not to try to confuse you any further, but the Outlander 400 has got everything.....

 

Unfortunatly no one machine does it all. The 360 has had a rep for hard steering, my 300 4x4 turns easier than the 360 in 2wd. As far as the CVT yes you have to stop to shift into high, but I get an easy 30 mph in low which is more than enough for trail riding and use high on the road parts. For snow plowing the CVT is much easier than the 5 speed but the 5 speed does not require a stop to shift. There are other great machines out there but at higher costs. Last bit of food for thought; in the process of doing some heavy towing a friend tore up his clutch and transmission on his 5 speed auto clutch machine, paid over $600.00 to get it fixed, If I get carried away the most damage I will do is smoke a $88.00 belt which I can replace myself.
please do look at all your options before deciding, its a lot of money to make a bad choice !!!

KenR
Airshot

 

I have a P360 and am very pleased with it. It has hauled me and my daughter to the top of a 9,000 ft. mountain several times and hauled us and a 4 point mule deer back down. I have plowed a tremendous amount of snow with a 60" blade with it. I haven't noticed the steering being all that bad as long as the tires are aired up properly. If a tire gets low it will make it hard to steer just like any other ATV. If I was in the market for that size machine I wouldn't hessitate to get another one.

 

Hmmmmmmm..........Decisions decisions.
Propnut, the Outlander is nice indeed, but also out of my price range unfortunatly.

Airshot, some very strong points well taken.......I think the CVT could be easily adapted to, and would be much more convienient than a 5 speed for plowing. And, a guy that I know that builds quad race motors, was commenting a while back about how the CVT KFX700 was so easy to tear down and reassemble compared to the typical 5 speeds he builds, so the 360 may be the best in the case of extreme towing and such.

Reb2, I guess the horror stories are scaring me..........I got to remember that I take care of my equipment and will probably not have those problems.

 

What about the Yamaha 2006 Bruin 350 Auto. 4x4 or even the Big Bear 400 4X4? The can do it all. They appear in your price range and both would seem like good choices for you. Or for a little more money the Kodiak 450 would be a beast [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] without spending alot more.

 

Rancher all the way!!

 

Prairie All The Way.

 

I'm still continuing to research these two machines.......I was looking over exploded views of the motor and drivtrain, when I saw the Honda motor being set sideways from conventional means, makes the clutch a bit tougher to get to because it seems to be in the rear of the motor set up........Am I seeing this right?

 

Being a big guy I would say the the Praire. It is a bigger machine physically and will fit you better. Also try not to beleive everthing you read. A few squeaky wheels and alot of very happy owners that don't speak up, Who makes more noise?

 

i have one thing to say, the rancher 350 ES 4x4 is a nice bike, although the 4x4 doesnt have a front locker, if you have the right tires, as in ITP mudlite XL, it doesnt matter all that much, unless you are a hard core mudder. The prarie is a nice bike too. they have a nice low gear, but the high gear is about the same. the 4x4 is nice but the weight sags it down in snow or mud, but, as the same as the rancher, it doesnt matter if you have the right tires. The polaris irs system is NOT good for hauling trailors becase it makes the rear end sag and makes it where you have a low tounge weight rating. not good. Strait axles are the best way to do as long as they dont have the single shock in the middle of the axle. But only the choice is yours, so go with what you think would fit your needs the best. Quade