How did the AC, Can-Am, Polaris rate? I guess im looking to see if there was a certain quad they "picked" on

 

I am not going to coment much on the DW article, other than to say if you read it every month like I do, and have sincee the early 80's, well back then it was only published every other month. But the point being that in more recent years, you can find some real contraditions only months apart from each other. This month the Yamaha is there pic. the next new quad to be released will likely be there pic, unless there are not any new quads realesed soon then the next shootout will likely be a different one from this group thats on top. I like how they were knocking some of the quads for this and that when just a few moths back they did not mention there being a problem at all. its all marketing politics if you ask me. You still shoud test ride all the machines that iterest you, from the cheapest to the most expensive, and decide for yourself what is important and not important to you. Whats worth the money and whats not.

 

Dirtwheels is just as biased as CNN. I've talked to guys that work in the marketing department for 3 different atv brands. They all say dirtwheels is all about the money and what you are willing to give them. This was talked about a couple of years ago at a jamberee in Raleigh NC. All the brand reps were together shooting the bull and were discussing the way they were. Now, They did all agree that the more money and machines you give them, the better results you got out if a test. Or the test just seemed to be made to show a particuler machines good points. I cannot speak however for the testriders themselves. I assume they are given a track or course or whatever they use for the test and draw there on conclusions. I do know that the notes are cut and picked through for the articles in the magazine. They have to be. It would be nice to see the raw notes from a test that are unedited. That 's my half nickel on whatI've heard

 

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I hate to bounce the thread around but to get back to the original poster's question for a moment:

I'm certainly not as knowledgeable as most of the folks who hang around this neck of the woods but I have owned and operated three ATV's on a working 10 acre ranch since 1985 and can give you some feedback if you're still interested.

MY ATV's are used to pull trailers full of rocks, dirt, logs, and whatever else you can think of too heavy to put into a wheelbarrow. All this up and down a steep piece of property over very rough terrain.

1985-1994 Honda TRX125. Back then, this model was a big deal, as the 4 wheel ATV's hadn't been out long. I had absolutely no trouble with this ATV the entire time I had it. The plastic finish went to heck soon after I bought it but hey, it's a utility ATV. Who cares.

1994-2003. Honda Four Trax 200. One week after I brought it home, the engine came loose and sat there rattling in the frame as I revved it up. They never tightened the bolts that hold it in. Later, the muffler bolts came out somewhere and it nearly fell off. I paid $10 for each replacement bolt from the dealer. Then the front rack developed a rattle that was ear-piercingly loud at a certain rpm. After a couple of years, the chain fell off, I don't remember why now but suffice it to say one of the two sprockets moved. As the years went by, the motorcycle continued to slowly come apart. It had no trouble pulling the trailers when it held together long enough. I sold it when my 15 year old son took it for a ride into town on the local highway. Was glad to get rid of it. Swore off Honda then.

2003-present. Yamaha Kodiak 400 Auto. 2-ton winch. First week, it didn't start one morning. Didn't take too long to figure out the battery cable was not tight enough. Since then, nothing has gone wrong. I pull bigger trailers, haul more weight, and use a 26-gallon sprayer on the rear rack. I built a road scraper for the long gravel driveway. It breaks the road surface first pass then scrapes it smooth. The Kodiak has never complained or let me down.

Can't tell you what the magazines say is the best or even what others say in this forum yet but there is 20 years worth of experience, whatever it's worth.

I'm hangin' around these forums for awhile to get a good idea of which replacement tires are suitable for my purposes and where the best place is to get them, within reason.

 

Since I own a 07 King Quad its the best..
No really its hard to say I guess with so many opinions, diff makes and models of atv's.. I know yamaha big bear is a brute, you can beat n beat n beat them and they just ask for more. Road a 2000 big bear for a summer and its was a tank, just not many comfort features but over all a great quad.
A friend of mine has a 03 grizzly, it has been through a beating and is still going with over 4000 miles. My brother has a Polaris, so i guess its to each his or her own, I love my Suzuki, brother loves polaris, my good friend loves his yammer hammer..
They are all great quads. You get what you put into them.. if you dont maintain them they will let you down. you can abuse them all but if you dont give them a little TLC they will leave you walking.

 

Isn't everyone just glad that there are so many choices to consider before buying? (Arctic Cat, Can-Am, Honda, Kawasaki, Polaris, Suzuki, Yamaha) We live in a society today that has too many choices. Just take Soda Pop for an example! I bought my heavy quad over 3 yrs. ago for mainly snowplowing and pulling. And it has performed very well.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Always a nice read when we discuss which brand is better. Like many here I agree that all manufacturers have narrowed the gap and each offers different variations on the same thing.

My experience was limited with ATV's when I startd looking as I was a two wheel guy that grew up on Yamaha and Honda dirt bikes. Those bikes had built a reputation with me and my family for many years so I had some bias to them when I went looking for an ATV. After reading everything I could get my hands on and reading forums I looked at what I was going to do with the ATV.

1. I looked at dependability.
2. I looked at features such as lock diff, engine braking, and a few others.
3. I looked at trail ability.
4. I looked at hauling and work related stuff.

After all this I went with the Yamaha Kodiak 450. Is it the best? For me I thought it was. My buddies all rode Polaris and AC and frankly I wanted a more nimble machine for running trails. I'm not a big guy, 5'8" and 160 lbs, so to me weight was an issue. The Polaris just felt big and acted big on trails and tight areas. I can say the same for the AC. Now of course the guys I know that run Polaris and AC are big guys and I' mean big guys. So maybe for them it felt better handling an extra 100 to 200+ pounds that they carried compared to me. I also liked the fact that I can move the lighter quad around on my truck if needed without getting a hernia.

All in all I felt the Kodiak gave me the reliabilty I expect, performance I want, at a price that was fair. I love my Kodiak and it has not failed me yet after almost a thousand miles. I have run trails, hauled lumber, many deer, loaded carts, towed my boat on occasion, and towed a few sleds around in the winter. It has even survived my wife and youngest daughter who are kinda hard on it at times. (Sorry Rachel you did hit that tree)

So the whole mine is better than yours will go on and on, but ultimatly it is up to the individual to decide and they are the ones that must live with it.

The things I would change on the Kodiak are maybe more storage and better tires than the stock ones.

 

well evry one around me has polaris or a king quad and ever sence i got my 660 grizzly i have ben levein them in the dust.. they are really suprised at what this thing can do...... so im with the grizzly 660, all the way

 

There are as many answers to this question as there are ATV manufacturers, but, having said that . . . it's Honda, Honda, Honda!

 

Maximus 750cc, is by far the best atv made today. V2 will agree with me here, that this thing will out ATV any broken down arctic cat in the mud holes and on the trails (as another AC gets pulled out by my Scrambler). This is the most inovative utility atv ever produced, with it's twin cyl 750, car style points type ignition and a true manual transmission. this beauty produces 23.5 Kilo-watts and 250 inlbs of Nut Bustin Torque! The local dealer might get you a really good trade in offer on that V2, would drop the payment on this real quad alot!