ATV for hunting

2 ups are terrible for hunting unless you are hunting friendly terrain on decent trails. They just don't travel like a standard single rider machine. The one I looked at was a canam I think.
I ended up buying a new 2012 Yamaha grizzly 550 eps. I ordered it with a 2" suspension lift , traded the fancy aluminum rims and tires for steel rims and the largest size mud lite II tires for the gear ratio (1 size bigger than stock). Also upgraded the snow plow the deal came with and of course the 2500lbs super winch and full size receiver hitch assembly.
At 7 years old it still runs like new and I would not trade it or sell it. I use it for hunting, snow plowing, yard hauling, ice fishing ect.

If I was in the need to move two riders around I would buy 2 used, well maintained older honda 4wheel drive machines.
Side by sides don't interest me at all although I would consider one of I lived in the prairies.
 
We used two-up Polaris 850 machines at work for 5 years, no major problems
They pulled hard but were not raced by apes, so lasted just fine, only issue was melting plastic near the exhaust exaserbated by travelling slow and working hard
Normal clutch and belt wear as expected for working machines, did the front diff housing upgrade on both before any troubles.
Shift linkage was a weak point, keep a spare splined aluminum shift arm handy
Stock shocks were pooched early, easy to upgrade
The two-up was very handy, also a comfortable seat. Longer wheel base has pros and cons to handling, assisted when running tracks in winter
 
Two up limits your choices, big time. Can-AM and Arctic Cat, and I think Polaris had one as well. I just traded a Grizzly with a two up seat, with a kid or small person it was tolerable, two full size adults and you load the rear suspension and lighten the front, making tight and technical trails very hard to maneuver. I have a Yamaha Wolverine side by side now, I am in Ontario and most of the trails I ride can manage the wider machine, and if I know ahead of time the trails are narrow, I ride my old Honda 350, it is bullet proof and has never let us down either.
 
Ive had my fair share of atv's over the years. Im a sucker for trying out different makes every couple years. I try to be non biased when using them. Not only that but certain family members also own a few different atvs so i got a good feel of most of them.

For sport riding and wanting the best response out of any Japanese atv i found the Kawasaki v-twin brute force 750 to be a power house. If your riding in a group and want the top dog this is the one you want. I did find when trail riding long periods it sure is a work out handling the beast without power steering.

The suzuki kingquad 450 was by far my favorite out of the bunch. Plenty power for my type of work and hunting. Large seat, large racks, excellent engine braking and differential lock system. Great on fuel. Never let me down. The Yamaha Kodiak 450 id say is almost the equivalent as the Suzuki but the seat is very small.

The Yamaha grizzly 700 is also worthy to be praised as an all-arounder. Very similar to the the good points mentioned about the Suzuki only that you got abit more power to go with it.

Arctic Cat 500 felt to much like a tank. Large frame and very heavy for a 500cc atv. Sure didn't feel like a 500. Very slow and cumbersome. Still a decent atv that will get the job done.

The honda Fourtrax 450 while having a reliable engine felt like it lacked to much compared to other atv's. Its manual shift or Auto mode felt like having a bad tranny when shifting. The rough shifts would get annoying on the trail when some more power was needed. Got to play around with the rpm to get a good shift in AUTO mode. Could use better ground clearance.

Its bigger brother the Honda 500 Rubicon is a far better machine, better gear and auto system. Very smooth and the way it lays down its power on the trail, mud, or snow, is very impressive for a machine. It rarely bogs down and maintains output very steadily. Also lacks ground clearance but still a solid machine.

Not much experience with Polaris other than my hunting parnter having poured thousands of dollars in repairs and swears he will never buy one again.

This video below is pretty accurate when comparing the Japanese big bores:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5RPHw6Pmao
 
If you want the most reliable get a Honda Foreman 500 with manual shift. I've had a few that I bought VERY USED for cheap from a remote medic company for cheap. All had 10000 plus kms and never had an issue with any of them. They arent the fastest or most powerful but you'll get to where you need to go!
 
I have a Honda 420 and it has never let me down.
Dedicated 2 ups are hard to come by unless you look to CFMoto. They have a large assortment of dedicated 2 up machines. However I don’t know what longevity will be like.

IMHO go Honda and never look back. Folks complain about the transmission but it is gear driven so of course it’s not going to be like the CVT’s that everyone else is running.
I like that I never have to worry about a belt going on me while out on the trail.

Shoot straight - chrisco
 
Like others have said, a 2-up machine will limit you. Adding a 2-up seat to most quads makes for some sketchy handling if you're in rough or steep terrain.

Get 2 good used quads, Honda first choice, Yamaha second, or look at the Honda 500 SxS- it's only 2 inches wider than a standard ATV, it's a 2-seater and fits in a standard pickup box.

Honda 420, 450, 500 Rubicons are your friends, hell, even a pair of old 350s are more than enough for hunting. Won't win any races unless it's for endurance.

My Pioneer 700-4 is nice, even survived turning completely into a submarine in a swamp, but I miss my old 450 with the straight rear axle and manual shift. Absolute tank.
 
If you want a 2-up then Can Am would be your best bet. I've been around all brands and they have the least problems in that category. If you'd consider a single seater then as mentioned a Yamaha or Honda without a doubt. I'd personally go with a Grizzly. They're as tough as a honda. 2-up will be heavier and better for pulling heavy game out if needed.
 
Honda for me, I have an 02 350 2wd mostly daily ranch use approximately 35000km minimal break downs also have a 09 420 Canadian trail edition 4x4 also been a reliable machine 18000km. I wish Honda still sold a 2wd machine in canada so much more nimble in the bush and tight areas and with good tires will go anywhere I need to!
 
Gears/belt

I have 2 Honda, 89,and 2016. Had Yamaha before. For work we use Honda for specific reason, no belt they are pure gear driven. Yamaha is a good 2nd choice since they use a belt but have a proper oil clutch. Avoid the rest since they all use the belt as a clutch and tend to burn out causing loss of drive. Also for hunting you want something with pull or kick start as back up. Most Polaris/artic cat/ and such riders carry , spare battery since there is not back up start.
 
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Shadow_nt1 said:
I have 2 Honda, 89,and 2016. Had Yamaha before. For work we use Honda for specific reason, no belt they are pure gear driven. Yamaha is a good 2nd choice since they use a belt but have a proper oil clutch. Avoid the rest since they all use the belt as a clutch and tend to burn out causing loss of drive. Also for hunting you want something with pull or kick start as back up. Most Polaris/artic cat/ and such riders carry , spare battery since there is not back up start.
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pull start..... this is important and I find it odd that Yamaha didn't include a back up pull start assembly on the grizzly. It has never failed to start out in the field with the electronic ignition but at 2 years old I had to take the 4x4 switch box apart, shim it and reseal it. 100% ever since.
if I was shopping for another atv, I would want something with the option of a back up pull start. Snowmobiles have them so I see the lack of that on my atv as about the only down side.
The 2012 550 has loads of power and decent fuel economy and the selectable lockers are just killer dragging game out of areas with lots of obstacle on the ground.
I do double on my Yamaha but generally only on flat surfaces like ice fishing. Big fines now for double on a standard atv in these parts so ice fishin is about the only time.
my wife wants a 2 seater vehicle for ice fishing so I think I am going to build something custom with tracks and skid steer :)
 
Points of clarification:

2 up. do you mean legal 2 up or just adding a bench to regular atv

a legal 2 up has a longer wheel base and depending were you are you can legally cross rd an drive on shoulders with two riders.
A regular ATV with bench 2 riders can get you a ticket and a long walk.


You are limited in choices with legal 2 up. as mentioned above Polaris and Can-am are main contenders

If you are just adding a bench to a regular ATV

-Honda is #1 reliable and best resale
-Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki tie for 2nd
-Can-am are really fast but aren't cheap
-Arctic cat and Polaris are 1/2 decent value brands

Stay away from anything made in CHINA!!

The biggest issue with used is always, how did the previous owner maintain/ride it?
 
Honda is crap. Unless you like paying lots for parts, riding in reverse for a few miles when the e-shifter craps out (twice in my case and it doesn't have 3k on it). They refused to even reimburse for a recalled part, apparently on the pretense that I replaced it myself and is therefore substandard... I'm happy I didn't pay a dealer a days labour and get hosed that. The resulting backfire on them is I might not even buy a GX engine again (sadly because those are good) and certainly never an outdoor product made by them. Screw me, I report how bad you are to anyone interested on top of that lose thousands in sales to a guy who requires the service of many outdoor products... but since that guy requires reliability and loathes BS...

Any future ATV purchase I'll be looking at Suzuki and Yamaha for sure... and I'm considering a working style SxS for farm use now.
 
Drillbit said:
Great advice.
If you see lots of used ones of the same type for sale, there's a reason.

Hard to find a used one, but a Hydrostatic Honda Rubicon Canadian Trail Edition with Power Steering is a great ATV.

I ride Honda Rincons, but the Ruby is more of a workhorse and the power steering is nice.
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I had one of them and had to walk out of the bush 3 times and was surprised I didn’t light a match to it the last time. Really, Honda’s are great machines but I just got a lemon.

All my buddies have Yamaha’s and I eventually got one and won’t ever go back to anything else.
 
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