First and foremost, hello everyone- I'm sorry if this has been posted before, but the search feature appears to be bogged down.

I realize the question is biased based on which forum I post this in, which is why I am going to be posting it in all three...

I am really confused as to which company makes the 'best' utility and sport ATV's- my father swears by Polaris but I've ridden both Polaris (we had one of the first 250 Trail Bosses...) and Yamaha and they seem pretty similar... so my question to you is, which makes your company... better than the other two?

I'm looking for something of a weekend ATV that doesn't need much maintanance... trail riding, maybe some mudding. Sport or utility will both work.

Thanks,

Steve

 

Arctic Cat, IMO. But that brand wasnt posted. Out of the ones mentioned, Grizzly would be my choice

 

Thats like saying which is best. ford, chevy, or dodge. Its depends on what your looking for. I bought a yamaha against what my friends advice was, and do not regret it. Ive had my banshee for 2 years now and havnt even had to even so much as change a spark plug on it. Ive never ridden a yamaha utility ATV but i see a lot of them around, all these people wouldnt buy them if they didnt like them. If money is no option i would honestly go with the new outlander 800max but ur lookin at around 9-10 grand i think for one of those. You cant rely on what other people say, you have to make a list of things you expect from a quad then narrow it down from there. For example. I wanted a quad, so i made a list of things i wanted in the price range i could afford. I had been reccomended to get a 4 stroke by several people. I wanted a 2 stroke judging by the power of the banshee. I searched around on the internet, watched videos of different quads performing and decided that the banshee would be the best quad for me.

 

I work at a multi brand place, have all 3 brands that your looken at. I personally own 2 a 500 honda rubicon and a 660 grizzly. I am a 6 foot 250lb guy. so I looked for machines that would fit me the best. I mostly trail ride, but will plow snow in the winter with one not sure which one yet but. If your going to do some work with it the your going to want something with a low range or manual transmission.
The nice thing about Honda and Yamaha is that you cann't burn the belt like on a Polaris. Now both Polaris and yamaha have some grease zirques nothen really that big there. Both Polaris and yamaha have spin on oil filters which is nicer for the do it yourselfers.
If I was going to by a Honda it would either be the 500 manual or es Forman, unless you like the automatic rubicon, I kinda dislike the location of the oil filter, that would be my only down fall on them and yes I do own one.
Far as yamaha I would get the 450 or 660 or 700, all great good ride have low range and diff lock.
Far as Polaris sportsman 500, good ride.

 

For some reason the North American manufacturers feel that they have to make things as heavy as possible. As a result the Polaris quads are very big and heavy. Even the Predator is a good 30 lbs heavier than its competitors. Some of the utilities get close to 800 lbs which is WAY too much. Polaris has also had some reliablity issues in the past. It seems like that has been cleared up but you never know.

As for Honda and Yamaha, well, it depends on what you are looking for. I have one of each in my garage (YFZ450 and CRF70) and they are both there becuase they were the best in their respective classes. I would say to pick a class of what you are looking for and find the best one in that class. Then find a good dealer to sell it to you.