A Suzuki Vinson, either in a manual or an automatic would be a good choice. I've read both are very nimble machines. A Kawasaki BF 650 is very sporty and doesn't carry a hefty price tag. Left overs may be had at a good price. The Kawi would be able to keep up on trails and take some light jumps and will kick the rear end loose. It is a very sporty and good looking machine.

 

The only answer is to have both! I have a cat 500 that i love to putt through the trails with. it still goes 55mph so its not real slow and gets up to 30mph real fast. its Real comfortable and go through anything wihtout effort and carry a ton of cargo. when trees fall in the trail I either ride over them or pull them off the trail. Thats fun for me. At the same time I have an 05 predator LE that I love to race through the trails and jump. I dont believe in happy medium so I got to have both because both are desinged to ride very differnt and you cant do the same on each.

 

Starky,
It was pretty much plug and play...i havent put the clutch on yet cause im really not sure which one to get...but if you ever think bout getting 28s dont worry bout the body kit cause the grizzly dosent need it...im liking ur cruise machine grizzly to man, like the bug deflector [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Im going to ahve to agree with Hoopie, all depends on wat kind of mood your in, sometimes when i go to the trails i take the grizz and the raptor, and if its muddy ill pull out the grizz buti f everyone has a sport then ill pull out the raptor..exspensive but fun

 

If you want a ute with a sport quad feel then there is only one quad for you and it's the Prarie 700.

 

The windshield has its good and bad points. In the summer it's great for bugs and the occasional thunderstorm, but when its dry the dust tends to roll behind the windshield. I didn't get a chance to play with the angle while I was home to see if I could reduce the dead space. In the winter it will be awsome to keep the sub-zero cold off my face and deflect the dry snow that those tracks are going to kick up. I can't wait til February.

 

I really need both........

Big heavy utility quads are soooo lame in the open desert. Bashing big desert whoops all day on anything but a high performance desert preped sport machine with aftermarket suspension, is just plain torture! You would be in the back of the pack eating everybody's dust all day, even on the best suspended and fastest utility. The tactic on the sport bike is to take advantage of momentum and light weight to fly through nasty stuff, rather than trying to grapple for traction.

But, we also ride the mountains were there are stream crossings, big rocks, snow, etc., and here you need the advantages that a utility has to offer. Still, I stick with the smaller, lighter machines like the Rancher.

I would really like to see the true hybrid machine concept take off. A sport bike with selectable 4wd, just in case you get yourself into trouble out on the trail. Kind of like the Wolverine concept, but the new Wolverine is more utility than sport.

 

I had a 400ex and loved it. Definitely a different type of riding. The reason I went with a ute is because I can use it a lot more around home without having to drive somewhere to find enough room to take advantage of the speed of a sport quad. I also like the advantage of cargo hauling and the plow. It just seems I can get more time on the ute because its easier to hop on and go.

It was a tough call to decide on only one.... wish I could afford both!