your thoughts on this matter

 

A little bit of both[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Hence the scrambler[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Where, and what kind of terrain do you ride???

For me, I need both. In the cool months, we ride desert cross-country. Here, plush sport bike suspension and high speed stability are the thing. A big heavy utility would just hold you back. You would be miserable, bashing big whoops all day.

But, in the hot months we ride mountain trails. Lots of rocks, technical trails, water crossings, snow in the spring, etc. Here we need the high ground clearance of a utility, and the ability to carry cargo (for quad camping). A sport bike just wouldn't have the ground clearance to negotiate the trails.

 

sport all the way

 

And, I forgot to tell you my motto: "Never ride a utility anywhere you can ride a sport bike". I just got back from a gnarley ride in the hills behind my house. Killer hill climbs with nasty ruts (left by the dirt bikes), and lots of technical off-camber stuff. Anyway, as I was riding, I was thinking of all the times I would have rolled a top heavy, narrow utility back there.

A sport bike is just plain safer! To start with, most sport bikes are 200-300 lbs. lighter than the utilities. If you roll the bike, would you rather have a hard rack on top of you, or some nice soft sport bike plastic? Sports are wider so they are way more stable, and their center of mass is much lower in the frame. So, pick a sport if you have that option. On the other hand, you may ride terrain (mud and snow in particular) where you are forced to pick a utility. But, I would suggest that you are way better off on a sport if that will work for you.

 

Depends what you want it for really. I love my Z400, but we take the Ozark to the races.

 

The prarie is the best choice. scramblers are all right but that rear sprocket can hang you up on the rougher stuff. I have both but I use to ride my eiger as hard and fast as I could before I got a z 400. The prarie is super powerfull and handles great, better than any other utility accept maybe the vinson, which is also a good choice for your needs. As for using a sport quad for hard core off roading because they are lighter and more agile, I would disagree, true that they are lighter and more agile,but not better for 4x4m stuff. Try crossing a log down hill off camber with a sport quad, chances are you will be getting off and pushing and pulling it across. I would say that reconranger just needs a lesson on riding a utility on hills and ruts, and maybe the utes he has rode with were old school junk or he was with some unskilled riders on utilitys.

 

quadduck-What did I say? There are times when a utility is the only appropriate ride! With all the fires in my local mountains, there are downed trees all over the place. I wouldn't dream of taking a sport bike up there.

But hey, your big utiltiy weighs 600+ lbs. and my sport bike weighs a svelte 350 lbs. If I did have to do a log crossing (not going to happen out in the desert, lol), I could just muscle my sport bike across, no big deal!

 

On any off camber situations I'd much rather be on my sport. After riding the sport, a utility feels top heavy and will roll down the side of a mountain much easier. Anymore, the only time I prefer a utility is for mud and really nasty trails where I can do nothing more than a crawl. If you really want to see the difference between these machines, go to a play pit with really big chad hills............................. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

If you get a sport, then ride with owners of 4wd machines, they WILL lead you into getting stuck, high centered, etc. If you get a 4wd then ride with sport machine owners, they WILL want to race you with their lighter agile machines. If you would ever tow/pull anything, most sport machines lack capability. If powersliding around corners is appealing, most selectable 2wd/4wd can do this to various degrees, but powerslides in 4wd can sometimes give unexpected & unpleasant results. What dealer(s) are close to you and how they treat their customers is a big consideration. Post more info about your intended usage and opinions will roll in. Search these forums for much of the best info to be found anywhere