I too came from a honda rancher (cough suspensionless turd) and bought a Sportsman 500. What a difference in the Ride quality. If it was up to honda we would all be riding ATV's suitable for fred flinestone. Im a die hard POPO fan...you just cant beat the ride and 4WD performance. Great Choice...I imagine you will be on a POPO for years to come. The only Die hard Honda fans are just people who have failed to discover the other "Modern" options out there!

 

I am planning on selling the Honda Rancher and buying my boys the 300 Hawkeye 4wd. Hopefully if I do that I wont have to pull them out of the mud each time we go ride.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: jlhenry1

I am planning on selling the Honda Rancher and buying my boys the 300 Hawkeye 4wd. Hopefully if I do that I wont have to pull them out of the mud each time we go ride.</end quote></div>

Might be a huge difference between a 500 Sportsman and a 350 Rancher but I would not bother trading a Rancher for a 300 Hawkeye myself.

 

Thanks , I haven't ridden the Hawkeye, so you are probably right. Thanks for the advice.

 

I have to disagree with you TLC, I love my Hawkeye and am very impressed with the performance especially if you are doing the trails and mud! This little machine has amazing low end power for 300 cc and no low range. It is geared quite low and you simply can't stop it climbing or mudding.
The only limitation with this setup is the top end speed, (45MPH) and high end acceleration, if that is your cup of tea, then maybe a 400HO or something else would suit your needs better, but I guess if I was buying one for my kids, I really wouldn't want them running 70 MPH down a gravel road either!

Side note: While the early '06 Hawkeyes had their problems, these first year flaws seem to be worked out and you find very few problems reported on the '07 and '08, (Sportsman 300), models

 

You know I was a Hawkeye basher for a few months but only b/c I got a bad one. When the thing was actually at my house and not at the dealer I loved it. It was great in the woods it can squeeze through all the tight spots, and the gearing is low had no problems pulling my trailer around loaded up with building materials for porch replacement. I would hesitate buying another 06 but I def. would not hesitate to get one of the new ones I've been hearing good things about both of them now that they got the bugs worked out.

 

Congrats to you and your new purchase. I hope that it all works out for you and you enjoy it every chance you get.

I just picked up my 1st ATV this Friday, the 21st and like you I got a 500cc X2.