ATV Recommendations

honda or yama
Ive got a 500 foreman and my bros has a 400 foreman.. great machines, never a problem ! If you go to sell them… used prices are high
Lots of can am around here.. always a young guy rippin and burning the bawls outa the machine.. noisy..
 
FYI Yamaha’s belt system is not like the snowmobile style clutch system that can-am and Polaris use. The primary clutch on the Yamaha doesn’t constantly spin at idle like the snowmobile styles, but it has an internal clutch thats constantly spins when it reaches the desired take off rpm it’ll lock up and away you go. The advantage is you can fully squeeze the belt right from idle and up resulting in no belt slippage increasing belt life and having a cvt system more for work. Where as the snowmobile styles you’ll always have slippage from take off as the primary starts to grab the belt resulting in decreased belt life and more slippage underload because they are trying to balance belt squeeze and performance… both cvt systems ain’t the same, one designed for work and one designed for trail.
 
My 2013 Polaris Sportsman 500 has been very reliable ever since I bought it. No issues whatsoever. I have hauled heavy deer over very rough terrain more than a few times. Pulls great. I also use it during the winter months to plow my driveway. No regrets at all.
 
FYI Yamaha’s belt system is not like the snowmobile style clutch system that can-am and Polaris use. The primary clutch on the Yamaha doesn’t constantly spin at idle like the snowmobile styles, but it has an internal clutch thats constantly spins when it reaches the desired take off rpm it’ll lock up and away you go. The advantage is you can fully squeeze the belt right from idle and up resulting in no belt slippage increasing belt life and having a cvt system more for work. Where as the snowmobile styles you’ll always have slippage from take off as the primary starts to grab the belt resulting in decreased belt life and more slippage underload because they are trying to balance belt squeeze and performance… both cvt systems ain’t the same, one designed for work and one designed for trail.



I’ve had mine nearly 20 years and it’s still on the og belt .. i like the engine braking system on them as well but I did have to change the one way bearing once .
 
why do people make such a big deal about drive belts??
my 2012 yamaha has it's original belt and has been trouble free in that regard.
I am not kind to my machines either and in 13 years of hunting, ice fishing and yard work my machine has only needed the service bay once and that was for it;s first oil change and valve adjustments. Since then it has not required ANY repairs, none. Can't say the same for my buddies with canams and hondas.
I could afford Honda, yamaha, Canam...... after riding all three , I chose yamaha.
While I'm not knocking Honda....... I wouldn't choose a honda soley because it doesn't have drive belts. Honda is overpriced and over complicated..... nice machines but I chose Yamaha and 11 years later I don't regret it one bit and my machine is still in top condition .

I have 17000 km on my Yamaha 450 Kodiak belt so far
 
My one and only complaint about the yamaha grizzlies is no back up pull start.

and to respond above to the 2020 grizzly ..... yes they are different but not sure in how many ways.
My brother bought a new grizzly last year(?)..... it's a 2021 or 2022 I can't remember but side by side they do look quite different and with different frame features as well as the body kits are different. Mine carries the weight of a second rider with ease and handles it much like a 2up and i barely notice the extra weight ...... haven't ridden his grizzly myself so can't say
 
Same canoe rake so naktabar72 can't call me a liar again. I expect my quads to be able to work with loads on them. My arctic cat could easily take a large buck on the back with no problems. The new Grizzly, not quite as stable.

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What settings are your shocks set at? This will make a big difference in how it handles, especially if you are riding 2 up on a 1 person machine. We ride 2 up on a coworker’s 2018 450 Kodiak and you have to adjust your riding style, you can’t gun it with the extra weight over the rear going up hills or in general. They’re not built for it, when you look at dedicated 2 up machines they are built different. Bigger heavier frames etc to deal with the extra load and weight balance.
 
2009 polaris 500 and a actual 2 up machine works great but it does have the driveline clunking noise , gonna work on that soon
 
2009 polaris 500 and a actual 2 up machine works great but it does have the driveline clunking noise , gonna work on that soon


I have a 2008 Polaris 500 HO, It has been good ATV except for one major issue the WIRING... it was brittle and would constantly break inside the main harness just below the handle bars. It was so unreliable I refused to take it out of the yard. The machine at this point was basically useless.
10 years ago a I took a gamble and purchased a whole new wiring harness, the whole thing bumper to bumper. Paid a dealer to install as it was away above my skills. Not a cheap endeavor $1500. Well as luck would have it the new harness was built with better wire as I have not had a single issue with it since swapping out the wiring. Has been a great atv every since. I do regular oil, and fluid changes, and general maintenance on it, and it has not let me down since. Seems who ever Polaris had making their wiring harnesses in that model year was using cheap brittle wire.

That driveline clunking is most likely the front differential which has clutch plates in it for a ADC (decent control) Change the front diff fluid and it should go away. If it clunks its telling you it needs a fluid change.
 
This is not a recommendation but I hunted the same area for years with buddies who have passed. It was an area with cutlines and pipelines. The cut lines were overgrown with fallen trees as they were not used annually. My Arctic Cats -Suzuki made would crawl over higher logs than the others because of increased ground clearance. This was a vast area and it was not unusual to cover over 70 km in a day. The larger machines had to haul extra gas and for some reason a 400 Yamaha would not have the range of a 400 Cat. The Hondas were Ok, If this is your type of area your might want to reconsider you choices.
 
I have 17000 km on my Yamaha 450 Kodiak belt so far

Jeeeesh, this is impressive.
The 660'ear I yewse to pull the big trailers out of the back yard.
This Grizz never fails to amaze me.
No whin'in, jest doing it's absolute bestest to pleeze it's owner.

I pulled the cover awf one afternoon just to familiarize meself wid the proseedyur.
There is a spare belt'anngin awn the wall.
I don't see need'in it any time sewn.
 
Use the correct gear range and drive belts last a long time.

Gunning it in high gear trying to pull stuff out usually stretches and wear out belts.

Then a bit of water gets in there and it slips and then it's TOAST. Think our 400 can am outlander with 6000k is still on original belt.
 
That driveline clunking is most likely the front differential which has clutch plates in it for a ADC (decent control) Change the front diff fluid and it should go away. If it clunks its telling you it needs a fluid change.

I can see that being the case on an older machine, every Polaris I’ve been on has clunked when shifting gears regardless of age. We had a Polaris Ranger at work last spring that was brand new and it did the same clunking, we put the first real km’s on it. It had maybe 8-10km on the odo when we unloaded it.
 
I can see that being the case on an older machine, every Polaris I’ve been on has clunked when shifting gears regardless of age. We had a Polaris Ranger at work last spring that was brand new and it did the same clunking, we put the first real km’s on it. It had maybe 8-10km on the odo when we unloaded it.

Agreed and I have this clunk noise since new on my 2016 Sportsman 570 and so is my friends one is 2014 and the other is 2019.

The clunk noise only occurs when the quad start moving from a complete stop and it goes away was on several forums people all said this is normal due to the clutch spiders (correct term?) first engage when start moving.

Never have any problems with mine except it was hard to shift into gears when the engine is running after a proper secondary clutch alignment (add or remove shims) that goes away and shift like butter smooth again.
 
Rzrs and rangers are great machines imo

It surprised me a bit, rentals at work get used hard and after I left for other work it stayed with a buddy who said it held up fine throughout the season. In fact all of the newer Polaris gear that’s used at work has been pretty solid, some of it is rented and some owned by coworkers. The Ranger had tracks and we only had to winch it out of deep wet snow once, will be nice to watch them the next couple years to see if they’re as good as the Honda’s and Kawai’s are.
 
I don’t know if they approach the Honda but I know some guys who swear by them. Definitely thinking work machines; prefer to go on foot or use a Honda 4 trac on my own time

The kawi teryx is an absolute beast
 
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