i agree with skjarvis. kawasaki 650i or Suzuki King Quad. i would have bought either, but a lousy Suzuki dealer and the Kawasaki V-twin swayed me.

the KQ is probably the most common machine on the very tough trails, but the 650i is rapidly gaining respect in the same circles. both have low range and very good braking.

you will want to put a set of Maxxis Bighorn tires on whichever one you choose.

my 650i has already been to Moab with a buddy that owns a KQ. both made every trail we tried (including the Golden Spike, rated at 4+) riding double with lotsa extra stuff (water, tools, extra gas, ect..). we passed several machines that had to turn around and go back, but we made it just fine. our local trails are just about as difficult in places. (the ones we like, anyway)

the small and light school of thought is fine and dandy until you factor in an all day ride on a difficult trail. this means winch, extra fuel, tools, water, jacket, lunch, ect... this will load a smaller atv pretty hard. they will do it, but it is harder on them. the small ones are also slower on the long steep climbs getting to the real trails.


monty

 

One thing about the Rincon I hate and forgot to mention is that even though it is an automatic, it dies sometimes when giving it gas under load right off of idle, and it nearly sent me down the mountain in a wreck in because of it.
>>>>>>>>>>>&gt ;

I had a similar issue a couple of times but that was before it was fully broken in I think, hasn't done it since. I do know it will stall if not completely warm from idle to a quick start.

 

Me and Raidermike are like a couple of salesmen following each other around trying to push our own product!!! LOL!!!
>>>>>>>>>>>

Not so much trying to push as much as trying to share my expensive lessons. As I stated either in this thread or another, I got into ATV riding on kind of a whim. I had kicked around the idea seeing some guys out along the levee near where I lived, looked like it could be fun, looked around online at the major mfgrs. but didn't want to spend an arm and a leg in case I wasn't really into it. My first purchase was a Beartracker 250 (actually 229) two years ago, not only did I have a blast with it but I quickly realized I needed something larger, went to a Bruin 350, then the Outlander 330, then a DS650 and finally a Rincon.....I'm still not done, going for an Outlander 650 or Renegade this fall. I just wish I had found these forums and taken different steps before getting into this hobby and hope to share some of those experiences with others who might be in the same situation.


I just think if cost is no concern the Outlander is the way to go. I think the KQ is prob. the best bang for the buck along with the BF's. I think the new Rincon is nice but a bit overpriced considering it doesn't really fit the utilty family, heck Honda doesn't even list it under utility, its under "recreational" LOL. For the same price you get more with the Outlander 650. Polaris are just too heavy, 100 lbs or more heavier then the competition and I believe the bit AC tips the scales around 700 lbs. The yet to be released Renegade is probably going to be the best all purpose ATV.

 

if what you ask for is truly what you want the aritic cat 650 is the ONLY atv with everything you want no ? in my mind!

 

Just my 2 cents worth:

My ranch is surrounded by high desert mountains and according to my GPS we have some climbs that approach 800+ feet in elevation change. I've been quite satisfied with the performance of my 03 Rancher in the worst of these climbs.

Obviously, you seem to be wishing for a bigger machine.... not a thing wrong with that, either.

 

The kodiak 450 is a good climbing machine. Low range plus diff lock. Irs also is amust for rock climbing. Awwesome

 

If your talking about extreme mountain climbing then the Outlander is the way to go; even the 400. We ride in Mass. about three times a year: there is one hill climb that is blocked off with Jersey blocks because people get injured when trying to go up or down on snowmobiles. The hill climb was littered with parts from sleds (we found lens, plastic and misc. parts at the base). When we approached the mountain the Mass. enviro police stopped us and said that’s off limits because it's to dangerous and the only time someone can possible make it now is in the wintertime with a sled. He also said that hasn't been climbed in years because it's so washed out. So on a dare we tried it from the top down then going back up. We skid (2 400 Outlanders) all the way down and got airborne a few times but made it to the smoother area where Jersey blocks were. Going back up was just as nuts but we had no choice because the blocks were in the way. All I can say thank GOD for the stability and the visc-lock of the Outty. If you messed up even a tiny bit your machine was totaled, it was so steep, bumpy with off cambers and rocks. Just getting to the top by the alternate route was nuts, only the Outty's made it the others had to go the easier way. We ride with all types of machines and IMO the Outty's are best with King Quads second. If money was no object I would get the Outty but the KQ's always did great and are cheaper.

 

Give me a break, here we go again with a far fetched story about how outty can do it, and nobody else can.

 

Yeah sounds like a lot of outty crap.

 

Its getting old. I read stuff like this every day now.