Which atv to buy

Stubble there may have been a few issues with there bikes like any company but for the amount of them out there now they seem to be holding there own and as far as offroad mags and atv critics are concerned the top of the food chain , and no I wouldnt own 1 either
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Most manufacturers have some issues,but few of these issues are as severe as broken frames.And yes the outlander is a great performing quad,but until a few years have gone by with no more broken frames,I won't be buying one.
 
powder burner said:
If I recall correctly the 300 and 250 suzuki were the first ones with the locker.

Everything seemed to get really big really fast. I guess they thought it was a wise decision to replace it with the suzuki eiger.(strange name, whats a eiger:confused: )

I understand what you mean when you say the 300 can still do everything from chores to hunting. They're a good bike.
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The old King Quad just got left in the dust in the displacement wars. It is a small bike- rough ride, but one of the most versatile and feature-packed ATV's of it's day. But, now my 650 AC is considered middle of the road in terms of cc's. I remember when a 350 was a monster.

If memory serves, the Eiger is a peak in the Swiss (?) Alps...
 
The Eiger is a peak in the Swiss Alps. There is a good book on mountaineering called Eiger Dreams, by John Krakauer (sp?) IIRC.

I checked out some quads today and quite frankly I was impressed by the Yamaha Bruin 350 4x4. Sure it doesn't have locking diff, but in reality, I doubt I'll ever need one. I am never going to fjord 2.5' of water, so I am not too worried about getting water on the drive belt. At $6500 it seems like one of the best deals out there for a quad that can get the job done.
 
BTW - what about the John Deere quads? I saw some pretty decent deals on those too. The TB650 for $7999 sounds like a decent enough value.
 
1899 the advantage the 500 class quads have over the 350's is that you can turn agresive 27" tires. This causes them to be a very big step up in what they will do. When talking 4x4ing the tires make a bigger diference than anything else. Aftermarket tires are an absolute must and you have to match the tires to your riding stlye and terain.

For you Honda Rubicon. It is a very stable quad (even with larger tires put on) that is problably going to make a bigger difference than anything else.
If you buy a tippy quad you will have to buy spacer kits to widen the stance of any quad to incresese stability.
 
1899 the advantage the 500 class quads have over the 350's is that you can turn agresive 27" tires. This causes them to be a very big step up in what they will do. When talking 4x4ing the tires make a bigger diference than anything else. Aftermarket tires are an absolute must and you have to match the tires to your riding stlye and terain.

For you Honda Rubicon. It is a very stable quad (even with larger tires put on) that is problably going to make a bigger difference than anything else.
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It is very true that tires are much more of a factor than most people think.I won't even take delivery of a quad with factory tires.I had 25" goodyear mudrunners on my 350 honda,and it is amazing at how much more it would go through than the same quad with stock tires.It even goes places that machines with the locking front differential have problems with,if they are using lesser tires.My rubicon has 26" gators all around and they are also a very good tire,and very reasonably priced,though I do believe that the mudrunners are a bit better in deep mud or muskeg.The aftermarket tires are also much more durable and don't tear or puncture near as easily.My dealer keeps the factory tires,and gives me a credit towards the replacements,and many dealers do the same.
 
We have one of the John Deere quads. Yes it is a Bombardier but only the Traxter models that Bombardier doesn't sell under its own name anymore.

If you want a real workhorse then this is the one. Its not really a sport machine. It was often refered to as the Truckster. It is like the 1-ton pickup of quads. We have the 500cc with all gear drive and manual/autoshift transmission.

It weighs in at over 760 lbs, so don't get it stuck, but the loaded model comes with a winch. That said, it will outpull almost any other quad. We have a 5' plow on it and even deep wet snow doesn't slow it down. I have chains but never used them.

Reliability is supposed to be great, we have had no problems, parts are available everywhere there is a Bombardier dealer.

Consider it if you are going to be doing more work than play.
 
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Gerald said:
Can someone offer their opinion on why Suzuki stopped making the 300 KING QUAD? I have a 2004 model and it seems like a reliable, simple quad. I don't trail ride or abuse it really bad but it has all the power I need for moose and deer hunting.
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There's a simple answer to that question.
COST...the King was an expensive bike to produce with all the joints & one piece tranny..motor.
The Egor on the other hand is probably the cheapest bike in the class to produce & purchase, while it is a solid bilt bike it deff lacks the suspension refinements, diff lock & other features the other mid sizers have.
 
Originally Posted by senior
Suzuki 400 Egor (smile) is the best bang for the buck.
Nothing beats it FOR THE $$$$
It lacks a lot of features like locking diff, IRS, good suspension but has the required low range to utililize it as a utility bike.
Best bike In my opinion NO
Best for the $$$ absolutly!


1899 said:
How does it compare tp the Yamaha Bruin 350 4x4? The Eiger is actually a 376cc bike, so engine sizes are very similar, but the Bruin's MSRP is $500 less.
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The Bruin is a great bike for the $$. It rides better than the Egor. The Egor does have liquid collong & a low range if you intend to work the bike pulling heavy loads or..

To the other fellow that comented on upgrading from the Egor to a Honda
:confused:
Personally in the 400-450 class I see NO upgrade?? Other than increased cost I see no better suspension, no better tranny, & no low range makes it a step down in my mind!
 
well I promised some video footage of the bomb playing in mud, I have 2 video clips here the first 1 is my bogger, a 1987 f250 on a 1980 chasis with 38.5" tsl super swamper tires and 7" of lift pushed by a 408 big block the quad seat sits about were my rockers are in height comparison :) , the second video is my brother on the bomb following my rutts haha

the bogger:
http://www3.telus.net/bonez/Rob_cheslatta_mud1.WMV

the follower:
http://www3.telus.net/bonez/Matt_Yaya_CheslattaMud2.WMV

I also have footage of the yamaha grizz, yamaha yzf450, honda trx250r, yamaha big bear 350 and a 660 raptor playing but the files are to big for my server, I dont think it matters what you buy nowadays as long as your happy with it , they all go in the mud and ruff terrain, 1 thing I did notice was my buddy just picked up a arctic cat 400 and I sure dont care for the new fuel tank location, being under the back of the seat and the fuel cell exposed to sharp objects in reverse and the fuel cap being on the rear fender , but the quad does go like snot through a 3 year olds nose haha
 
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I have a suggestion. Maybe we should have a new section titled ATV's, chores and hunting with ATV's.

It would make this forum even better that it already is.
 
Cat fuel tank under the seat is a bloody good idea with 10" of suspension travel and 12" of ground clearance stock. It holds 5.4 G Imp.- lot of weight if it was all up between your knees. I have yet to hear of one being damaged by foreign objects.
 
well like I said , I didnt care for the idea atall, I would rather be 400 miles from no were with a broken frame and haywire than 400 miles away and no fuel tank , everyone has a different use for the machines and the beauty of it is the companies will just keep building more for us to debate over :)
 
I have a Polaris Sportsman 400. I paid $7350 for it. It has seen 1200 hard miles so far and yet to hick-up.

I would buy another. But if Yamaha would price match with polaris I would buy one, but the Kodiak is just not $3000 better than my Polaris.




Oh yeah, if you think not having the front locker is no big deal.....dont worry you will change your mind when you are walking back to the truck.
 
gth said:
IOh yeah, if you think not having the front locker is no big deal.....dont worry you will change your mind when you are walking back to the truck.
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Agreed. I won't go back to a machine without a locker. Although, generally, I never had trouble with my Hondas- I just went an easier way than I do now. Maybe even got stuck less with them because I didn't try and tackle near as much. But- when there are lots of machines with them for the same money, why not?
 
Well here we go again, the what quad is best thread, new one every few months :rolleyes:


I'll just say what I always say, HONDA, and for soooo many reasons, but a picture is worth 1000 words so enjoy



quadload.jpg
 
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