Well fellas, I have a 2000 Honda 450es with 785 klm (approx. 600 miles) & 85 hours and haven,t had a lick of problems. Like our friend here, I use my ATV as a tractor, I use it , wipe it off, and put it away. I pull wood out of the bush, make trails, pull water and feed carts to water and feed my livestock. The electric shift "MANUAL TRANSMISSION" (as used on formula 1 race cars) works flawlessly . Try one out, it's awesome!

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[This message has been edited by BigRed450 (edited 10-16-1999).]

 

"I particularly enjoy the power, ground clearance, ride and handling of my own 500SP--I admit I'm smitten by its beauty, as well!

"Of course, I'm speaking only for myself--many fine machines exist; each rider must find what he likes best."

Isn't this what you meant to say? You really didn't mean to bash BigRed450 and his machine, now did you?

[This message has been edited by atvbbs (edited 10-17-1999).]

 

With regards to the drum brake issue we found that the Honda drum brakes had excellent sealing qualities but in Northern BC where it can get real cold the seals tended to freeze to the drums.This wasn't too bad with the 4x4's because the drive power would usually break them free,however the two wheel drives would just push the front wheels without them turning.We carried propane torches to thaw them out.
Just something I thought you might be interested in knowing.
We solved the brake problem by buying Argos.
Dave

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I have a Suzuki 300 King Quad. It is reasonably priced and has great suspension, differential lock, 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive, 3 gear ranges, etc. It is a very good machine which I would recommend to anyone.

One other thing I like about the Suzuki is that its parts are not as over-priced as other manufacturers. Recently, I backflipped my King Quad down a towering incline. I tumbled backwards about 75 yards, and it bounced and tumbled about 150 yards, until it ran into a tree head-on and stopped. If it hadn't been for the tree, the King Quad would still be tumbling now. After bending the front fender off of the wheel, I fired it up and drove the mangled thing about six miles back to the parking lot, loaded it up and took it to my trusted Suzuki Dealer. It was fixed good as new in less than 2 weeks for less than $900 total. Could Honda or Yamaha do that? Don't think so. I know Kawasaki couldn't.

I would also recommend the Arctic Cat. It starts in gear, has disk brakes, and you can use differential lock in all three gear ranges. It also has a big gas tank, I think 3 1/2 gallons. Another big selling point for the Arctic cat is low pricing for parts, lower even than Suzuki.



[This message has been edited by kclayd (edited 10-23-1999).]

 

The Magnum is a really good quad got a friends with a 325 he loves it uses it hard and has had NO troubles like most people I know with Polaris he has to put gas in it or gas and oil for us Polaris owners with two-strokes, it seems that the only Polaris that might have some issues is the Sportsman. I never here anyone ever complain about the Magnum or the Xplorer. The Xplorer 400 is an awesome quad!! Never was I so impressed with the power and ride of any quad. I ended up with a 250 Xplorer which I love and have had no trouble with, I know guys with Polaris machines with thousands of miles on them and have had to do nothing to them. So I would choose a quad mainly on the use it is going to get, not so much on the brand. but i would not trade my Polaris for both the Honda 300 4x4 or the Yamaha Warrior that I owned previously to the Xplorer. The place I bought my Polaris at is the same Place I bought my Honda 4x4 and I asked them if the Polaris was going to do the job they said look at what we drive, and they all use Polaris! Ask people who own Polaris in the real world and get there opinion.