4-Wheelers

......My 2001 Kodiak doin what it does best:


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My brother has a '03 Rubicon, very nice.

I've used various Polaris machines for work and don't care for them; they don't seem to stand-up well.

I bought an Arctic Cat 500 in September and am pretty happy with it so far. Honestly, I think the build quality on my brother's machine is much better, but mine rides better, and is easier on fuel. I haven't noticed a difference in power between the two machines, but my brother prefers the sound that mine makes (he's usually following me). My machine has much better ground clearance, and the 2" receiver is nice to have for towing.

I could be wrong, but I think that Suzuki builds engines for Arctic Cat.
 
I have owned a few different bikes and my feeling is when I go in the woods with a Honda I know I'm coming out. Very tough and reliable, with very little maintenance. You can't beat Honda. I've owned over 15 different bikes. Yamaha,Kawasaki,Suzuki, and Honda
 
I have had:

-Honda Big Red 250 1986 (3 wheelee)
-Suzuki 230 shaft 1985
-Honda 250 Fourtrax (MT) 2005

Although I like the Yamahas, you really can't go wrong with a Honda.

For those who wonder why I choose the smaller bikes, it's all about physics and the fact that I only hunt deer. :D Lighter bike = less sinking and easier to pull out. On the plus side they are also more agile. The big boys like the Grizzly wich have higher ground clearance, a very powerfull motor, 4x4 and diff. locks. But They NEED a winch cause they are so heavy. So sometimes smaller is better :p
 
zedex said:
Yup. For hunting and work related activities a solid axle is the way to go. Try sidehilling on an irs. Not pleasant.
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I'll agree with this, I would never get a quad with independent rear suspension. Yes the ride is nicer and you have a little more clearance (if not loaded) but if your pulling something or are loaded with gear and dead animals its a whole different game, and sidehills with a load on can be dangerous.
 
zedex said:
Yup. For hunting and work related activities a solid axle is the way to go. Try sidehilling on an irs. Not pleasant.
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Set up your suspension properly, and you wont want to drive a solid axe again.
Suspension articulation is key, and set up is proper for weight if your going to be workign the machine. ANd a solid axle ATV does not have the rider tunability that an IRS bike does. Its allways better to set up your IRS harder if your a less experienced rider, or have alot of different people riding your bike. A soft suspension is havoc to a heavy rider lacking skill, and can be dangerous. but setthe bike up properly, and you'll get bored of solid axles in the bush quick
 
Like what was previously said. 300 Suzuki King Quad. A little quad that will pull like you wouldn't believe. It all comes from the gearing, especially the super low with the front differential lock. Same with the 250 only a little less cc. These are not touring quads they are work quads.
 
I'm running an '03 Honda Foreman 450ES with 2x winches, a 2000 lb Superwinch in the rear and a 2500 lb Warn in the front. Not much stops me on it, and besides a front shock and a front diff output seal, I've never done a lick of work to it minus oil changes and regularly cleaning the K&N filter I have in it....3600km on it....hardly broken in!!! Excellent hunting machine though!

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well i must say polaris are junk i had one before they are okay till they have to get wet and they dont have the power like my artic-cat 500
 
honda

I bought 2004 honda rubicon for this fall hunting season I owned a 2004 yamaha grizzly 660 I would like to say that it was an easy transition from the yamaha to the honda that honda is a very tough bike I put it through hell this year and it out performed any of the other bikes that i was rideing with. I shot a big moose this year and that honda had to pack dam near the whole moose because the belt was slipping on my friends yamaha it had 900 kms on it.One of my friends has a 2000 honda foreman that has 9900kms on it he has done nothing but change breaks and the oil it runs like brand new.
I can also sink it up to the light on my handle bars pull the plug drain tne water and keep going.There are incrediable machines.Try one you will love it.
 
I bought the Grizzly 660 back in 03', and never had a problem except swamping it in a river that was a bit too deep. It has all the power you could ever ask fo and more! As for haulin deer out last season I had a 140lb doe on the front rack and a 200lb buck on the back, and never had a prob crossing a creek! It pulls my Ice hut with 3 guys in it all over lake Simcoe. It dosen't like bitter cold (what machine does?).

My cousin has an Arctic Cat 400 and loves it also has never had a problem other than a lack of power. Like the previous post said he cant go much above 70kmh, however, low speed in the mud he seems to do better than the griz because of the weight difference.


I recommend highly that whatever machine you choose, that it has a Independant rear suspension. It gives you approx 12" ground clearance compared to only 9" for solid axle. Also a much smoother ride...

Hope this helps.......
 
I recommend highly that whatever machine you choose, that it has a Independant rear suspension. It gives you approx 12" ground clearance compared to only 9" for solid axle.
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Of course the ground clearance on a machine with independent rear suspension decreases as you load the machine,unlike a solid rear axle.I have hauled out an entire elk in one load on my rubicon.It is way above the rack limits ,but the machine did the job with no problems.The solid rear axle is also more stable when carrying heavy loads,especially on sidehills.
 
I agree that the heavier the load the less ground clearance, I was just letting yall know what I thought. Side hills dont bother the griz much (it has sway bars) but are a bit tricky on the Cat...:)
 
I've used many different quads in the oilpatch. All have plus's & minus's. In 2003 I bought a new Yamaha Kodiak 450ES and love it. It's got the solid rear axle and pulls moose like nothing. It's got a 2000lb Warn winch up front and about all I'd change is upgrade to a set of larger MudLite tires for getting thru our gumbo/muskeg a bit easier.
 
This is my new toy. 05 king quad. I put 28 inch mudzilla tires (no adjustments needed) on it. The only thing that could be better would be the rack size. The 700 engine has alot of power and is quit fast. I have had it over 100km several times. Fastest was 117 but was going down a hill and on gravel road. Pretty hard to control at that speed. The E F I works great. Bike started easily at -25 C . Really like the diff lock, I had a 94 king quad before 300 c.c. and really liked it to so stuck with the same thing. Had over 7000km when I sold it. Very tough little bike , hope this one will be the same.

 
I own a kawasaki brute force 750 and like it a lot. I also had a 360 and a 650 all are good machines.
 
I have a new 2005 Polaris Sportman 500 H/O that I won last year with a $25.00 ticket through the Wild Sheep Society of BC's ATV draw. :eek:

I've used it for work and hunting this last year and even broke it in by pulling a huge moose out of the bush. :)

Best $25.00 I've spent in a while.....:D
 
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