I am interested in buying a quad, but i'm really not sure what i should get. My friend has a blaster and a polaris xpolrer4x4 , I rode both but liked the polaris more. I think I want something with a little more power. I'm 5'8 200 pounds, and i would be using the quad for work and trail riding. I wanna be able to go in water and mud without a proplem, plowing snow to.

 

I would go with the rincon it is A GREAT QUAD and nearly unstopable in mud and water

 

My Foreman 450ES plows snow, pulls a trailer (gardening, camping, hauling firewood), is decent on the trail, and has that bulletproof Honda reliability. It ain't a Lexus, with 4-wheel independent suspension. It has a low center of gravity with straight axkes and is thumbshift manual -- it's a "truck", OK? -- but it'll do anything you want on the trail (unless you're into wheelies and jumps, in a truck...), floats (!!), and will muck with the best of them if you're into oversize mud tires.

 

Wheelies, hey they will do them too. I can ride wheelies farther then my buddies on sport bikes. Love my Foreman

 

I have a big bear 400 and it is geared for work.

 

Thanks, I will now look at the honda foreman. Does anyone have anything to say about the kodiak 450 4x4(good or bad)

 

Around here most riders think of Hondas and Yamahas as equally durable.
Yamaha riders of Utilty-class machines like their moderately innovative features -- automatic (usually dual-range) transmissions, usually more on-paper ground clearance than Hondas, etc.

Until the Rubicon & Rincon introduced quite complex (and EXCELLENT) auto transmissions, Honda riders thought of their machines as rock-solid simple, engineered for durabilty & low-maintenance workhorses. (Those two biggest new Hondas kinda clouded the simplicity issue, but aside from a few rider-preference complaints, they actually pretty much kept up the strong/durable tradition.) So now you might characterize the Honda line as having models toward the "luxury" end of the scale, along with the old Honda virtues.

ArticCats & Bombardiers are both highly regarded around here, but are pretty rare -- the Bombardiers are quite classy, but are thought of as overly expensive ... whether they are worth it or not.

Polaris has a huge following here, hardly surprising since their excellent snowmobiles dominate the market. The Polaris ATV's have plenty of great design & quality features, and you can't beat their ride comfort & innovation. Still the Sportsman ATV's have the reputation of being less reliable than Honda or Yamaha. I've never owned one, and most loyal Polaris riders get pretty, well, fanatical about their rides, so I'm not sure if the "unreliable" riff is deserved or not. Still, you ask the commercial users -- cross-country pipeline or utility companies, big-ranch operations, etc. -- and you get a pretty strong endorsement for Hondas, then Yamahas.

Lots of "reliability" fanatics (me, for one) question the Yamahas belt-driven transmissions. In theory belts might be a problem, but in practice they are proven and very durable systems.

So ride them both, see what you like the feel of. Talk to the shop folks as well as the salesmen, wander over to their parts department and see how they treat you. The competence, respect, and helpfulness of the dealership you choose is generally a lot more important than some fine point of top-speed, towing capacity, or warranty length. It's like buying running shoes, or a car : no matter how much a reviewer or other owner raves about the latest wonder-product, if it cramps your toes (shoes) or your head pokes out through the sunroom (that's me in a Miata <g&gt[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] it ain't gonna work for you.

You can't go wrong with the Foreman or the Kodiak. Good luck!

 

I have a kodiak 450 and I'm happy with it so far. Where I ride is tight rain forest trails. a larger quad would'nt fit where I ride(too tight). You would end up taking out your front fenders on hidden tree stumps. At Walker Valley (Wa State) our other riding spot There's Logging roads we blast up. My buddys 350 6 spd warrior and the kodiak 450 are real close as far speed when we both have them floored(I'm carryin the cooler of Beer and I'm 215 lbs).The Kodiak turns nice(tight radius).4 wheel drive works great with on the fly 4 wheel drive and locker.I use it all the time and when you come to the logging roads, you simply push the button(back to 2 wheel drive) and your ready to Rock! On my 60 acres in eastern Wa I will use The Kodiak for work around the cabin.need to intall beer holder. Ride as many quads as you can and see what fits your needs and how much you want to man handle a bulky utility quad. Happy Trails !!