free and reliable.There are LOTS of good 4-wheelers...pick the one with the features YOU require and the one that suits YOU best........
regards
FOG

 

Alright, I know it has been sometime since I last posted. Sorry for the delay. I wanted to post my decision for closure on this thread.

After riding Artic Cat, Polaris, and Yamaha, I decided on a the Yami. All quads were very nice, but the yami felt best for me even though they didn't have make the best offer. My decision was the Grizzly 660, color is green and they gave me the warn 2500lb winch. I'm going to put some aftermarket tires on it...looking at ITP Mud Lite xtrs and I'm going to stay with 25's. Other than that, I will only add "working" features such as a trailer, chainsaw mount, PIAA lights, rack extenders, etc. Again, the other quads were very nice and the decision was not easy, but I chose the one that literally felt the best to me. I ended up spending a lot more money than I wanted to, and I will spend more money, but a quad is something I've always wanted, and my wife said I deserved it! Hey, can't argue with that!!

So thanks again for eveyone's input, and now that I'm back from R&R, hopefully I can start posting again. Ya'll take care.

Battle Out

 

congrats, I hope you enjoy the Grizz. Thanks again for all you have done over there.

 

Great choice.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]