Picking a new ATV?

[WilliamBos]

I plow, hunt, work, tow, and just love beating the crap outa this thing It might be a little pricey to buy but the cheapest to own in the long run.

I agree on the last sentence. After spending some time at dealerships, will go Grizzly. Will cost more upfront, but should coat less over the long haul.

 

[scesnick]

I know 3 hondas that have been to the shop(my Brute hasnt),none of them have had tranny problems,they have had only motor problems.Hondamatic maybe a great tranny but the motor that is attached to it,(im just going off what I seen from friends owning them)is not only under powered but hasnt held up for them. Im not saying that they dont have a good rep.(Honda)but Im not going to set here and say the Brute doesnt have belt issues when they do. There money gonna spend it how they wont,but I didnt say buy a Kawasaki over the Honda,just said what problems I know from each.Im not brand loyal cause I also own a Artic Cat and have owned Polaris....

Well, I plow our 2.5 mile driveway/road with my honda atleast 3times a week in the winter with mine.( unless it is too deep then I bust out the bigger equipment) It snows a ton where I live (we got 265" last winter) So, that is 5 miles at a minimum of plowing in one go. I have had the motor of my fan cooled Foreman almost glowing red hot more times than I can count and never had a bit of trouble ever.

Honda is not the way to go if you want the latest and greatest gadget on your quad. Or the most powerful V-twin speed mobile. But I know that every time I go out and hit the start button on my honda it will start time and time again and that is all i ask for.

 

[foreman Etexas]

Well, I plow our 2.5 mile driveway/road with my honda atleast 3times a week in the winter with mine.( unless it is too deep then I bust out the bigger equipment) It snows a ton where I live (we got 265" last winter) So, that is 5 miles at a minimum of plowing in one go. I have had the motor of my fan cooled Foreman almost glowing red hot more times than I can count and never had a bit of trouble ever.

Honda is not the way to go if you want the latest and greatest gadget on your quad. Or the most powerful V-twin speed mobile. But I know that every time I go out and hit the start button on my honda it will start time and time again and that is all i ask for.

Agree,my Kawasaki has been great machine for me also...But when someone claims that just cause its belt driven that its a lesser machine than the Honda I will never agree. I said earlier my parents own a Rincon,so I do ride one every now and then. You have to use the ESP over the auto mode cause the power is not there.I dont get anything from Kawasaki to say the brute is better than rincon,I have just been able to have ride time on both.If it had impressed me I would have bought one of them instead. I did own(from new) a 2000 praire 300 4x4 when I purchased new in 08 Bruteforce 650 I gave the praire to my brother and still runs the factory belt today.

 

[whistlepig]

??? I'm sorry but do you really own a Honda with ESP? The ESP is actully a very simple system unlike my Rincon where there are many variables because it's fully automatic. However-they are still all bullet proof, of course, with everything in this world there are bound to be problems.

Never heard of anything about the idle speed causing issues and an ATV battery is typically good for about 4-5 years anyway. THERE IS 0 MAINTENANCE FOR THE HONDA ESP TRANSMISSION-PERIOD! Unlike the belt transmission....so don't start things that just arent true. Try and prove me wrong anyone?

Yep. I have a 2000 Rancher with ESP. I also have the Honda factory manual for my 2000 Rancher with ESP. After reading the trouble shooting section in the Honda factory manual for the ESP on my 2000 Rancher the ESP just doesn't strike me as being very simple system.

 

[TripleR]

I have a 1987 Yamaha 225 Moto 4 that has been stone reliable. I can't shift it anymore so I bought a Rhino 660 and love it. I have power steering on it. I had a Polaris Sportsman 700 for a while and sold it to get a 700 Grizzly with EPS.

I don't let my grandchildren on the Grizzly, we have the 225 and a Kawasaki 300 Bayou for them.

As for belts, we have a 1990 Kawasaki Mule with the original belt.

Lots of people make good ATV's, just find the one you like best.

We really like our Grizzly, but if we had to chose one to keep, it would be the Rhino.

 

[donn12]

I have a 800 efi polaris and it is beast! I think with the bumpers and rack, winch etc it weighs close to 1000 lbs. it has the best ride by far of any ATV that I have tried. try out all the big ones and get the obe you like the best. I am thinking about upgrading to a 850XP with EPS at some point and I will also try out the Can AM 1000 so I have plenty of power to take my trash cans out to the street!

 

[plumbstraight]

I have an 05 rincon that has been good to me. The one thing that I would change if I had studied them all a bit more is I would have traded for a smaller engine to have the lower gearing. the rincon has plenty of power, but would sure like to have a low range in it.

 

[Shmudda]

I love it when these type of discussions take off on a forum.

Personally, for ME the Honda's are the only way to go. I have a 1993 TRX300FWD and a 1994 TRX200D 2wd machine. I just sold a 2001 TRX500FA Rubicon that had just under 4000 hard miles on it. I can say with the abuse I have put these machines thru I will never buy a machine from another manufacturer other then Honda. I like either the geared transmission or the hydrostatic transmission thats on the Rubicon. While the Honda's will not be the biggest in physical size or have the largest engine displacement, or be the fastest machine, I can tell you they are by far the most reliable machines out there. I have ridden many different machines since ATV's come out, and again my personal belief is to stay away from the gum band transmissions and stick with the tried and true gear or hydrostatic drives.

Take it for what it's worth, but thats my two cents!!!

Craig

 

[scesnick]

I love it when these type of discussions take off on a forum.

Personally, for ME the Honda's are the only way to go. I have a 1993 TRX300FWD and a 1994 TRX200D 2wd machine. I just sold a 2001 TRX500FA Rubicon that had just under 4000 hard miles on it. I can say with the abuse I have put these machines thru I will never buy a machine from another manufacturer other then Honda. I like either the geared transmission or the hydrostatic transmission thats on the Rubicon. While the Honda's will not be the biggest in physical size or have the largest engine displacement, or be the fastest machine, I can tell you they are by far the most reliable machines out there. I have ridden many different machines since ATV's come out, and again my personal belief is to stay away from the gum band transmissions and stick with the tried and true gear or hydrostatic drives.

Take it for what it's worth, but thats my two cents!!!

Craig

My thoughts exactly....

 

[hodge]

I love it when these type of discussions take off on a forum.

Personally, for ME the Honda's are the only way to go. I have a 1993 TRX300FWD and a 1994 TRX200D 2wd machine. I just sold a 2001 TRX500FA Rubicon that had just under 4000 hard miles on it. I can say with the abuse I have put these machines thru I will never buy a machine from another manufacturer other then Honda. I like either the geared transmission or the hydrostatic transmission thats on the Rubicon. While the Honda's will not be the biggest in physical size or have the largest engine displacement, or be the fastest machine, I can tell you they are by far the most reliable machines out there. I have ridden many different machines since ATV's come out, and again my personal belief is to stay away from the gum band transmissions and stick with the tried and true gear or hydrostatic drives.

Take it for what it's worth, but thats my two cents!!!

Craig

My 99 Honda has been solid and reliable. That being said, I know that most ATV's on the market today will fill your bill. I think the most important issues are;
1) Personal preference- you should ride them to see what feels the best
2) Service- the best atv on the market isn't much good if you don't have a dealer in reasonable distance. So, who is close to you, and do they have a good reputation?
3) Maintenance ease- I just did a full maintenance on an 08 Polaris 500, and installed a winch/snow plow. It doesn't belong to me, and after working on one, compared to my Honda, I wouldn't buy a Polaris. They are much more maintenance-intensive, and simply harder to work on. Someone else may disagree, and that is fine- this was my experience. Sooner or later, you will have to work on the machine- which ones are more friendly than others?