Honda vs. Yamaha vs. Kawasaki vs. ???

[johnk]

Over the years al the quads have been refined and basically state of the art. It is individual preference that sets them apart. They all do the same thing but in a different way. You want speed, buy a Raptor, want power buy a twin. They all have their flaws but I am also a honda person. Virtually trouble free. It's hard to put a price on dependibility and I feel thats what I have with my Honda. Not trashing any other brand but I have rode quads since first invented and it's just my 2 cents.........

 

[Birdhunter1]

Why the poor rating of the AC's? I know most of the game wardends in my area and driving down the road one day I saw two of them with their truck and 4 wheeler. later I asked them how they liked the AC four wheelers and they said they hated them. They both told me they were always having carb. problems and they never would idle right and would rarely start in extreme cold wheather. A few weeks later I saw one of them again and he had a POlaris Sportsman 500 in teh back of his truck. I asked about it and he said he would almost rather have is AC back than this piece of junk. Also my home area is very hilly and he was telling me that the Polaris is too top heavy, he sadi that dern near everytime he had to get down into the Shawnee the bike would be on its side, teter-tottering or 100% over. He said if you were on flat ground al lthe time it wouldn't be bad but for what I wanted it for I would be better off with somethign else. Also what someone said about the torsion bar recalls, the recalls came out at the same time I was looking and it put a bad taste in my mouth. I knew i wanted a Honda I just neededmore reinforcement.

 

[RanchMan]

Birdhunter1-

<font color="blue">( They both told me they were always having carb. problems and they never would idle right and would rarely start in extreme cold whether. ) </font>

Hmmm. Never heard of a problem like this with the Suzuki engines in the past (that's what the AC's have in them - except for the v-twin 650 - that's a Kawasaki.) Just doesn't sound right. I wonder if the GW’s were using the choke and priming arm properly. No way to really know, but I have my suspicions.

<font color="blue"> ( the recalls came out at the same time I was looking and it put a bad taste in my mouth. ) </font>

The recalls would raise my eyebrow too, but while AC has had recalls, don't for a second think anyone else hasn't had theirs too (yes, even Honda -- and these recalls have been just as serious - i.e. dangerous- on the Hondas.) For example, <font color="blue">"...the suspension could collapse and cause a loss of steering or vehicle control" -- Honda 11/25/02 recall, <font color="black"> or </font> <font color="blue"> "If this mounting bracket breaks, the vehicle could lose steering control and crash." -- Honda 11/13/00 </font> </font> (BTW, the second one I pasted above is for the 2000/2001 350cc Honda Rancher.)

Just go to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s web site and do a search if you want to verify what I'm saying. (I did several searches - like "Cat ATV Recall", "Cat Terrain Recall", "Honda ATV Recall", "Polaris Terrain Recall", etc. etc. AC has some serious recalls. But so does Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Polaris.

Am I saying that Honda makes a poor ATV? Not at all - all I'm saying is that even Honda has had some serious problems that involved recalls (i.e. dangerous). As for the reliability of the AC (Suzuki) engines? Well, I just have a hard time believing that they are all that bad considering I haven't heard the same complaints from my friends who own AC's.

In reality I'd consider buying just about any brand except Polaris - it really boils down to the features you want. Anyway, thanks for answering my question.

 

[Lazy]

Hi
we have only had our AC a few months and only have about 15 miles on it and its the only one we have ever had. that being said we are very satisfied and we like it. my son n law has the polaris and he said he likes the AC better because it has a much better ride.

Charlie

 

[Birdhunter1]

Not saying AC are total junk, but these two guys use their 4-wheelers all the time day in day out during the hunting season and thier opinion basedon thier usage matters to me since they are using thiers for basicly the same thing (maybe less severe) than i am goign to. They all talked highly of the Honda's and said if they had thier druthers that's what they'd have. My experience with Honda's in the past has been great and i was looking at other brands to make sure the Honda is what I really wanted. The AC recall at the time just caused me to not like them at the time and now after using my Honda and seeing how tough and good of a machine that it is I wouldn't trade fror anything else.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I guess I'll say what I did like about the AC's. I did like thier independent rear suspension as it looked like it would make for a softer ride but the Polaris has the same thing and I was worried about possible bushing problems down the road. I also liked the AC commercials of the guy knocking a fencepost into the ground with his head. But I was more impressed with the reputation of the Honda from either farmer friends, game wardens or other friends. I have also had a Honda in the past and I know that they were well built machines that would start everytime and ran great. I also wanted a 5-speed manual tranny which at the time AC did not offer on a 4x4 model unless I went with something smaller than what I wanted. I wanted mine with at least a 350cc, 4x4, and a manual trans. for greater durability, it was to be used as a workhorse and with the Rancher 4x4 that is exactly what I got.

 

[DieselnHooters]

I was also partial to Honda , my good ole 250cc Honda Big Red has been a stellar performer but then I fell into a good deal on a Kawa bayou 300 cc cica 1992. Paid about 50% less than what a similar Honda would have cost, a very good machine and no regrets at all, it can be very costly to be in love witha particular brand disregarding all others no matter what.

 

[RanchMan]

I'm glad you like your Honda - just realize that despite the preferences of your friends/local game wardens, there are other mfgs. that put out a great product too. Honda is good, but it isn't the "holy grail" of ATV's as you seem to profess. AC makes a good product, just like most of the other guys. Seems to me you are basing you opinion more on a preconceived notion of how good Honda is rather than stacking up things in an unbiased comparison of the various vehicles available.

This thread is beginning to sound a lot like "Green/Orange/Blue is better than XXXXXX." or whatever color one is partial to. Funny how brand loyalty gets in the way of objective observation so much on this board. Yea, I like my Mahindra tractor despite the brand bigotry that some on this board show from time to time. Is it perfect? Nope. But neither is any other brand. This principle is the same whether it be tractors or ATV's - brand loaylty distorts objectivity.

 

[Boone]

I've got an Orange John Deere. OK, it's really just a Scotts /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The independent rear suspension was nice on my Polaris Sportsman 500, I once hit a one foot diameter log that was buried in the weeds with just the right side tires. The suspension was amazing on how well it handled.

 

[RanchMan]

Yea, I really like the all around independent suspension on ATV's. It really allows you to do some amazing things and really makes riding comfortable. Some folks like the swingarm type - and that's OK - but give me I.S.