Poll: Most Reliable and Best Utility ATV " For My Described Use "

HONDA FTW

It's a joke to even have Polaris and Artic Cat on the same poll as honda

 

what ever you do please please dont go with polaris...

 

my dad has been a motorcycle mechanic mechanic for 17 years and i have also worked with him. polaris's came in all the time, alot of electrical, we have had the least ammount of hondas come in and i personally think they are the best choice.

 

True but Yamaha also makes engines for ford. I think the point he was going for was reliability, not actual association

 

I looked at the poll options and the first two that stood out to me were the Yamaha and the Honda. I chose Honda. However, I found it funny after selecting Honda to see that Yamaha and Honda were both top 2.

I still need to adjust the valves on my Rubicon... hmm

I think you'll be happy with either.

Good luck!

 

I bought a 2009 Rancher AT 4x4 back in 2009. It's awesome.

I have had to replace a CV boot and change the oil, that is it. I drowned it once too. After some draining on the trail (not the oil, just water from the cylinder and the exhaust), she fired right back up.

I find it great to ride and easy to work on. I changed the tires to Mud-Lites, the factory tires do not compare.

Ground clearance is limited compared to other bikes, but the IRS on the 09 helps over the solid axle (experienced this on my last ride when a solid axle Honda in front of me kept getting hung up on an obstacle due to his rear diff).

I use mine for trail riding, I have revved it hard in mud crossings and water holes, and have had the machine up to 52 mph, so it's not babied. I just keep up on the regular maintenance.

I have always heard good things about Honda reliability in motorsports, and can recommend their product first hand.

 

not on the list but a brute force 750 efi i love mine

 

I'm not an owner of one, but this topic has come up numerous times on Ar15.com (spend all my time there) and the consensus is Honda is the most reliable. Other brands make good products to, but they usually excel in certain areas, like being the fastest, most fun, etc.

There are many guys who work at dealerships that have chimed in on the subject over there and Polaris seems to get poor reviews as far as maintenance goes. Lots of jokes about them keeping multi-line dealers in business with them being 20% of the sales and 90% of the service. Again, I'm not bashing them, just an observation from numerous threads on this.

Can-Am seems to be the hot rods of the ATV world, and also not the best as far as straight up reliability. Yamaha gets decent reviews and I don't know a lot about them, but Arctic Cat seems to get pretty good reviews as well. Heard they are built like tanks, but dealers are not as abundant as all the Jap rides.

Good Luck with your search.

 

Im going to have to go with the Polaris 800 just because thats what ive had the most experience with. The ride is really plush on sportsmans and they have enough power to get through almost any situation. Honestly they are beasts. It might be hard to find one in your price range though.

 

my parents have owned and i've rode honda and yamaha and I would choose either of these over any other brand but yamaha being my favorite. grizzly ftw

 

i said honda not just b/c we have 2 honda atvs. but b/c i think thats what would fit best or the grizzly. we have a rhino too. are '03 recon all we have had to do is oil air filter brakes tires, just but new battery in, in aug '10. only think that has ever gone bad was a Electric shift censer. are '04 rancher we got used in 08 only thing ever wrong with it was when we got water in the engine from mudding. agin just oil air filter. has over 1600 miles on it. other owner only put like 75h and 642 miles on it. rhino 700 great engine! over 60h and and right at 500 miles not even one oil change yet not do till 75h or 1500 miles. thats the same exact engine at the grizzly 700, only did is gearing. so i'll will saw get honda or a grizzly!

 

oh. and i have talked to alot of ppl and that say polaris take allot of work to keep running. and no of some that had one it was in shop more than he ever saw it.and we have done valves about every other year on the honda atvs.

 

Honda's are bulletproof and extremely reliable, but their big bore line lacks power, diff lock and a low end. I find them uncomfortable and they have crap for ground clearance. I know a lot of Honda fans swear by the hydraulic transmission, but I think that is the power robber on its big bore.

There's many advantages to a CVT clutch and they are easy to modify to your riding style.

The Grizzly is my favorite and I own one. It has a real diff lock, not a visco locker and a low end. It doesn't have the power of Can Am, Kawi, or even the Po-Po's but it is extremely capable in all aspects of travel. I've road it in mud flats in Iowa, the creek beds of Nemo, SD, the washes and sandstone of Moab, UT and many other places and never been let down.

It has 1,100 hard, trouble free miles on it and I would buy another in a heart beat.



Mods

Mad Mikes Machined Clutch Mods 2&3
Orange Secondary Spring
Fuel Settings Pod Mod
K&N Filter
Ricochet Skid Plates
Rocksliderzz
2R Traction Rails and Extended Footpegs
Interco Radial Reptile 26x9F-26x11R
ITP SS 108 Wheels
1" Wheel Spacers
OEM HD Bumper
Rox 3.5" Risers
Fly C/R High Handlebars
Vipermax 3000 w/amsteel blue rope
10" Rigid Industries LED Lightbar

 

Ok, I have experience with Polaris, Yamaha, and Honda... and all of ours get ranched. HARD.

Only have one Yamaha, a 94 Moto 4 its old but NEVER had it not start and run. The odometer quit working long ago, but saying it only has 30k on it is a low low figure. Its only 2wd, but have some really grippy tires on it and its never been stuck, and has also drug some 1000 lb dead animals. It is parked now because it needs a little carb work, seals are worn.

We have mainly Honda's. They are not at all comfortable to ride, in fact riding one all day will damn near kill me, and I'm not even 30 yet. But we have one 02 Foreman with almost 15K miles on it and almost 2k hours.. no maintainence other than oil changes, brakes, and tires. We have foremans, fourtraxs, and ranchers only, but all are oil cooled and have a pull start. So if you battery fails, you can still use them, no worries of overheating like a liquid cooled one.

The Polaris is an 06 Sportsman 700 EFI that I picked up for $800 because its owner was good about oil changes and nothing else. I had to replace an axle, u joints, bushings, all the fluids, but really nothing hard or expensive. This thing has 10k miles and 1k hours on it. It is my favorite to drive, because the ride is incredibly smooth. It will also go where the Honda's won't, because not only does it have more clearance because it sits higher, but it is true AWD, versus basically 3 wheel drive in the Honda's. It pulls better also, because it has a low range, which our Honda's don't have. BUT I can see it will need more maintaining, because there are more moving parts, therefore more wear. I don't know about other fuel injected ATVs, but this thing will read its own CEL and tell you what it needs. A nice feature.

Honestly, my opinion is if you plan to keep it forever, get a Honda, hands down. If you are ok with trading in every few years, get a Sportsman... otherwise you will have a little mechanicing to do from time to time, but probably nothing terribly difficult. The Sportsman will tow better, and make your butt feel alot better, the Honda will be nearly maintenance free.

For you since you will be towing, whatever you get, make sure you have a low range... but not sure if that is available at all in a Honda?

 

I have the Yamaha Grizzly, No problems at all. solid machine. I looked at all of them back in 09 and the Yahama was the best deal. Don't get me wrong the Honda is a sweet ride too, but at the time they cost a lot more $$
When I purchased my Grizzly I also got the plow package, and let me tell you this past winter it was well worth it, that thing has had a work out.

 

1999 grizzly...3600 hard kms on her...lots of hard plowing.....owned since new...super reliable

 

Every wheeler has its strong points and week points. If its maintained properly each one will most likely be trouble free. You can't listen to the negative posts. You don't know why that wheeler breaks down all the time just like you don't know how it was maintained or ridden.

I own a 04 Polaris 500 with 6,100 miles. I ride it hard but I also take care of it. I ride mud, water, trails and do some light work with it also. It has been very reliable. As far as the belt slipping and wearing out all the time, I've never had a problem. I have over sized tires and have taken many dead stop drags and climbed many hills and never once felt it slip. Not saying you should buy a Polaris just letting you know there not bad. I've also owned a 86 Honda 250, 01 Honda Foreman ES, 00 Polaris 500, and 04 Polaris 700.

Every wheeler you have listed would be just fine. You should test each one (friends, brand new one, etc) and decide which one from there.

 

I've been a motorcycle mechanic for 10+ years and I would go with the Yamaha Grizzly 700. I think Honda has taken a step back with it's electronic shifting and other electronic bs. We frequently have newer Honda models in the shop for shifting/digital display problems. I agree Honda's engines are pretty reliable but if you do go red, get a plain jane model without the esp crap. I'm a big Kawasaki sportbike fan but the brute force has major oil pump problems and would stay away from them. Everyone who said Polaris is a joke is 100% correct! Constant problems with belts, electrical, CV axles, etc. And Arctic cat is just horrible. The Yamaha Grizzly definitely has more power than the honda 680 rincon.

 

Dont know if the op is still looking.

I have owned all brands. Yamaha Big Bear, Suzuki Eiger, Honda Foreman, Polaris Sportsman, Kawasaki Brute Force.

Yamaha never broke down, but the outside was junk. Fenders cracked, seat was tore up, headlights didnt work after about 3 years, play in the handlebars, but it ran and i never did anything to it. It was a 97 model. My parents still use it today.

I have a Suzuki Eiger 04 model. It has been through anything and everything you could imagine. Buried over the racks in mud and water, been on a 90 mile ride over everything from grass, sand, dirt, pavement, mud, you name it. Numerous times. It has never failed me once.

The polaris I had was pure junk. Took it through the same things as my Eiger, it wouldnt do stream crossing very well, the belt kept slipping. It wanted to tip over easier, because it had higher ground clearance. I just didnt feel safe on it.

The kawasaki was a beast, but it was too big for my needs. Plenty of power, it was an auto, never had trouble, but it was just too big for me.

And that brings me to the Honda. This thing is a beast. I dont even think i've changed the brakes on it and its a 99 model. Its held up to everything i threw at it.

My next one if i ever need another one will either be a Honda or Suzuki. They dont make the eiger anymore, but i think the king quad is the same thing, just not as reliable. My opinon, Honda/Suzuki. I'd have to evaluate the price difference and all the "extra" features of the new ones. Me personally, i like no power steering and manual shift. hard to find anymore though.