ATV/Quad Help Info.

I'm in the market for two ATV's. The problem is that I know very little about them. I'm looking for a used one with low mileage and a new one. Its for trail riding with my wife/kids and some work around the yard. One must have a winch. It must be able to handle Canadian winters. I'm pro Yamaha and Honda because I've owned their bikes/cars and my experience has been very memorable.

Pls. tell me what I should look for, what not to buy and stay away from etc. Are they easy to maintain and user serviceable? Do they have electronics to haunt me for the rest of my life? Any advise would be appreciated. I want the Taco of ATV's . Thank you for your help.

 

for work and all...........yamaha grizzly or honda foreman 4x4...and install a winch. for fun on the trail......honda rancher or 400 ex.

 

I had a Yamaha Kodiak 450. It was great out in the woods, just the right size, not too big but not too small. Also was a great workhouse around the house. I sold it with my old place because my new home was in the city & not close to the trails or needed for plowing. I would buy another in an heartbeat for no mechanical issue other than normal maintenance. I picked a small yami dealer out of town who been in the biz since he was a kid (got the shop from his dad). The guy was so informative and ended up selling me a leftover which saved cash.

 

What makes you say that? Did you own them?

 

no....i have never owned either of them, but i have ridden quite a few and worked on some also. the tamaha and honda i mentioned will hold a winch nicely if equipped right, and their 4x4 systems are very nice too. the honda rancher and 400ex are just fun as hell to ride...pretty quick too. something else to look at.....the can-am outlander.(they used to be bombardier).......we sold quite a few of those when they were bombardier and they were always top pics for a good riding atv.

 

For trails and just for fun, the 400 ex is a good beginner bike, and it rides pretty smooth too. Thats what my mom rides, and my girlfriend prefers to ride the 400 ex over my YFZ450..

 

those yfz450's are sweet as hell!!!

 

it's fast as hell too...that's why the girls wont ride it

 

I don't know jack about the utility bikes though, can't help you there..

 

if you want somthing simple, reliable and thats not gonna kill your pocket and be simple to maintain then i'd look at the Honda Rancher 350 or forman 450. They're just good old fashoned air cooled motors and as long as you keep fresh oil in them they'll run forever. They've been around for some time and you should be able to find one for a good deal. if you go a little newer, check out the 500 Forman that came out a few years back. The 650/680 Rincon is a very good ATV but leans a little more towards trail riding and sporty 4x4 riding then hard work. We've personally owned 8 honda ATV's and never had any major failures or complaints about them.

If you stick to quads a few years old then you'll stay with the simple carbuerated models; many newer ATV's are going the EFI route so they have some complicated electronics on them.

Stay away from the older Polaris ATV's (and most others for that matter), they're just heavy and have some faults. They are known to have the worst CVT tranny's in ATVing among other things.

The Yamaha Kodiaks (400 or 450) and Grizzly's (660 or 700) are decent ATV's but they're a bit tall and narrow so somtimes they might not feel real surefooted on offcamber situations and on sidehills. their CVT transmissions are some of the best in ATVing but the belts still are succeptable to heat and wear and moisture getting in and causing them to slip.

The Suzuki Eiger 400 or Vinson 500 might be a good match for you, they've both proven reliable and easy to maintain over the years they've been out. They're also both available with a hi-low range CVT or a semi-auto tranny (auto clutch 5 speed).

The Bombardier/ BRP/ Can Am(they've switched names many a time over the last 5 years) Outlander's have been a very well performing ATV and are designed in Canada. They are available in 330, 400 and now the newer ones come in 500, 650 and 800 V-twin configurations. These are some of the sporty-est utility ATV's you can buy yet they can still work with the best of them. Their visco-loc front diffs will automatially lock when it senses slip in 4x4 mode.

The Kawasaki Prarie 360 can be a good choice mid size ATV also. It has a simple air cooled motor connected to a hi-low CVT tranny and the selectable 4x4 also includes a variable locking front differential. If you want more power, the Prarie is also available with a 650 or 700 V-twin and are very powerful ATV's.

All of these ATVs can be fitted with the usual winch or snow plow or any other accessory you may want. These are the ATVs that are a few years old which should make them relatively affordable and have some of the newer designs and good performance without being overly complicated.

If you want to ask me any other questions on ATVs, feel free. i have subscribed to 6 ATV magazines for the last 6 years which i've studied, read and re-read so i know ATV's quite well.

 

^^ he aint kiddin

 

heres some more info. this is the response i typed in reply to a PM from THEMASTER.
here ya go:
For fuel consumption, the Honda's seem to be the best from the shoot outs and tests i've read. This is probably due to the fact that honda doesnt use CVT transmissions that rev the motor higher than you normally would with a 5 speed.
the Honda's have all been around since at least 2001-2003 all the way up to present. they really haven't had a bad year on any of them that i know of so really any year that you find should be a good ATV, just look for abuse. Know that the Honda's come in 5speed auto clutch transmissions that you need to shift they come in a standard foot shift and also ESP(electronic shift program) where you simply push up/down buttons on the left handle bar to shift. i had 2 ES hondas (2002 Recon 250 and a 2002 Rancher 350 4x4) and never had a problem with the system after over 2500 miles on each of them. The Forman Rubicon 500 uses a fluid driven transmission that takes more motor oil on oil changes(they share so use only Honda oil in it) but is very smooth and can be put into 2 auto 'shift' modes, one for power and one for torque/ fuel economy, or in ESP where you can 'shift' through preset 'gears' (ie different valving in the tranny). my dad ran a Rubicon 2700 miles with no problems. the 650/680 Rincon's use a 3 speed torque converter transmission that can shift automatically or manualy with the push buttons. we've owned 2 of these, both 2003's and mine had 1800 miles on it when my dad bought it from me(then totaled it the following summer in idaho) and my mom still has one that now has roughly 1000 miles on it and it runs like new. The ES model ranchers and 450 foremans come with a digital dash that is very useful whereas the foot shifted ones dont. It's standard on the Rubicon and Rincon. All 4x4 hondas use full time 4wheel drive except for the 2003+ model years. If you want an exceptionally smooth ride, the Rincon's independent rear suspension is unsurpassed by any atv in the industry, even 5 years after being introduced. the newer 680 Rincon has EFI which can be both good and bad.
The Rancher 400 AT(automatic) uses a slimmed down and simplified version of the rubicon's transmission and i'd highly reccomend it if you want a midsize atv with an auto tranny. The newer 420 EFI Ranchers are the top rated midsize ATV but havent been out many years(2007+ i believe) so finding a used one for a low price would be hard.
Liquid cooling is actually a good thing but makes them a little more complicated. Of the three brands, these are the liquid cooled models: Rancher 400 AT, Rubicon 500, Rincon 650/680, Yamaha Kodiak 400/450 and Grizzly 660/700's, Suzuki Vinson and Kingquad 700/750.

a few things that i would look for on any atv when looking at a used one would be:

-Worn out tires- they're about $250+ to replace. if the atv has some larger highly agressive mud tires, remember they'll ride rougher on the trail, wear faster and can give insight to what the owner put the machine through.
-bent wheels, hubs, handle bars, steering stem or racks. these can tell you if the machine has been rolled hard, once or more times this can also lead to bent frames, etc. so make sure it rides straight if its a good deal and you still look at it. My dad bought a 2001 Yamaha Kodiak after it had been rolled badly with only 20 miles on it and the owner didnt want it. we got it for $2500(new it was 6100) and fixed what we saw on it for about $500. it never rode right and then the yamaha dealer started taking measurements and it had a bent frame.
-Rust. nobody likes it and if its at the welds it may signify there has been excessive load on the joint from abuse or hard work, maybe even from an accident.
-listen for excessive valve tick. a valve adjustment may be necessary if you hear it and they run about 2 hours of dealer service charges at $50-75 an hour.
-CV axle boots. a torn one can mean the cv joint may be shot which is about a $250 fix, just replacing the boot isn't too big of a deal if it was a recent tear. i had to do some of these when big sticks got caught in my a-arms and weren't removed, 'stick stopper' a-arm guards will almost completely solve this on all atvs for less than 50 bucks and a half hour install.
-mud staining or corrosion on engine or differentials- if its stained then the atv has seen some fairly hard mudding or the owner rarely cleaned the machine, not good for bearings or brakes.
-if you can, ride it and see how the brakes feel, make sure they are able to stop the machine quickly or my may need to bleed the brakes or buy new shoes(hondas run triple sealed drum brakes but after neglect they may need some work- pretty easy to adjust in about 15 min though)
-check the oil on them- if its low or black, i'd think about the posibilty of buying that one it a little more
check out http://www.atvtraderonline.com/ and Craigslist.com
lots of info, hope it helps and isnt too confusing. feel free to ask any other questions.
-Eric.

 

this is my bruteforce 650 i 4x4 it comes in straight rear axle or 4 wheel independent suspension. mine is the independent rear susp. its an animal i absolutely love it.it also has a v-twin engine. by brother has a 660 grizzly which is nice too. not quite as fast as mine but a good bike.

 

You need to go with what the local dealer offer's polaris, yam, hon,etc there all about the same for what you want to do you just need to be able to have it serviced with out having to drive 50 mile's or more.

 

i own a 660 grizzly. been happy with it.

over the years (been riding since i was five) i've had several different bikes, mainly Suzukis.

my advice:

most all the big name manufacturers build quality bikes these days, so trying to find the best depends on many factors, depending on whats best for you.

don't buy used from younger folks...they've ran the piss out of it, no matter what they tell you. i know i do mine every time i get it out

if the seller is familiar with how to change the oil & filter they have probably cared for the bike well.

look at the air filter. if it's clean, this is another good indicator of regular maintenance.

stay away from bikes that have been modified( exhast, big tires, etc.). stock will run forever if you take care of it. plus, if you want mods...you should pick them yourself.

if it has a solid axle in rear, be sure to check the carrier bearings. you can do this by mounting the quad and kindof leaning back & forth while standing. you will feel play in the rear axle if the bearings are bad.

just some general guidelines...my best advice would be to take your time, and do some research...not just ATV mags...get on the forums to get "real" information. try to ride as many as you can (dealer's, buddy's) to get an idea of what you like before you buy.

one last thing--i've never owned a Honda ATV, but i have seen them take the absolute most abuse possible and come back for more. IMO, they are the toughest and most reliable of them all.