quad size?

[******]

If you are on a budget, do what I did. Check out Kenetrek for boots and Kuiu for an ultralight backpack. Way less expensive than a quad and does everything you would use a quad for.

[Mekanik]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

fact of the matter is, preference is personal for each rider. for most people, price factors into that preference, making smaller machines more attractive. truth is, near enough any quad will do for 99% of what hunters want a quad to do. the op said "hunting and stuff". for "hunting", the choices are endless, but the "and stuff" may make one choice much better than another depending what exactly that "stuff" is.

x2

I have an outlander 650. I have a friend who weighs about 100 - 115lbs and she drives a honda 400. She hits every hole the rest of us do and she just keeps going. her hubby has a big bore kawi, doesn't weight much more then her and sinks like a rock. I seem to make it through everything i go into just fine.

Drive what you're comfortable with. Some people i've hit the trails with dig holes no matter what they ride. 350's to 700 seem to be the sweet spot power to weight wise, price wise, and performance.

[Rpm5]

Originally Posted by Mekanik

x2

I have an outlander 650. I have a friend who weighs about 100 - 115lbs and she drives a honda 400. She hits every hole the rest of us do and she just keeps going. her hubby has a big bore kawi, doesn't weight much more then her and sinks like a rock. I seem to make it through everything i go into just fine.

Drive what you're comfortable with. Some people i've hit the trails with dig holes no matter what they ride. 350's to 700 seem to be the sweet spot power to weight wise, price wise, and performance.

Your Can Am 650 has as much or more HP than the Kawisaki has.

[b_ran2000]

Thanks for all the input. This thread was a good read. It was a question that I have had bouncing around the noggin for a while.

[Tikka300]

For hunting and reliability you can't beat a honda 350. Put a decent set of mud tires - and no you don't need 28" mud tires- and you are good to go. Light enough that you can move it around and get out of any situation pretty easily. A few guys in our camp run them including myself and pound for pound you can not beat them. The wont die, you can start them with a dead battery ect. To me a bush quad should not have electronic fuel injection.

[scrapper]

99% of the guys who say you don't need big power have never driven a quad with big power. Big power allows for more weight, my AC 1000 has two winches, rear seat with extra battery, higher fuel capacity, windshield, gun racks on the front, brushgaurd, snow plow. When you start adding the extra's the wieght goes up. Plus consider tires small power simply cannot drive bigger tires without maxing out the machines low power, I have seen 400's that simply do not have the power to move in the mud because the owner added bigger tires.

The biggest advantage to big power is doing upgrades tires, clutches, snow plowing, towing think about it, the power is there if and when you need it, a big displacement machine will do everything a small machine can do and many things a small machine could never do. I would have to push my Honda 420 to the absolute limit do go places my 1000 will go with ease wear and tear maintenance is minimal with the big power machine as you simply do not need to work it any where near as hard as a small power machine.

I don't doubt any of the smaller machines will get a moose out of the bush or get most jobs done but no one can argue a big power machine will do it easier with less wear and tear on the machine.

Like I said earlier there is no substitute for big power, I would never consider a quad smaller than 700, and never a side by side smaller than 1000.

[TBark]

My 2010 Polaris 850 XP ESP is a dream to drive.
The wife's '08 400 HO is OK, but she drives mine when she can, and doesn't want hers any more, ha.

TBark

[schian]

thanks for all the input and advice guys, keep it coming!
i would definitely love to get into a big machine, unfortunately they seem to come with quite a significant jump on the price tag. from what i'm hearing i think i'll be alright with something between 450-650. considering my budget, my weight and my needs, thats probably the best bet for me.
thanks again.
Schian

[big zeke]

My first quad was a 300 King Quad, air cooled with 5 gears (I think) and 3 ranges...when geared down there was nothing it couldn't pull. The engine was taxed hauling a heavy trailer but a very reliable machine and easy on fuel.

I then went to a 660 and eventually a 700 for the power steering. I never really have used the full HP of either bike, I've also never found the extra power useful when getting stuck was a concern. They do drink a lot more gas.

In a ideal world, one fella would have a bike bike for bringing the camp in, the others would be fine with anything in the 300-350 range. Gearing and independant suspension is much more interesting to me than huge displacement.

I'd think the smaller bike are much cheaper...seems nobody wants them.

Zeke

[Mekanik]

Originally Posted by Rpm5

Your Can Am 650 has as much or more HP than the Kawisaki has.

yup, and a slight weight differential made up by the extra gear I always carry on the trail and my unfortunate gut.

My point is more to find the quad that fits you. I found mine, My friend found her's and unfortunately her husband has the nickname of undertaker because he buries whatever he rides.

My only concern is when I get out into serious bush, I do have a FI engine management system on it. Not like I can do a whole lot to it on the trail if a connector shorts out or the ECM calves. So that's my trade off there.

[BigChevy]

I grew up on a Honda TRX250, drove kodiak 400 and 450's, and a Grizzly 660, now I just sold my Can Am Renegade 800. The 250 will go anywhere the big ones will... until you put any kind of gear on the racks or encounter a mud hole more than 3" deep without a solid bottom.
I will have my new quad within the next 2-3 weeks. i just ordered the 2013 Can Am Outlander XT-P 1000... I'll let you know if I ever need to pull out the 3000lb winch to use on myself. My buddy has the Renegade 1000 and has only used 4x4 once to make sure it worked.
Bigger is better but we all have our uses and preferences, the bigger you go the less limitations you'll have!

[1shotwade]

I never really understood the big power = I can go farther attitude! I hunt with a gentlemen than rides a honda big red trike, he has owned it since new and he might not be the first 1 there but he does minimal maintenence she purrs like a kitten! I'll keep my honda 450 maybe slower, not as fancy, not as loud,............ also never as deep! You been down the trails lately seeing what bigbores have done to the trails! If i need to get somewhere my quad won't take me god gave me 2 feet! just my 2 cents!

[Rpm5]

Originally Posted by Mekanik

yup, and a slight weight differential made up by the extra gear I always carry on the trail and my unfortunate gut.

My point is more to find the quad that fits you. I found mine, My friend found her's and unfortunately her husband has the nickname of undertaker because he buries whatever he rides.

My only concern is when I get out into serious bush, I do have a FI engine management system on it. Not like I can do a whole lot to it on the trail if a connector shorts out or the ECM calves. So that's my trade off there.

The Can Ams have the best warranty of all the brands. Standard 3 year warranty and where I bought mine they were great with that. And now the Honda guys will say that you don't need warranty on a Honda!!!!!!!

When you spend a little more for a Can am or Polaris you get a awesome ride and the power when needed. I'm not that old but I don't like getting beat up and having a chapped ass from a days ride and the honda's like the rubicon which I owned 2 of them and one 450 and when you do a full day on them you are beat.

[Rpm5]

Big Bore quads are like Magnum Rifles!! Most of the time you don't need one to get the meat on the ground but if you had a bear charging your ass you are going to feel a lot better with a 338 than a 243 win.

[brownbomber]

my old 400 made it a lot of places that my buddies big fancy quads couldn't. but the trade off being i didn't get much out of it on the power side being a bigger guy and all. so maybe time to get a nice big quad that's gonna drag me around but limit my ability to get around. the dilemma's of life.

[jeff5316]

I use to haul moose and caribou out on a 1984 200M Honda trike and an old Big Bear 350. Both worked just fine for me. I use a 1000cc now but would not hesitate to buy a 500cc either as they are much easier on gas and much lighter

[Stinky Coyote]

too bad they don't make the honda 350 anymore, the full time 4x made the steering a bit heavy in slow tight but they probably had kits to give you 2wd....just from memory test driving one

i have a foreman 500 footshift with power steering as the only luxury, love the simple air cooled/carbed machine, back up recoil starter etc. and have the power steering to make tracks more tolerable but it sure is a nice feature with the rubber on, two finger steering....i don't put many miles on quad so wanted the simplest machine i could find, i added highlifter springs on all four corners for a bit better load carrying ability and no rubbing when tracks on...otherwise it believe i have the perfect machine...for me

if they still made the 350 i may have gotten one of those, especially if i didn't run tracks once in awhile...not sold on the fuel injection for a bike that will run as infrequently as mine, always get a honda to start, 30 below etc. my king quad 450 got a bit iffy near -20 with its fuel inj. but my rhino 700 was excellent, after those two machines i went honda and won't be looking back (and i doubt i'll be looking at any fuel injected hondas going forward either) i'd have to use a quad lots, and if a did, then maybe i'd consider a fi machine but prefer carbed/air cooled simplicity for these little tractors

[scrapper]

S Coyote, that is a very interesting comment, I like the EFI, after messing with carbs and chokes for the past 30 years I enjoy just pushing the button and having a virtually instant start in any conditions. I found that really getting to know all the ins and outs of EFI makes the system alot more user friendly and less scary. Running a good FI cleaner through the system on a regular basis and keeping the fuel and air filters service is the key to problem free EFI systems. Keeping the modules and cooled and clean is important as well.

The only problem I have with big bore quads is the tiny battery, I have two 5000 lb winches, extra lights, GPS security system, so adding a second much bigger battery is a must. Nothing worse than doing some serious winching then having the engine stall and no pull start back up. The extra battery power is a must. Back in the day electric starters on quads was a real problem, the old Polaris units were brutal, they were poor quality and you had to take 1/2 the quad apart to remove them. Modern starters are virtually maintanance free and easy to change if the need arises

[Stinky Coyote]

i get my sport on two wheels, rode a kawi 750, rediculous to me on a stubby little 4x that it goes that fast, just me though, i went to what i wanted out of a stubby little 4x...more tractor like, simple as humanly possible, do all jobs, reliable track record that can't be matched etc. go honda

normally i embrace technology but requirements for a quad for me was the opposite, skip the fancy tranny, suspension, fuel injection etc. give me the low center of gravity more stability and quiet quiet quiet, no cvt noise, with the second muffler benz silent ride the only thing quieter than my foreman 500 is an electric golf cart...just what i wanted out of a quad thats all

[-JR-]

Still hunting with the first 4x4 that Honda brought out in 1986.(Honda 350)
They are tough,not to many machines that you can mount a winch in front and the rear. I just use it for hunting ,Still under 500 miles on it.

[curtisb]

Honda, Honda, Honda; size doesn't really matter for the purpose you mention. New or old, they are all reliable, less moving parts (much lower maint.), more sealed components, mechanically driven, and lighter than the rest if you're in a pinch.
I think I read at one point; of all commercial survey company purchases in AB, 86% of companies buy Hondas.
I think the quad I'm on now is something like an 05 or 06 500??? Doesn't matter... use it year around and change the oil every now and then, give it a rinse every once and a while and clean it's lungs. I'd take it to the end of the earth and back without batting an eye.

If you're looking to do recreational, the possiblilities are endless, just depends what you want to spend... as there are much far superior machines in terms of being capable...

[Traps]

I've rode the Canam 650, 800, 800 Renegade, Big Bear, Wolverine, Raptor, Grizzley, Rhino, Fourtrax, Big red, Foreman, Rincon, Sportsman.

The Canam is the most powerful
Yamaha is good all around
Honda has the most reliable bikes when you buy the simple models

The worst ride was a Honda Fourtrax, the best ride was a Honda Rincon.
The best list of features was on a Grizzley
The best balanced and handling was the Rincon
The most jaw dropping experience of what you can go through was a 800 Renegade

When you buy a mid range power bike do not make the mistake of putting larger diameter heavy tires on it. If your upgrading tires keep the diameter the same and keep its weight to a minimum. Tires can sap up to 40% of your engines power in extreme cases, more typically 20%.

If I were you a 420 Rancher would be my choice

[damienelliott]

I just bought a 2012 polaris sportsman 850 HO EPS just relocated the rad with a rubberdown customs kits, also added rubber down 2 inch lift. will be running a set of 30" silverbacks most likely 9 wide, and will be adding snorkel kit, pipe, and programmer. i am assuming after the tires will be getting some gorilla axles lol. but very nice bike lots of power 79 hp on the motor will do for what i need.

[curtisb]

Originally Posted by damienelliott

I just bought a 2012 polaris sportsman 850 HO EPS just relocated the rad with a rubberdown customs kits, also added rubber down 2 inch lift. will be running a set of 30" silverbacks most likely 9 wide, and will be adding snorkel kit, pipe, and programmer. i am assuming after the tires will be getting some gorilla axles lol. but very nice bike lots of power 79 hp on the motor will do for what i need.

This would be one of those capable models I mentioned; far more "capable" then a honda. Same goes for the Canams.

But for hunting (what was mentioned in the forum..) Any Honda: 250 to 600, all of them will be fine with a Moose.

[elkfriend]

Polaris 800 sportsman with mudlites and additional winch in the back..never left me stranded its a dream to drive and has has hauled a LOT of moose on more than one occasion.

[Homesteader]

What nobody said Honda 300 fourtrax for a hunting quad yet. I think these guys are even better then the 350's for a hunting quad. Enough power, light, small for getting thru trees, and stealthy quiet. They're no sport quad, but I've sure done alot of work with mine, and pulled out some very big animals. You just need a fat friend for the front rack so you don't flip it.

I have a 700 King quad as well, also a good balance of power, and comfort, but for hunting I defiinately prefer my old Honda.

[jim summit]

Originally Posted by riden

I drive a Grizz 660 (hopefully for the last year). It broke down once and I took my buddy's Kodiak 450 and put my 26 inch MudBugs on it. In rotten holes, in low gear I hauled azz in that quad. I was really impressed and it was my first time driving it.

I lost clearance, but because the machine was so light i just breezed through holes. I think that machine is superior to my Grizz in mud.

But it is also too small, I don't find it that comfortable.

But, we drive quad to moose camp and stay there. He hauls less gas than us, that is a real factor in our camp. Guys in teh big bores in my camp, have had to make choices on where to hunt based on how much gas we have, not where we want to hunt. The 450 driver, doesn't even think about it.

Started with a 200 Big Red trike, then a couple more trikes, and a quad and 7 years ago I got a 450 Kodiak. Still my best choice for traction, has diff lock, (Canam still does not), hauls a tandem axle trailer.

If I really want to go into bad swamp, all quads can stay home, then we get out the ARGO on tracks, and laugh all the way to camp, burning twice the fuel.

[Rock Doctor]

This is a funny Thread
I'm still riding my old 1989 Honda 300 4x4. I have yet to see a "Big Bore" go someplace I couldn't go, or haul a load I couldn't haul. I might take longer to get there, but I'll get there, lol. So, that's what..... about 23yrs old and still going strong? I'd take an old bike over a new one any day, the new ones are all Crap



RD

[Homesteader]

Originally Posted by Rock Doctor

This is a funny Thread
I'm still riding my old 1989 Honda 300 4x4. I have yet to see a "Big Bore" go someplace I couldn't go, or haul a load I couldn't haul. I might take longer to get there, but I'll get there, lol. So, that's what..... about 23yrs old and still going strong? I'd take an old bike over a new one any day, the new ones are all Crap



RD

Agreed, I have the exact same year, and size of Honda, it has been absolutely bullet proof. It will likely outlive my 07 King Quad, although the plastic is getting fairly cracked.

[Stinky Coyote]

The trx300 the most legendary of all atv, I thought mentioning it but figured half the crowd here might not be old enough to know about it lol, as for other comment about being beaten up all day riding...lol get off it once in awhile, Honda for hunting, play bikes for play, my take