The Prarie runs 25x8x12 front and 25x10x12 rear. I don't have any personal experience with that machine, but I'd imagine you wouldn't want to go bigger than 26. Getting too big on a 360cc machine and I think you would seriously hurt performance, and might not be able to sling them in deep thick mud.

I would guess the Outlander 500 would be one of the most powerful machines in the 400-500 range, but those will be out of your price range.

 

stay in the year 2000s and i would go with honda they lst forever and are reliable i would look for a 500 or 450 and make sure it has no problems and dosent have a problem with water and make sure thereis no rust that means its had a lot of water damage before

 

Hondas do hold up well, but they also seem to hold their value well...

Jordo, is automatic a must have for you? If you were able to bump up price a bit, a 450 Foreman might not be a bad machine to start out on, but you would want a foot shift/auto clutch one...

They are low geared enough to turn fairly big tires, and there are tons of aftermarket things out there for them in terms of lift kits and hot rod stuff...

I'd suggest finding one that's stock, and keeping it mostly that way to start out with. Those Foremans are known for reliability, which you might not want to mess up.

 

I have seen people on other forums say that Honda's aren't any good on mudding, is that not true? The only mods i would do is something like a lift and tires and some new high output headlights or some other things just for convience or added mud performance like skid plates but i wouldn't be digging into the motor unless something happened to it. How big of tires can i go before i would run into problems with them not spinning and just sitting there bogging down? And im pretty sure i want an automatic because they are just more enjoyable to me not having to worry about shifting. I have driven both and gone mudding in both but i wasn't the one driving in the mud and the manual one was only 2 wheel drive so it is hard to compare the mud performance. Is manual better for mudding? Im just afraid of burning the clutch cause im not too good at driving manual, lol...

 

Manual 4x4's generally have an automatic clutch. That is, you just let off the throttle, shift, and get back on.

As far as huge mud machines go, they generally prefer IRS suspension because you can get more ground clearance. Honda's only IRS machine is the Rincon, which has a pretty high geared 3 speed auto with a torque converter. It will generally handle most 27" tires OK from what I've seen, but when you get bigger people do a gear down kit, which is expensive, and probably a locker in the front and some engine mods.

Autos by other brands generally are belt driven (like a snow mobile). Generally those get modified for deep mud and huge tires, too, changing the shift point of the belt system and also better sealing the case so mud doesn't get in. I think it's generally cheaper to modify machines by other brands for deep mud. The 500 AC was popular there for a while, because it was a 5 speed (no worry about belt getting muddy and slipping), IRS that can be lifted easily, and the engine can be made to make more power easily.

 

Another question i have is what is considered high mileage on a 4-wheeler? I know it matters about how maintained and how those miles were ridden but just in general what is considered high mileage. I plan on keeping this 4-wheeler for a few years at least and dont want to get one that might not have that much time left in it...

 

Somebody a while back posted photos on another forum of a Rincon dash showing 16,105 km's, which I think comes out close to 10,000 miles.

That would be the exception, though. You should be able to find a machine with 2-3000 on it, I would think. As you said, it is how they are taken care of I think that would matter most in the price/age range that will be in your budget.

Neglect and abuse can absolutely trash a machine with very few miles, but a quality machine given reasonable care can last a very long time.

 

If i could go up to a 3 grand budget would that make a pretty big difference im assuming? I might be able to up my budget to that but idk. If i do it would take away from any money on tires but i would probably wait untill the stocks went bald first anyways. Is a 400 a pretty decent sized quad that would spin some 26-27" mud tires? I like 500's better but a 400 would be fine if it could do that and it would make my budget go farther than a 500 would... BTW, thanks for all of the help Jeffin. BTW, i kinda like the polaris sportsman series of atv's. Are they pretty good? Their msrp's don't look too bad and they have IRS with some other things i like. Looking at some 02-05 models and they seem pretty nice, anything i should know about them?

 

I've never owned a polaris myself, but it seems like people who own them either love them or hate them. I've talked to folks who say the thing was always in the shop with belt or other problems, and I've talked to others who own a couple and have thousands of miles on both machines that were totally free of any problems (just normal service).

If you could bump up to say 3k, it would open up some nice 450 and maybe 500 machines. I see on atvconnection's classifieds there's a 98 450 Foreman with 1500 miles, 28 inch gators, and a 2500 pound warn for 2900, just as an example. There was a 450 forman with a super winch, otherwise stock, and like 800 miles at a local dealer. I think they were asking 3500... There's an 01 Rubicon 500 (automatic) in the classifieds for like $3500.

Cruise the classifieds here (http://classifieds.atvconnection.com/classifieds.cgi) and elsewhere, and I would think you could find something that would serve you well. It might be better to wait on the tires if you have to, in order to get something solid and reliable. Maybe you can find someone in your area who is experienced to help you look. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a good 450 Foreman in your price range. They will turn large tires, there are tons of aftermarket lifts and performance things out for them, and they have a reputation for reliability. I'd avoid the electric push button shift though.

 

Well i think i might want one with IRS and a front dif lock but i dont think the honda has those and the polaris' say they are shaft drive does that mean they don't have a belt like you were talking about? Yamaha grizzlies seem to be pretty nice also, anything bad about them? Also arctic cats seem pretty nice with the IRS but do they have a dif locker? How much is a dif lock if you have to buy one after market? I want to be able to get through most everything that is less than 2 feet of water. The mud around here isn't that bad so it won't be extremely hard but i would just like to be able to show off how bad mine is vs my friends, lol...