ATV's - Which Brand is the Best?

[coolpete1]

i've had a honda , polaris and a few yamaha's , the polaris i bought new and it was a lemon but my wifes is great, the worst one was the honda but they all were ok. i ride a yamaha now and probably will for the rest of my life . my advise is go look at them all and buy the one thats most comfortable to sit on because unless your really hard on it , it will run for a long time no matter what brand you buy unless its a cheap chinese one . and spend a little more time with the grizzly because it rules the most

[Rpm5]

Originally Posted by honda450

That's because Can-Am is made in Mexico. Nuff said.

Who cares where Can-Am is made!! Had 4 Hondas in earlier days and 1 800 Can-Am and would take a Can-Am over a Honda any day. 16 months and 7600km on Can-Am never missed a beat, only expenses was services. Honda 1500km ball joints with easy riding. Honda had rough ride, hard starting, crappy brakes, no power, and poor 4wd. Can-Am had great ride, awesome power, great 4wd, held up great, 3 year warranty. Best bike I've ever owned. No replacement for displacement!! And here come the Honda fans!!

[Gade81]

Like others already stated, it all depends what you want out of your quad. I've owned mostly every big engine quad in the last few years, sometimes several of each, so you could call my opinion unbiased. Of them all, I'd call myself a can am guy the most. I had a Rincon, quality quad, but no fun or power whatsoever, and a terrible 3 speed tranny for anything other than riding the gravel road. Had a kinquad 750, agin quality quad, but sluggish and absolutely horrible steering geometry. It was a non power steering unit and would love to go full lock without a moments notice. Owned and rode a couple brute forces, and tho not terrible, not great at anything, better power than the others mentioned, but not a good handler and prone to electrical glitches. Had 3 grizzly 700's, great quad, only limitation being power. If I wasn't to buy can am agin, it would be a grizz. Owned numerous models of polaris, never buy one again. As much as they tell you the new ones are improved quality, they aren't, pretty much every popo I owned was a constant fixer upper. Which leaves the can ams. Have had 2 outlanders and 4 renegades in the past. All reasonably reliable and most fun to ride easily. Obviously, if you don't have any power urges, the above list doesn't help, but if I was looking for a 400-500 class quad, and had it just for work, I wouldn't buy can am. Then the Hondas and yamahas of the world are probably better suited. Probably grizz 550 is what I'd buy.

[jungleboy]

If I was buying a quad I would take a -Yamaha , Honda , Polaris , Suzuki , Kawasaki,in that order . I don't like the CanAm stuff because as a rule the guys that buy them new pound the living crap out of them till they have nothing left then flog em . Also I hate that you can buy that Canadian of government subsidized machine cheaper in the States than you can in Canada.

If I was buying a SxS it would be Polaris ,Polaris .................. Kawasaki , Yamaha


Arctic cat .... heavy tippy, bulky

[BGS906]

Originally Posted by sparky660

Are their belt systems getting any better?

Hmmm......never heard about or had any belt issues. One guy I know figured he might change his out for something to do.......it was still the original belt after 5500km.

[leeaspell]

Only belt issue I've ever had was getting them wet. Only other I know of is the stock one on my cousins arctic cat blew apart once, but replacement never had an issue

[leeaspell]

I know of a 2012 400 Polaris for sale, only 250km. Comes with rear seat and windshield

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by leeaspell

Only belt issue I've ever had was getting them wet. Only other I know of is the stock one on my cousins arctic cat blew apart once, but replacement never had an issue

They had a belt tension sensor that was a huge problem that would put them into limp mode. I can't remember for sure but I think it may have had something to do with machines and larger tires.

[KBF]

Seems like anybody I know who has belt issuess, jump them off the trailer and 50 yards in swamp it and have troubles. Warm up that belt and she will dig.

[jungleboy]

If you use your machine for what it is designed for (trail riding at reasonable speeds in rough terrain) they will last as long as you keep your maintenance up . If you buy a big bore 4x4 and start pounding it into every corner and testing it to see how far it will fly ,then you will have troubles . They were not designed to be submerged either by the way .That type of riding will kill any offroad machine fast I don't care who makes it. Ride the mud all day long ,but clean your machine like you're gonna sell it afterwards and grease it and change oil etc etc . Those Hondas they use for surveying don't last 8 to 10 k for no reason . they are maintained regularly . I see them at the auctions all the time and you can tell the machines that have been used hard and taken care of vs the ones that were just used hard and used hard some more.
I happen to like Polaris ,but I keep my machine cleaned and serviced and stored inside . I can't afford to beat the hell out of em and just let em go,they cost too much money.


PS when you buy your 10000 dollar atv , spend the extra 50 bones for a decent set of tie downs . I shake my head at these guys that tie their machines to the trailer with crappy 5 dollar straps.

Also , do not take a test ride on a sxs . you won't want to ride a quad after that.

[leeaspell]

Originally Posted by sparky660

They had a belt tension sensor that was a huge problem that would put them into limp mode. I can't remember for sure but I think it may have had something to do with machines and larger tires.

That's exactly what happened, belt frayed and went in to limp mode. His fix was to just snip the wires lol


I work with a guy who has a 500 foreman, 25,000 km and still going strong. He says no major repairs and no engine work since he bought it.

[kennedy]

So I too am looking at buying a quad. However, I was leaning towards the 2013 suzuki kingquad 750. Is this not a good machine? Would I be better off going with a honda 550 foreman? The 2013 kingquad comes with power steering and an additional headlight on the steering wheel. Someone also mentioned to stay away from rincon and buy a foreman instead. Why is that? Isn't the more power the better to haul out game out from the bush? Im new to this and dont know much about quads. If I need go drag a moose I would think that the 750cc would have more power than a 400cc. No?

[Big Racks]

Originally Posted by kennedy

If I need go drag a moose I would think that the 750cc would have more power than a 400cc. No?

Not sure about the one model vs. the other but your question above, while valid, doesn't really address what you're asking I think. Yes, the 750 should have more power than the 400, but what you should be asking is how much power is really required to adequately haul out big game. The 750 has more power than the 400, but then again the 1000 will have more than the 750, that doesn't mean you need a 1000cc quad to handle a moose. My 500 pulled my moose out from 200+ yds in a nasty cutblock this year, along with carrying my big butt (300+ lbs). Power wasn't lacking in the least, but what I couldn't have done without was the ground clearance, not without spending a huge amount of time clearing deadfalls for a path. It's nice to have lots of power, but it's not the be all and end all and a 400cc or 500cc machine will likely do all you'll need it to do.

[dumoulin]

If I'd buy a quad tomorrow, I'd look into the new BRP 1000 6x6. What great concept! It rides like a 4x4 but has traction and a flatbed/box like Argo.

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by kennedy

So I too am looking at buying a quad. However, I was leaning towards the 2013 suzuki kingquad 750. Is this not a good machine? Would I be better off going with a honda 550 foreman? The 2013 kingquad comes with power steering and an additional headlight on the steering wheel. Someone also mentioned to stay away from rincon and buy a foreman instead. Why is that? Isn't the more power the better to haul out game out from the bush? Im new to this and dont know much about quads. If I need go drag a moose I would think that the 750cc would have more power than a 400cc. No?

First time I dragged a moose out was witha Honda Big red 250 cc, Then I used a Polaris 300cc 2 stroke . Displacement is good but not the be all end all .You need the gearing . Most of those old Argos were doing just fine with a 17 hp Briggs and a low gear ratio

[deanstroyer]

like others said , dont buy used, atvs are abused from day 1 and people sell them because they are tired of fixing them. can-am is over priced, heavy, bulky and imo the ugliest of all machines, honda is good quality but i find it to be geared more towards utility. the honda dealers these days are terrible for parts and service. yamaha is the direction to go , get yourself into a 700 grizz with eps and you wont regret it. and if your looking for price point buy a kymco

[Rumtan]

I have had 2 suzukis and one polaris.......my present quad is the Kingquad 500, love it ! my Eiger 400 was excellent also, but the polaris 500 was the biggest piece of junk.

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

We have always had Yamaha...Big Bear 350, Kodiak 400, Kodiak 450....never had any issues other than electrical, usually due to how the dealership or factory rigged the electrical so close to the exhaust it messed with the winch controls until we repair/rerouted it...
I'll stick with Yamaha. My big thing about a quad is it needs to have a pull start...if you get 30 miles back and can't start your quad because the battery is toast....the pull start can and will be a life saver!

LC

Your wiring issue would of been by dealer installation....they mount the winches. Cant understand why the winch electrical would be close to the exhaust pipe.

As for an ATV, I would say Yamaha a 550 Grizzly with EPS would be great, nothing wrong with the 450 or the 700. Honda's are bullet proof, as I have had my 450ES Foreman new since 1999 (my buddy is a Yamaha dealer but wasn't open till the following year). IMO, you don't need 700-800+ cc quad.

As for me, I was looking at new quads recently, or so my wife said but I just recently went with a mint 2009 Yamaha 700 Rhino that I bought from my friend (the Yamaha dealer). It was his personal machine-had tons of accessories, including Fox Float Shocks and power steering. I have 2 young boys that want to come with dad and its too hard on a quad to take both. My Rhino has the rear roll cage and back seat with harness straps. My boys are super happy and so am I with the purchase. Would I have liked to buy the new Viking from Yamaha-you bet, but the cost savings in accessories alone for the Rhino - it was a no brainer.

For used ATV, look closely at the axle boots for wear or cuts. Lift kits and really large aggressive tires-I would stay away from these used machines.

If you know the seller personally, and you know the way they treat and look after their toys (good), these are the ones to buy.