would like to know if anyone has any experience with any or all of these quads. I'd like to get some feedback on issues like reliability, off road capability, how well the 4x4 systems work, etc. Any info is appreciated

 

I have some advise. Stay with yamaha. As for the polaris, find a cheaper ho and leave the 500 alone..... Im talking about quads what did you think I was talking about......

 

hey man i love yamaha but i got a 96 polaris 500 and nothing will touch it except the 700 polaris lol everyone whines about it being belt driven and water getting in it and making it slip well news to all those that say that the grizzly is worse as for doing that well at least what i have experienced lol

 

polaris takes it in the tail pipe

 

lmao, sorry to say but im not that impressed with either of these quads.....the grizzly does okay n all but they seem to get stuck easy but are decent hill climbers, as for any polaris ive ridden with its not much to me...what i really really like is the suzuki 500 eiger, my neighbour has one and hes gotten through everything weve came across and left the other utils in the dust

 

A lot of what a quad can do depends on the rider. My son can put a lot of 4X4 quads to shame with his 200 Honda.

Other than routine maintenance, the majority of the work I do on:

Grizzly - front wheel bearings, brakes, cleaning mud out of the clutch (makes it not "shift" out of low), a few timing chains that have jumped (and bent valves), and a couple of rear driveshafts broken.

Kodiak - front wheel bearings, brakes, and cleaning the mud out of the clutch

Polaris - brakes, and occasionally a camshaft from people not running the 0W40 motor oil that is recommended.

If you are looking at the Kodiak, you might also look at the Sportsman 400 - it's not too big, but big enough to do the job, besides it is one comfortable ride.