WHAT ATV TO BUY

[bjess8]

Thanks for all the advice I am leaning toward a Honda or a suzuki King Quad,
not sure bit it will be an early x-mas present to me from my wife..I am a lucky man,

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

i like them presents when i bought my rhino and hpx my wife didn't knoow nuthin about them til they dropped them off. i tried to tell her she could just tell everyone they was a present from her but that didn't work plus she kept on sliding the notes back under the bedroom door for atleast 3 weeks and i didn't want to yell through the wall to talk to her.

 

[caver]

I bought a Grizzly 700 late September. My tale of caution with shaky economic times. I had an area dealer match the price from Abernathy's in west Tennessee. This dealer had been in business for many many years. Two plastic panels were damaged in shipping and I was promised new ones. They didn't have the winch in stock and said they would get one. Lots of blunders in getting these parts and I'm not sure if Yamaha or the dealer was the problem. Anyway, I heard through the grape vine a week ago they had closed for good. I was able to contact their old mechanic who was working out of the building and got my panels. The winch never came in so last night the same guy gave me a winch with a Polaris sticker on it and the proper mounting bracket. He assured me it is the same Warn winch, just a different stock number and sticker.
Many phone calls and two 40 mile round trips to get this resolved and it could have turned out real bad for me. So with businesses on shaky ground,,,,I wouldn't take their word on anything. If I could have hit rewind I would have drove the extra miles to Abernathy's who would have had everything in stock to begin with.

 

[yomax4]

I am surprised to read bad press on Polaris Quads. I have had 4 since 1998 and use them for pulling logs out of the woods on steep slopes. I have Never had a belt issue and I have never had to go buy different tires when the stock ones were new. Why do Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawi, use the 1980's rack systems. Obviously no-one uses them for hauling. I have never put a penny in any of my polaris rigs and they look like crap when am done with them. Yes I have tried Honda and Yamaha and they get hot and have wimpy tires. All the quads are ok I was just shocked to see bad press on Polaris after what i have put them trough.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Yes I have tried Honda and Yamaha and they get hot and have wimpy tires.

:mur: :confused2:

 

[donn12]

It all depends on what you do with it. My Polaris 2006 800 EFI is a beast. Very heavy and comfortable (it has the best seat in the world). I used to do some pretty extreme 4wheeling with my buddies and we never had a problem with a newer Polaris except the occasional torn front boot. If you get too crazy you can break the belt but most of these guys could change that in about 1/2 hour on the trail. The older model sportsmen had a bunch of issues but most of them were abused and worked on by the owners. The newer ones were mostly bulletproof.
I now have some heavy duty shocks in the front and use it for plowing. Think about power steering. It makes a huge difference on tight turns. I am also very impressed with the fuel injection.
Honda makes a nice quad if you only really need a 500cc or so. It does not seem as heavy duty but you might not need that.

 

[sublime68charger]

you can look at High Lifter - The Leader In Custom After-Market ATV Accessories for ATV info there all about the Mud but for any brand of ATV if you want to know the weak points they will have hased it out there already.

I like Honda's and there dated machines and don't due any 1 thing great but due most things Good or OK. the only thing with Honda is in 20 years they will still start and run fine.

good luck with your search

 

[picker77]

Take a ride on a Polaris Sportsman X2 500/550 EFI before you decide. Provides a comfortable and safe passenger seat and foot rest so the wife can ride with me when we're up in the mountains, and the cute little pickup truck dump bed in the back has turned out to be extremely useful around my place for carrying tools, chain saws, etc. when I'm using it to do work. Plenty of power, on-demand AWD, electronically selectable 4WD, and a 2WD "Turf Mode" that actually works and doesn't tear up my lawn/pastures on turns. The extra wheelbase, which I though might be a hindrance, turns out to make for a much nicer ride on rough stuff, but still turns sharp enough for what I need. I drove five or six brands and most were decent machines, but I ended up back at the Polaris dealer to buy an X2 last year. Haven't regretted it for a second.

 

[nwltruck]

I have had a 350 rancher es for 5 years and haven't touched a thing. It is 2wd and will still out climb my buddies kow. It has rolled down hills been drown and pulls 3000# trailers all the time. Veary happy. Honda has the best rep just not all the bling of some of the others. IMO if you want a tough quad to do the work and don't care about the fancy stuff GET A HONDA.

 

[pappy19]

I have 3 Polaris' and 2 of the 3 have been a disaster. On one the warranty was a real issue and I never did get satisfaction even from the factory rep. This was with a big dealer in the Boise area. So much for me ever buying another Polaris. All of the ATV tests that I have seen in magazines or on the TV, have pointed to the Suzuki as the top ATV machine with the Honda as a close second.

Pap