Buying my first ATV
 

In the next few weeks, I'll probably purchase a new ATV. Right now, my choice would be a Honda Rubicon CANADIAN TRAIL EDITION(CTE). It has an adjustable suspension, hondamatik transmission, GPS, etc..

I know that honda ATV's are quite reliable... but they are more expensive than others. For about the same price, I could buy a big bore quad. My question is... reliability or performance?

Regarding the reliability aspect.... Are Honda's the most reliable?

If i were to buy a big bore ATV, would the KQ be the obvious choice?



Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Buying my first ATV
 

Kion,

The short answer is "Yes"... (I have two KQ's) But there is a lot of choices... Service support in your area should be one consideration... If your Suzuki dealer sucks I would shop for another brand...

Good Luck and Enjoy!

Hibrass

Buying my first ATV
 

Kion, welcome to the forums. What kind of riding do you partake in or think you will like to do? What kinds of terrain? What pace? Although Honda is undoubtedly, in my and many others opinions, the most reliable ATV, they are also generally down on performance. I have heard that the CTE Rubicon is a bit quicker than the regular version, but I used to own a Rubicon and the reason it's so reliable is because the engine is simple and just not designed to produce a fun powerband if you like a bit of speed now and then. It's true, they are overpriced and though the Hondamatic is hands down the best automatic transmission available in an ATV, the rest of the machine is pretty much lacking compared to the competition. I sold my Rubicon to get a KingQuad. That tells my whole story right there. I was in your boat about a month ago and I chose the Suzuki after tons of research and question-asking. I am 110% satisfied with my decision because the King fits me perfectly and I can get by with just about as much maintenance as I had to for my Rubicon (very little), but the fun factor sky-rocketed compared to the Rubi. How much power do you want is the main question?

Buying my first ATV
 

prairie 700

Buying my first ATV
 

For your first ATV a honda would be good for reliability...but that's about it. Even for a first ATV they are usually under powered compared to the competition. Really if you want plenty of power for work or just to play around with, you should get the KQ, with you living in Canda you'd greatly appreciate the fuel injection for the cold starts in winter. The King Quad and Suzuki's realibity are very good too, they've been making bikes for a long time so they know what they are doing. I've had NO realiability issues with Suzuki yet and I'm very confident that it will stay that way..and I am not a "brand loyalist" I'm just telling you my true feelings so far of Suzuki. So really you wouldn't be sacraficing much if any realiability for the loads of extra performance with a KQ for about the same price.

Buying my first ATV
 

First off, thanks for your replies....

The kind of riding I intend to do is mainly trails and also hunting.

I was wondering if any of you guys has caculated the average MPG with your KQ's??? I'm sure that the fun factor with the KQ is evidently more than with the Ruby,.... but usually more performance means less mileage!!

Buying my first ATV
 

That was actually a selling point with me when I kicked the Rubi to the curb and got the King. The Rubicon has great gas mileage, but so does the KingQuad. I would say they are very similar and if there is a difference it's SLIGHTLY in favor of the Rubicon. That's a major benefit of EFI. The power is almost twice as much (it seems), but with almost the same fuel economy.