Maddog...could you be a little more specific?

 

I really can't agree with the later part of that statement. I own a 700cc KQ and reliablity hasn't been an issue, my old 400cc Polaris sportman gave me way more problems.

 

Big bore utes are typically less reliable than the rest of the manufacturer's utility line and the vast majority of them have major recalls or notorious problems, or both.

Tell the KQ owners with no reverse that it's reliable. I could argue all day with people who have had good experience with their bike, and I'll even wager that for many bikes the number of happy owners outweigh the unhappy ones. But the commonality and apparent frequency of these problems in so many big bore utes doesnt inspire a lot of confidence in me when I go to lay down 6-9k dollars.

 

The reverse issue isn't a strong arguing point anymore it has been fixed for months. The King Quad doesn't have anymore reliability problems than say a first year 450cc ute would so I don't see much truth in your statement, I'm not saying they are perfect, and yes I wish they didn't have any problems at all but pretty much every ATV out there has problems, but the longer the ATV has been out the more bugs are worked out, this happens with every ATV not just the Big Bore utes.

 

TB,

I agree.



Maddog,

Maybe you agree with TB and are simply saying that although just about every quad has a glitch at some point that for the 6k-9k range, you mentioned earlier, there shouldn't be any!

 

I have to agree with Maddog, I think from the point of manufacturing and engineering it is reasonable to understand. I also think it affects all industry not only ATV's.

Most of the R & D a company spends goes in to it's signature products. This technology then trickles into the rest of the manufacturing line after the unforeseen defects are worked out. It is a very well established fact that first year runs are plagued with more quality issues from every manufacture regardless of the industry.

The latest and greatest technology the quad manufactures are producing is being introduced into the larger machines where there is more of a profit margin. R & D cost can thus be recaptured with a lower profit to loss ratio risk. It then follows logic that these are going to be plagued with more recalls and TSB. In a couple of years this technology is perfected or scrapped. If perfected it then is introduced into the rest of the line up that has smaller margins to cover liability issues. Look at IRS and EFI as it moves from where it started to what is available today


In a nutshell, cheaper quads run with more reliable and proven technology then the high end signature lines. If your dropping 7-9K people want all the bells and whistles. Just don't buy a first production year. If you do, don't whine when it does not work quite as well as advertised.

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