The Rancher is a sportier quad, more power & better handling. The KQ has the locking differential giving it the only true 4wd on the market, a big plus for mud & snow riding.

Go with whichever quad you get the best deal on.

 

YO!!! DON'T EVEN DO THAT TO SUZUKI... THERE IS NO WAY THAT SUZUKI HAS THE RELIABILITY OF POLARIS, POLARIS SUCK @$$!!!

 

i would go with the rancher.mine has never let me down. it has been a very good bike and has done everthing i have ask it to do. here is some pics of it.

http://hometown.aol.com/rl4wheeler/index.html

 

It's like comparing apples to oranges, no matter what anyone says, there is going to be someone else that says that the other one is better, your just gonna have to find out for yourself... The King Quad is great, but so is the Honda, it's really up to what u want/need it for.... For hard work, u can't beat the King Quad, it has 15 forward gears in 2 wheel drive and 35 forward gears all together, while the honda only has 5. Like someone said the honda WOULD be better for jumps, speed, fun, etc. But I know my King Quad will keep up (if not pass) anyone that I ride with on the trails... Either way u r looking at two really reliable, fun machines. Take your time. Also, one prob with the king quad, I think it has a slight lack of power, not much, don't get me wrong, but you can feel it, when u have to shift down to first when climbing a hill with the suzuki, u can leave it right in 2nd or 3rd on the honda. But then again, if u like to ride slow, and time isn't really a factor, the king quad is better, because u just stop and shift into a lower range. I've had my King Quad since april, and have only had it truely stuck twice (stuck to me is when I can't move it at all, by it's own power). I know my father has the 300 4x4 (which is basicly the same thing as the rancher) and he has gotten stuck plenty more than me with his. Plus the 2/4wd feature is a big plus for me, along with the differential lock. I've found myself stuck on plenty of rocks, and just locked the differentials and popped right out. While at the same time I've seen many times my father's quad, the 300 4x4 honda stuck coming out of a near-by creek, with one wheel spinning like crazy in the air and the other one not moving at all on the ground, if only he had the differential lock, he would have pulled out of that creek like nothing. Just a thought fellas... So long...


Long live the king, baby!

-2000 king quad
-97 honda 300 4x4

 

Jesters at it again.He says Polaris sucks?What do you base your negativity towards that remark on?You owned a few?Had bad experiences with them ect ect?Perhaps you heard them bad mouthed on Teen Connection?

You also stated that your KQ could stick with,or pass anyone you ride with on the trails.Im not impressed.Perhaps you ride with inexperienced,slow minded ATVers?That does not make your KQ the superior ATV.

The truth be know,I have owned a KQ,and I also ride and service my brothers 97 KQ.There is nothing spectacular about the KQ.It does everything good,but nothing the best.It is very reliable/dependable/versatile.Rides rough when the going gets rough,has poorly sealed drum style brakes,and is more than just a little underpowerd.Im not trying to burst your bubble,but your KQ is not the ATV of the century.===Bill

 

Y dont you shut the hell up, BILL! Your starting to **** me off. U should try and mind your own business sometime and try not to pick fights with people that arent your age! He asked for people's opinions and I gave him mine. You give him yours and everyone else puts theirs in. No prooblem with anything. Until of course, u come in here. "Oh, I service my brother's KQ!" Big frigin ****! I service my own dang quad! AND IF THE ATV MESSAGE BOARD DUDE READS, THIS, FINE!!! KICK ME OFF! There r plenty of other damn message boards!
Anyway.... It is people like u bill that make people say stupid things in a chat room or a message board. If u remember what I wrote, I did say some bad things about the KQ also, don't get me wrong, there r a lot of things that zuki could do to the king quad to make it better! But it can keep up with any other quad. In the mud/rocks/hills/creeks, etc. Just mind your own business bill and stop picking fights with people that r younger than u. IF ANYTHING, THEY SHOULD KICK YOU OFF OF THIS FOR PICKING FIGHTS!
And yes... I did own a POLARIS (crap)... A 97 Polaris Explorer 300 4x4 I had nothing but trouble with it since I owned it. It only had 3 wheel drive from about 1 week after I had the quad. All the wires burnt out in the "dash board" on the handle bars. I put 6 new sets of barrings in the right front tire. 3 new belts, new coil and new hub in the front left wheel, along with a hud clutch and 4 sets of barrings there. There wasn't many times that I could just ride the quad and have fun., because there was usually something going wrong with the piece of crap! I sold it after fixing the 4x4 system, and the guy that bought it off of me said it went again. He just put 800$ more into about 4 weeks ago. I put over 1000 into it when I owned it... AND NO I DO NOT BEAT MY STUFF!!! AS A MATTER OF FACT PEOPLE YELL AT ME FOR RISING TOO SLOW WITH THEM, AND THE MAN THAT BOUGHT IT OFF ME DOESN'T BEAT IT EITHER AND I DID WASH IT EVERY TIME THAT I GOT HOME FROM RIDING IN MUDDY OR DUSTY TERRAIN. I have heard from so many people on this message board how they would never buy another polaris quad, also when was the last time that u looked under your polaris (hunk o' junk)? If u go outside rght now and look you will realize that about 85% of the quad is plastic!!!!!!!!!!!! Think about it BILL, and stop being so sensitive.... It was just my opinion... I know having an opinion isn't against the rules!!!


-wes

 

My-My-My,
The little under aged,immuture Jester has spoken.''SILENCE PLEASE''.

Now I respectfully ask,does anyone in this Forum with the exception of Jester have a problem with what I posted?Did I upset anyone else?Did I ask anyone to argue with me?Did I pick a fight as Jester seems to think?

Now Jester,quite on the contrary.It was YOU that posted derogatory remarks like ''Polaris suck A$$,You should check your OWN attitude before disrespecting others.I said nothing that bashed the KQ or Suzuki.

Further'
I will post in whatever Forum I desire,regardless if you like it or not.Any Forum I desire to make my bussiness,IS MY BUSSINESS,so get used to it.Ever heard of an ''OPEN FORUM''?

Now son,
lets get one thing perfectly clear.The KQ will not keep up with the larger displacement CC 4x4 quads in serious mud,steep hills,or a drag race in its stock form,and from what I've personally seen so far,you cant mod a KQ enough to keep up with the bigger CC quads either.So get used to it.As I said earlier,the KQ is a fine reliable/dependable/versatile 4x4,it does many things well,but does not have the CCs to handle the bigger,steep challenging hills,and mud holes like the big boys can.

Im very sorry you had a bad experience with the Polaris quad.I had a real bad 99 500cc Sportsman,but knew to many Sportsman riders that were having NO problems with their 4x4 Sportmans.One bad experience dont make the entire crop bad.My hope is that you re-read my posts and realize that im not picking a fight with anyone,nor do I desire to argue either,BUTT,if the need calls for it

''LETS GET IT ON''
[LOL]
Good Day,
Bill

 

I think Barry's Polaris 335 cc. was a good all-around machine. It has four wheel drive, push button auto, tall enough to be comfortable and in Michigan, it's plenty of power too.
But I was wondering, Bill, I talked to a representative from Mikuni Carburetor, and he said the reason the accelleration is so slow on the KQ is because the 31 & 33 mm carb uses a shutter which is vaccuum operated. That's to control the bottom end, so it doesn't take off too fast. He said if you go to a 34 mm carb, there is no shutter... Are you listening Eric? He also said, the 34 mm carb will not have all the same connections but he could not explain without having both carbs in front of him. I talked to this guy over the phone and no, I don't know him. I was looking for information and after a lot of talk, somebody told me to contact this office in California. I never persued this carburetor swap due to other obligations. The new carb will run about $250 to $300.00. Then you will have to find out how to get vaccuum to operate the other items already working on the standard carb. Not to mention, tweeking the 34 mm carb for your area. You will be the first to succeed or fail. Yes, I think it's worth trying. I still believe the 280 cc KQ has some potential. I just don't have the time to do all the leg work required to invest and investigate the idea. Hope some of you younger and smarter guys will come up with something similar that works and can tell us about it. Then we can stop listening to all the bad ads about how the KQ is under powered. But of course Bill! It still won't beat your Polaris 400 up the hill and you shall surely be pulling me out of another hole...
Chuck, Suzuki KQ 300, GPS & lunch...

 

Ecorman,
some very intresting ideas on the carb issue of the KQ.However,im having a very hard time beleiving that Suk installed a shutter in the KQs carb in order to hold the bottom end down so it dont take off so fast.The KQ is only a 280cc quad,you can only accelerate so fast with the limited CCs avalable.Im not buying this one,at least not for the reason he is mentioning to you.[keeping the bottom end down so it dont take off so fast]

The KQ has been around for A LONG time,and it has a proven track record for reliability.Speed is not one of it;s better attributes though.Post this carb idea in the Suzuki section of the Forums,lets see if any of the other guys have heard of this?
===Bill

 

Sounds fair to me Bill. I'll post it on the Suzuki Forum, soon.
Justingold, as you can see, I don't have anything to offer concerning your comparison between the KQ and Rancher. I'm sure either machine is a good choice. But this was fun reading thanks to Jester and Bill... Think I'll sit this one out...
Chuck, Suzuki KQ 300, GPS & lunch...