of the 3 choices i'd want the BF hands down. i don't like the rincon tranny, and don't like the new KQ nor do i understand what all the hype about it is and why some people think it's gonna be so great. wait till it gets in a shootout, then you'll see.

one question: why haven't you even considered a Polaris?

we used to have honda's and always liked them, especially how bullet proof they are. then we decided to try a sportsman after hearing all the rave reviews about them. boy were we ever satisfied. the sportsman is fast, powerful, and wow what a comfortable ride. i think you should consider a sportsman. they're great sales and performance have made them a proven fourwheeler. don't get me wrong, i want a BF over any of them. but if you don't like the BF, i think you should put a Sportsman above those other 2 on the list.

 

WVatvRider, as much of a Honda fan as I am, I cannot honestly say that there is anything wrong with the Kawasaki V-Twins. As a matter of fact, they're awesome. I don't know what your dealer was talking about, but honestly here, that was not truthful at all what he told you. I don't know how else to tell you, but by throwing out V-Twins because of what that guy said, you could be missing out very badly. There is absolutely nothing wrong with V-Twins and I don't care how long that guy has been in the business, but he does NOT know what he's talking about when he comments on the Kawasaki Twins. If he got them mixed up with Polaris perhaps, it may be a bit more believable, but not Kawasaki. This is coming from the bottom of my heart here: DON'T throw out V-Twins because of what that guy told you. If you find a different reason out on your own to check the Vs off the list, then that's fine, but what you got told at the Arctic Cat dealership is completely false. You said you wanted the most bang for the buck and until the KingQuad is released, that title belongs to either the Kawasaki Prairie 700 or Kawasaki Brute Force 750, completely truthfully. Look at the magazine shootouts. If this guy at the dealership has an e-mail address, I would love to drop him a line.

 

I had sold my Rincon about 2 months ago and bought a 650AC. Can't really tell ya a whole lot about the AC yet but I put almost 1,500 miles on the Rincon.First you'll have to get rid of the stock tires,They tend to roll on ya unless you run 6 or 7 psi and they punture very easy,I re jetted mine to get rid of the sluggish take off but even then it wasn't a power house.It has no engine braking until you hit 8 or 9 mph,The trails I like to ride 8 mph will get you hurt,so you really use the brakes alot which wear out faster.The only mech. problem I had was a seal that was fixed under warrenty.The Rincon is the best riding atv that I've ridden but I don't have much experience with the others.Good luck with your choice hope this helped some.

 

Redgoblin,

After thinking on it, I will take you up on it and not throw out the V-twins. As for the guy having an email, I seriously doubt if the man has ever even been on a computer. He is like 65 years old, and very old school. LOL

Here where I am, the Kawasaki dealership is in with the Harley Davidson dealership. I have been riding on trails for 20 years and I will be flat honest with you, I may have seen 2 Kawis.

I will go down in the next couple of days and browse around the Kawi dealer. I hate going into those HD places sometimes, because I start lusting for a Hog.

If I do go with the BF I have no idea where I am going to have to go to buy it. I dont want to buy an ATV here in the state to bypass the taxes, so I will have to hunt a dealer down if I go with the BF.

Looking back I havent had a whole lot of luck with Suzukis, I had 2 DRZ400s that were pigs and I dropped alot of coin into them and still they were pigs. I had a KQ500 4X4 before that, that I never really was happy with, but ATVs today are much better than that old KQ so I cant judge them on that.

Out of all my offroad machines I liked my XR350 and I absolutely adore my CRF450, so maybe that is what is jading me towards Honda, they have all been very good to me.

BruteForce is back in the running again and I will keep an open mind and ears to the Vtwin.. and chalk the old fart up to senility.

PS. Read a thread on the Kawi board about a guy who bought a BF for his wife.... Says it gave her 1st and 3rd degree burns...I will keep an eye on it...

 

What everyone else that stuck up for Kawasaki and I have told you about the V-Twins is the gospel, I swear it. V-Twins were meant for big-bore ATVs if you ask me, I wish Honda would go ahead and get with the program because I remain a huge Honda fanatic, but we don't have the most powerful machines on the market. A V-Twin produces an awesome powerband. Instead of having a heavy hit down low or really great top-end, you'll get the best of both worlds with awesome mid-range between both. Vibration is practically non-existent on a 700 V-Twin compared to a 700 Single. I'm not saying that you should CHOOSE one of the Twins, just saying you shouldn't throw them out of the running. It sounds like the KingQuad is going to be VERY competitive the more I hear about it.

 

Ok,

I may now want a BruteForce. I went to the Kawi dealer here and did everything except for ride it, it is a very well put together machine and I like all the functions and ergonomics.

The model that I sat on, had been on the floor for 1 week and had about 10 really good scratches on it just from people sitting on it and fooling around.

The camo plastic they have is really impressive. They didnt have a BF in camo on the floor yet, but the salesman showed me on a Prarie. He pulled out a pocketknive and scraped around on the fenders, not even a blemish..... So in several years the camo plastic will look just as sweet as new I would figure.

For the $$ I think you get alot more on the BF than you do on the Rincon.

So I think the BF is ahead of Honda at the moment and I will wait for some mag reviews and a real world look at the KQ700 before I make the final decision.

By the way I asked the salesman to go back and see how much $$ it would cost for the 1st service on the BF and he came back and said $100, I asked what they do on the 1st service and he said they change the oil and make sure all the bolts are tight.. I asked about adjusting the valves, he went back and then came back to me and said it wasnt called for on the 1st service..

I thought on the Vtwin prairies and AC that the first service was very expensive and entailed alot more work....

Is the BF 1st service different, or was it a trick/lie?

PS. Also something to note... the warranty is 1 year standard on the BF....and for $500 I can get 48months bumper to bumper, with no deductable....how can u beat that? Sounds too good to be true.

 

f you are going to be riding with a skirt, maybe look at a 2-up, like the Outlander MAX (I think that is what it is called) or the Cat TRV. But the Arctic Cat only comes with a 500 and it sounds like you might want something bigger.

Maybe look at the Polaris 700 EFI too, although I don't know much about those and wouldn't get one myself, but to each his own.

Because I own a Cat, I can tell you to take a look at the Arctic Cat 650 V2 or the 650 Hemi if you want to haul a lot of gear. They have the most rack capacity, ground clearance, and suspension travel. Plus you can get the MRP racks and they have special ones just for camping that can carry just about everything. They will also have the diff-locker. This would be a good rig if you do a lot of hunting and snow plowing too. Do they have snow in West Virginia? Oh, for repairs Arctic Cat also has a 2 year warantee, but between my year old ATV and my dad's 2000 Cat 500 they have never seen the shop.

I know nothing of the Brute Force, Rincon, or King Quad but is sounds like these other guys do. A 4 year warantee is AWESOME.

 

Catterman
I am going to pass on the Arctic Cat and Polaris for now. I have narrowed it down to 3 choices, and those 3 are hard enough without weighing in others.

My girl is pretty smallish, so extra seat isnt needed.

We get snow here, and lots of rain (it rains more here than in Seattle). I have only been riding in the snow once and wasnt equipped to handle the cold so it was miserable. If I get a good enough machine and some gear we might have fun this winter in the snow.

I dont use my ATV for hunting, mostly fun.

Another thing that is weighing on my mind right now is that we have an old farm out in the country and my father pays someone twice a year to bush-hog......so I will have to talk with him and maybe we will get a bushhog for the ATV. If so I guess the Rincon is out, from what I read its not designed to do work, and not geared right for it..

So maybe down to KQ700 and BF, which is a waiting game.

 

From the reviews I've seen sounds like the KQ will be the way to go. Can't wait to get mine!!!!

 

What reviews have you seen?