Why did you decide on what model and manufacture of ATV to get and why. I have not been here at this forum that long and have seen many posts as to which brand/model is better and what should I buy. I think most people decide like in my case how they are going to use it and how much money they can afford.

My choice was the Yamaha Big Bear for the following reasons from most important:

1) Yamaha !!!!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] (Everything I have ever owned yahama was reliable)

1) Manual Trans, Shaft Driven, Push button on command 4x4 (Easy to fix myself and field tested and proven)

2) Low End Power, Torque and the total work horse model (I use it mainly for chores and not pleasure)

3) Air/Oil Cooled 400 class (At the time I heard many bad things about water pumps going out / Air/Oil Cooled older proven technology)

4) Price vs Features (Best Bang For The Buck)

5) The way it looks and easy access to all parts of the bike

6) My first ATV and started in the middle ( Why Bigbear? Not the largest and not the smallest)

 

1. GOOD DEALER!
2. pull start - the kids like to leave the lights on
3. true AWD without any input from me, it just kicks in when i need it
4. automatic ... the wife can drive it
5. the 500 has an proven track record ... IMO on par with Honda
6. price (when compared to Honda)
7. the RIDE - nothing beats IRS

 

before the current polaris sportsman we have we had 2 honda's and got them mainly because they were kinda the machine to have at the time and because of honda reliability. the first was an 87 fourtrax 350 4x4. the fourtrax 350 4x4 was the first 4 wheel drive atv, so that was the main reason we got it i think. then we traded it in for a 96 foreman 400 and we acutally got about what we paid for the 350 brand new in trade in, those things held their value well.

as for the sportsman, we wanted one ever since it came out in 96 because of how it just destroyed the competition at the time and the great reviews we read on it. we actually wanted to get one of those when we got the foreman, but we just got a deal we couldn't refuse on the foreman. so that's how we decided what atv we wanted.

 

I bought a 700 kawasaki prairie the reasons I bought this bike are: I ride in a lot of mixed terrain woods deep mud gravel roads and I like to ride fast and powerslide a lot. The sra was just the ticket for me. I use my quad to put my boat in and out of the water a lot and the sealed rear brake was superior for this application. I needed a lot of power for pulling my boat and hauling moose out of the bush and the kawasaki vtwin had more than enough torque for my needs. Every article I could get my hands on said this bike was "King" and I have not heard of any major complaints about this model. The diff lock was something I wanted and only certain models have this and some require stopping to engage the diff lock I thought the kawisaki system was so simple and not very complex just pull the lever and the front end is locked I liked the metal floorboards better than the plastic ones because sometimes rocks stumps etc.. hit that spot and I was worried about the plastic cracking. after looking at some competitors racks the kawasaki had large metal racks which I thought were one of the best. The seat is nice and comfortable and wide and long. The kawasaki had good looks a lot of that is based on personal opinion but the bike looked very nice not the best but not bad looking. The cv joints are very well protected and I hope all quads eventually will provide better "stock " cv protection the kawisaki Dealer in my area was a very good one and that played a role in my choice as well. I researched Kawasaki's reliability and found it to be above average. The wieght of the bike was a concern to me and its weight is something I can live with. The rear gas tank and high air box at the front seemed like a good idea too. I hate to post so long but I think people have to look at the features they need and go from there the prairie 700 as the perfect bike for me but not for everyone. I am very pleased with the bike because it fits my needs to a t.

 

My wheeler really doesn't fit into the utility category, but I can answer your question.

I actually had the opportunity to ride a 2000 model year wolverine for a couple days and fell in love with it. Then I went to the local dealer/neighbor and found out the price. I had a 2001 on order three months before they got to the dealer. That and I was getting a little to big for my 1989 moto 4 200 2 wheel drive. Though to this day that machine is still in great shape. I sold it to a friend.


Ryan

 

I bought my two Polaris sportsman 700 EFI 's mainly due to them being the first EFI atv's out on the market in 2004 and the great price I got with the 04 end of the year rebates. I was also looking for a quad with a true AWD that would kick in only when needed. the front and rear independant suspension was another plus. I priced out just about all of the 2004 utility quads and found that the 700 EFI was the best deal in the price and size category. I liked the honda rincon but with a 9k price tag it just wasn't reasonable and had a lower ground clearance and less rear suspension rebound than the sportsman series. I basically love the overall ride, looks, handling, and quality of the sportsman machines. I was looking for a utility quad but at the same time wanted something sporty and I found that the sportsman series quads sort of incorporated both aspects of what I was looking for.

 

I thought it looked cool; and it was fast [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img].