The 450r is awesome...but i have reservations about it for a first quad, its not designed or geared for slow going.
Another thing, the sporty types wont have the ground clearance the utes have, so the disk brake and sproket will be the first thing that hangs up.

It depends on what dealers are close by, and what your preference is. Do you want irs, or solid axle? auto or manual shift? will you be doing your own maintance, and repairs?

If polaris is ok, the 500 is awesome, and when you get more experience, itll keep up with sportys. The thing hauls. Its also the best deal of the sportsman line, and probably the most comfortable ride going.

Other utes, are the kq, and grizzly, and i hear next year the grizz is gonna be changed big time, so you might be able to score a good deal on one, when they close out the 2005s. The brute force 650 is also a good pick.

 

Just keep this in mind, if you are planning on getting a utility quad for mostly trail riding, it's important to get one that has enough power (at the very least 500cc), because it sounds like you want speed and acceleration to stick with the sport quads. I had a Polaris sportsman 400 and I wanted more power a few days after I bought it and that was my first quad too. It sounds like you've been wanting to buy a quad for a long time, just make sure you get one your satisfied with. The best thing you could do is to test drive a few and see which one you like best.

 

To show all of you how addicted I am to this stuff....we have friends over and we are all out front enjoying a few beers! I had to sneak away to see what advice you guys have given in the last few hours and to my amazement I had about 5-6 new replies which have all been GREAT!

Thank you very much for all of the advice....like I said earlier I will take as much as you guys have!

I am really leaning towards a utility quad now, especially one that is a little sportier, cc's over 500.....maybe IRS...thank you to all of you!

 

I have to suggest the Honda Rincon. It is very sporty, yet it is 4wheel drive for whenever you want to get into the creek. Do a little research on this model and I think it will catch your eye.

 

No, I've never ridden at St. Joe or any place in Missouri for that matter, YET. A friend of mine is talking about taking me down to I believe Current River and/or Jack's Fork?????? He says they have awesome trails and water crossings obviously. I live about an hour straight east of St. Louis. If ever you are going to be in my neck of the woods, do let me know ahead of time and you can come ride the King and see what you think, although I'm sure you'll take care of that at a dealership. There was a huge dealer in Columbia, MO we almost bought from because they had a great price. I can't remember the name to save my life though. I ride the King for recreation about 90% of the time. Occasional odd jobs here and there and deer season when it comes in this year and coming years. I only weigh about 145lbs. I ride virtually any kind of challenging terrain I can find around my area. The majority is trails, at both high and low speeds. I have no problem venturing off into a mudhole, creek, rocks, etc. I really enjoy very technical trailriding and hill climbing as well and so far the King has taken what I've thrown at it and asked for more.

 

I'm sorta in the same boat as you. I've been trying to wade through the BS, the blind brand loyalty and the "I have a (insert ATV) and it is the best" despite whatever evidence to the contrary crap. It ain't easy.

First your best bet is to try to manage some seat time on as many different quads as possible. This tends to be pretty difficult as dealers may let you ride across the parking lot but that really doesn't tell you much. If I have one more salesman say "I'll start the paperwork you can take her for a spin across the parking lot...you'll love it." I'm gonna kick him in the *****. Your butt on a seat is the best way to weed out the non-contenders. It is too bad dealers don't have a test ride unit they could rent to qualified potential customers. Make sure you lay out the necessary collateral and sign the necessary legal waivers but have an ATV you can take out to your riding area for a weekend or an afternoon at least. I would gladly pay a dealer a couple of hundred bucks to do that. At least have some sort of riding area besides a parking lot or manicured lawn to take a test drive on. Unless you know someone with an atv like the one you wish to buy you basically are buying the thing without riding it. At least not in the environment it is meant to be operated in. We're talking about vehicles that are fast approaching ten thousand dollar mark and you basically have to buy one on looks, specs and trust. There has got to be a better way.

Here is what I have found so far....as they say, your mileage may vary:

Kawi brute force 750: Super powerful and fast. Handles and rides like crap. Weak tie rods. Finicky carbs. Should have never left the factory with that suspension. Wrecked what could have been a great quad.

Kawi Prairie 700: Handles good. Good power and fast. Good for sporty riding.

Polaris: Screwy 4x4 system I dislike and don't want.

Arctic Cat: Haven't had much success finding any to try out.

Honda: No front locking differentials. A deal breaker for me.

Yamaha Grizzly: Older design but refined and proven. It has all the bugs worked out and a person probably couldn't go wrong buying one. Power was ok. Felt about like the KQ. I liked the 4x4 system. It felt a bit tippy but overall handled really well. Quite comfortable too.

Suzuki King Quad: Rides and handles great. Power is ok but nothing to write home about. Early VINs had a bad reverse gear which Suzuki will not fix unless they blow up and they continue to sell the defective ones to unsuspecting folks. Some really despicable business practices went on regarding that debacle. The racks suck. Some tie rod and cv boot problems but probably the best all around 4x4 on the market until the Bombardier Outlander 800 gets to dealers. If I had to buy an ATV today it would probably be the KQ with the "magic" VIN. Knowingly buying one with the defective gear is the height of stupidity in my opinion and rewards the actions of a bunch of shifty accountants and lawyers.

The Bombardier Outlander 800: I talked to a guy that rode one who currently has a KQ and a BF and he was blown away by the Bomber. It was faster than his BF and handled better than his KQ. He said it was the fastest, most powerful, best handling utility atv he has ever ridden. Gobs of power whenever you wanted it, rides as soft as a polaris and handles better than a rincon or KQ. He put an order in on one at his dealer as soon as he got back. On the higher end of the price range however. Up with the polaris. Has a screwy single brake lever which I don't care for though. You can get one for 2 up riding also.

If I HAD to buy today it would probably be a KQ or maybe a BF if I had the money to fix the suspension. Possibly a Grizzly if I could get a good deal on one. I have decided that since it will be fall before I want to buy one I might as well wait on the Bomber and see if I can get some seat time on one. By the specs and by word of mouth of people who I personally know that have ridden one and who's opinion I respect it I think it will be worth the wait. If it is all people who I trust have said it is then I suspect there will be a Bomber in my garage late this fall.

 

I don't think you're going to get any better info than what Quint provided. I will just add this. Todays big bore utility quads are just as much sport machine as they are utility yet where the trail ends for the pure sport bikes, it's just begining with the Utes. There is always going to be something that the sport bikes can do that the utes can't and vise versa, you just have to decide what you would prefer. For instance, you shouldn't go over jumps with a utility, I mean big jumps. They aren't built to have that much weight comming down on the A-arms. Then again, sport quads aren't made for going through deep mad and snow. You just have to decide what type of riding you are going to do.

 

CaptainQuint, I gotta say, i liked reading your post. Its refreshing to hear honest and accurate decriptions, and evaluations. Im getting a bit tired of the brand loyalty at all costs mentality too. Or the 'mines the best, because i bought it', with out any regard to how the next guy is gonna use it.

 

Thank you CaptainQuint, RedGoblin, BigRed500, Starkey, & HondaBuster for your recent comments!

Captain-GREAT ADVICE! I have to ?'s though, I have heard good things about the Rincon, but you said the front diff don't lock, can you go into more detail for me, the "rookie"...I used to have an '89 Toy p/u (now I have a '99 F150) where I had to get out and manually lock the hubs for 4 wheel drive but I don't think that is what you are talking about. Also, on the KingQuad, where recently I have heard and read probably the best reviews of any of the big utes older than a few months....how do I get one with a correct VIN so it won't have the reverse problem? Is that only in the '05? I'm sure they would have had to fix it for '06???? The Bom 800 sounds phenominal and if I can find one at a dealer around here I would like a drive but it already scares me a little on it's possible price. I know the listed price on a new rincon is almost 8k and a KingQuad is around 7200 or so.....which brings me to yet ANOTHER ?.....I have seen you guys discuss GREAT prices you are seeing on the still new '05's at the dealerships now that the buzz is out on the '06's but what can you expect off the sug retail price on an '06????

Red Goblin-My wife is from Lebanon, IL so I would have to think you can't be that much farther east? I am there about once a month or so! In fact, when we lived in Belleville (about a yr ago, for 5 yrs) I used to go get wood from 2 mills about 45 minutes east of Lebanon and if you said the name of the town I would know it! (off Old Stolleytown Rd, I think) Also Red G, I you had any of the reverse problems that CaptainQuint talks about on the Kings?

 

The meaning of front-diff lock is that when you are in four-wheel drive, you cannot lock the front differential to make both front tires pull with the same amont of power. Which ever tire has the least resistence will turn. So if you were playing in deep mud or whatever, you wouldn't have a true four-wheel drive, you would have a three-wheel drive as some guys call it. Although the type of riding you were describing didn't make me think that you would be go for the deepest mud pits, so I don't see this as a problem for you, and if you add a winch on to the front than you don't have anything to worry about anyway. To answer your other question though, they are not manual hubs. You don't have to get off and lock them in. Whenever you push the selecter switch to 4wd, it's there.

There will be things you like and dislike about every atv. I like my Rincon more whenever I am just riding trails and playing in shallow mud and when riding around my neighborhood because I can put it in a higher gear and keep the rpms down so it is real quiet. My polaris has the true four wheel drive and better ground clearance so it is better in the deeper mud. It also has high and low range which useful whenever you need that lower end power.

I am not a brand loyal person. I would love to have the new Bomb 800, but that is just way out of the price range. I hope I have helped.