Hey guys...

I had planned to for sure buy a ride YESTERDAY!

I'm dead ready, I just can't for the life of me decide.

Here are my NEW choices

LTZ/DVX/KFX 400 (DVX 400 probably)
Outlaw 500 IRS
Scrambler 500 4x4

Here are my USED choices
'01 TRX400EX


Now here is where I get hung up on the new ones... I like them all to an extent...

The DVX400 is awesome, but it does not have IRS or 4x4

The Outlaw 500 is bad, should ride the best with the IRS and has great protection & clearance, but it is not 4x4

The Scrambler is nice, it's auto and 4x4 too, and sporty, but it's not really an all-out sport quad either. The negatives seem to be the 200 extra pounds and the auto tranny (although the auto is nice because anyone can ride).

The used 400EX I haven't seen in person yet to judge it's used condition. But I know I like this simple air cooled sport quad, and prefer the old '01 look, but also know it lacks reverse, which is nice to have but not a huge deal...

I have been mauling this over for a WHILE now and had decided if I didn't find the right used quad by the 19th that I would get one of these new. But I can't decide. All of them offer nice features.

The wheeler will be used for various stuff. I'll ride it hard in the trails by myself. I may take it on a track by myself if I find one too... but strictly for FUN. Other days I will be putting around on it, carrying a passenger... my wife or daughter... leasure riding.

I live in a mountain area... so all woods trail riding. Some tight, some rough, some steep, some muddy, some easy and open... no sand dunes, no swamps.


About the only thought I've had really is I thought about just going and getting the Scrambler because... 1 - my wife could drive it too.... 2 - it has 4x4.... 3 - no clutch or shifter to get at with a passenger.

But ultimately that thought ended as soon as it was finished because I thought about how seldom my wife might crawl on it herself, how dang heavy it is, and how unsure I am about the auto tranny.... I've always ridden full-on sport machines all the time, except for like deep mountain travel for hunting, etc... where 4x4 is really needed... and I used a full-on utility quad for that... which made me think of the leftover Honda Rancher AT I saw the other day...

Also just thought about the Sportsman 400.

I'm all confused.

 

I would get the 4x4 if its in pretty good shape, for all the reasons you said and the fact that eventually you will need the four wheel drive some where down the road.

 

If you're going to carry a passenger get a two person quad like the Sportsman X2. It's made to handle the weight and not tip over, plus it's 4x4. If you want a true sport quad you know the Scrambler isn't it. Get the Outlaw. That's the best one on your list. It would be nice if we all could afford two quads, but in the real world you have to choose - sport, 4x4, or 2-up 4x4. Where I like to ride I need the clearance IRS provides. I've had 3 Sportsman 500s and when my insurance pays me for the last one stolen I'll buy a 4th SP500.

 

All the ones I am looking at are brand new except the '01 400EX.

I've been very tempted to just go ahead and buy two for us. That's the ultimate goal at some point... to have two. But at this point we have a baby who just turned 8 months old today. So it's not very likely we will go on a family outing ride with all four of us for a while... although I look forward to that.

I am however still tempted to pick up the used 400EX and get the new Scrambler... which gives me a sport quad and a second quad that is auto for her and 4x4 for me.

I've also been offered a VERY good deal on a "2-up" polaris... VERY GOOD. I like it and I have no doubt that is the way to go for the most comfort and safety for 2-up riding. But they are HUGE and HEAVY. Too much ATV for me...

The 2-up riding we will do will be pretty tame anyways.

 

On the IRS topic, on the Outlaw there just doesn't seem to be much negative to it. It has the anti-sway for agressive riding, and I'm sure there is a learning curve for me, being very good on straight axle sport quads and used to that.

But like I say... I look at it, and how the sprocket and brake are up off the ground and it seems like a real advantage there... although I know some of the clearance will be lost at times when there is more weight on the machine and while the suspension is compressed...

I think about the trail handling and ride quality too... and the additional traction it probably gets. I like it overall.

However, I can't seem to use the IRS to eliminate the other final choices, because after all, there was wheeling before IRS, so the sport has lived without it....

 

Two people on a one-person quad is illegal in my state. If you get caught you get fined and one person is walking all the way back. As far as quads always having been around without IRS, that's like saying cars were around for years without shock absorbers. That doesn't mean the old way was better. I'd rather have the one with the best ride, and don't drive an antique.

 

I think 2-up riding is illegal everywhere.
But it's really not enforced here... although I'd bet it would be an issue if we were to go to some sort of regulated place to ride. But we are not likely to do that as a family, nor are we likely to do any real big long rides.

Just some loopback trails I know.... some exploring/nature rides and some rides out to a spot to picnic. Stuff a ute is fine for

I'll do my hardcore non-family oriented riding alone.
Stuff a sport is good for.


About the IRS... I wasn't saying straight axles are better. I think the IRS is better if you can adjust to it. What I'm saying is that I haven't been able to use the IRS on the Outlaw as a big feature that eliminates my other options which don't have it... because I've done without it so far...

 

All 400-500 sport quads are gonna $hit & get. The performnce is going to be similar on all of them. I just don't know any reasons not to get the one that rides the best. You would have to land a jump pretty hard to bottom out the IRS, so it will still have lots of clearance on the bumps and jumps. You'll have all 4 tires on the ground more often too, instead of skidding around on three wheels. I think you should buy a quad for you first and one for your wife later if she wants one. You'll be doing most of the riding so get what you want. My ex only rode my quad once, for a few miles, so I never had to think about what kind she wants.

 

Yeah, I was sitting here thinking just of the Outlaw and Scrambler for the first time by themselves. Then I had the revelation.

Both of them have the Polaris 500cc engine...
The Scrambler is auto and 4x4.... but a full 200 lbs heavier.
Same engine, 200 lbs more weight for it to pull on the Scrambler.
That would be like riding 2-up all by yourself....


I think it sucks that my wife can't jump right on and ride the Outlaw like she could the Scrambler. She'd have to learn and she can't even drive a stick shift.

But on the flip side of the coin, she may ride the Scrambler a half dozen times at first, then expect me to drive her from then on. Who knows... So then I might find myself glad of the 4x4 but disappointed with the weight and auto trans. Not that I'm anti-automatic... it's just that I wasn't thrilled with the Prairie auto, and don't care that much for automatic cars/trucks even...


Anyways... does anyone know of any worthy difference to consider between the Polaris 500 engine and the Suzuki 400 engine in the DVX?

 

500 is 25% bigger than 400. I don't know what other differences there are, but that's a big one. Bigger engines put out more power without winding up as fast, and cause less wear because they aren't being pushed as hard.

My truck, quad, scooter, and even my bicycle are all automatics, and most of my guns are semi-automatics. I don't do anything for myself. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I had to learn how to drive a stick in the army. That was okay because once you got a big 6x6 in 5th gear on the highway, WOT was only 55. As long as I was on a highway without any hills I just floored it and everything was cool. My ex was dumber than a box of rocks, and I don't think she would be able to ride a quad with a clutch. She could barely ride an automatic. I test rode one with a manual clutch, but like the gas & go automatics better.