Buying an ATV

[el unit]

We use Honda Foremans and Ranchers- mid- 90's and brand new models. They are awesome, reliable, and workhorse machines.

 

[skyfire]

I looked at Honda when making my ATV purchase. Definitely felt one couldn’t go wrong with a Honda. I ended up choosing a couple Can-Am Outlanders. They’ve been great and I have no regrets.

 

[BearFoot]

Whatever you decide it will be awesome!

We ride often. Camping, exploring, hunting, haul firewood and other chores. There are many ATV's in Alaska. I've rolled and watch friends roll machines over, and a couple of buddies, rolled several hundred yards down hills. Really sucks! I've floated down river more than I'd like, and assisted in the recovery of a number submerged wheelers. Rode with a lot of brands. A lot of good equipment being produced these days.

I have owned,
Honda 3 wheelers, I've had two, Before 4 wheelers came out. Had one set up to pull a trailer.
Suzuki King Quads, I've had two, great machines. Low gearing made up for bad brakes. Loved those beasts.
Bombardier Traxter. Still have it, a beast. Little to no maintenance.
Polaris Big Boss 6x6, owned three. Still have one. Six wheels are better than four. The most maintenance, belts, bushings, but a beast.
Yamaha grizz, the kid has one. Very impressive, little maintenance and gets rode hard, he bought it used. Great machine. Blows me away the abuse it handles.
Yamaha Wolverine Side X Side, new this past spring, so far, an impressive 4 seat hog.

In my travels through remote Alaska, Honda is King in the villages. Always a bunch parked in front of the schools, each day.

Every rig has it purpose and ones expectations. I've been looking at Rokon. Think it would complement the moose buggy.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Get ya a honda pioneer 500 leftover model. You wont be sorry.

 

[Mallardsx2]

https://www.atvtrader.com/listing/2018-Honda-Pioneer-500-5011439270

Best money youll spend on a side by side. Know that.

 

[dsinwi]

Honda and Yamaha are probably the 2 top brands out there. CanAm makes a good product if you want to spend a bit more. I've had\have both Honda and Yamaha. My current atv is a Yamaha 700 Grizzly. I believe a 2008. I use it to drag deer, till food plots and plow snow. I've trail ridden with it some. I've done nothing to it but change fluids and put gas in it. I have a Yamaha dealer nearby and had it into them this past summer for a check up. Said it needed a new plug. I put after market ITP tires on it since I have some wet ground I need to cross from time to time. They make a world of difference. Its failed to start once when left out in sub zero temps overnight while ice fishing. I'd probably get a block heater for it if I made a habit of that.

I have friends who have Suzukis, Cats, and Polaris. They like them too.

 

[tzone]

yanno....you could always sell one...

Realistically,

If you can come up with $1500-1800 US Cash Dollars, you should be able to find a decent used quad. It will be old, but you can get them reliable still. My Honda Foreman is a no frills, full time 4x4, foot shift, tank built for the work/woods. We pretty much have it set up for ice fishing and use the newer one for riding.

 

[tzone]

I have a Suzuki 2004 eiger 400 with no issues. Just bought a new 2019 Suzuki king quad 750 to use this fall. Little more power to haul moose and elk out of the bush

Awesome machines!

 

[88man]

Honda> I have my Rubicon 13years and changed oil and put tires & shocks on it. Thats it. Plow snow with it/ pull food plot implements/spreaders/sprayers etc.

 

[Ridgerunner6901]

If you aim to keep it a long time and dont enjoy working on it constantly it ought to say Honda on the side. Second choices would be a tie between Yamaha and Kawasaki.

 

[noharleyyet]

Polaris and Can am are what we've owned...Can Am currently

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Lots of good recommendations here but what I haven't saw mentioned is make sure you have a good dealer local for that brand. ATV's are going to break down, nature of the beast and how we abuse them.

I own Polaris have have been happy with both my machines (sportsman and ranger) but i only chose that brand as my local Polaris dealer has outstanding customer service.

 

[beagle001]

We have a 2003 Honda Rancher that has been beat to Hell and back. This thing survived my teenage years and did more jumps and burnouts and flips than I care to admit. Only thing we’ve done is a couple starters, shift plate and a few other minor maintenance related things.

My wife and I just bought a CF Moto side by side, and their fourwheelers get pretty good reviews. Might be worth taking a look at.

 

[widnert]

In the market for a basic 4x4 ATV. My primarily use will mostly be hunting and exploring spots around SW MT. I’ve been looking at the Honda Foreman & Rancher as of now. Curious as to what other members are using?

Thanks,

Your profile shows you're in SW Montana. You say you want to use the machine for hunting and exploring around MT. Honda's are good and reliable however, you should focus on the higher models rather than the Foreman or Rancher. Those two (I believe) are still made with solid rear axles and are smaller cc engines. You are really going to want independent suspension on all four corners to ride the trails around here. It will make it much more enjoyable. IMO - Polaris makes just about the best machines for this area. Can-Ams are great as well but, slightly narrower, which translates into a bit of adrenaline in those off-camber situations. Arctic Cat are great machines as well but, I always felt they were a bit under powered for their stated engine size. The rest are behind these three. Again, my opinion from "some" experience with many ATVs.

As stated above, power steering is pretty much a must-have. Polaris' 4WD and hill-decent control is the best of all I have ridden. One more thing to look for, don't get an under-sized machine. If you're a full-grown man and riding at elevation, you're going to want at minimum a 700 cc engine. That might not even be acceptable if you throw on a kid or equipment. I personally ride an 850. I use it hunting, trail riding, fishing mountain lakes, working around, etc. I'm 6'4" and 280 and this is what I've found works best for me. If it says 400 or 500 cc, just pass it by. You will not be happy with it once you get on the trails. Once more, my opinions. Others may have different experiences. I tend to try to get the best all around performance for my bucks.

To address the comments about longevity, it's all in the maintenance and how you ride. If you abuse it, expect to be buying parts. If you never change the oil, well.... I'm a stickler with all my machines and only ever took one to the shop for a failure. A Can-Am 850 that dropped a valve after 15k miles. Otherwise, just routine maintenance - belts, oil, grease. If you take care of them, all the big brands should run for years for you.

 

[8andcounting]

Abs

https://www.atvtrader.com/listing/2018-Honda-Pioneer-500-5008974698

Best money youll spend on a side by side. Know that.

Absolute junk . Shifting will rock you out of the cab . Cabs tight , the box (if u pay extra for it to add it ) is a small pos ..... I’m a Honda lover , there 4 wheelers are second to none but the pioneer is a piece of shit. Ranger is ten times the machine and again I love Honda and always hated Polaris but I now own a ranger the ride and comfort and size of box are second to none

 

[barefooter19]

In 2003 I bought a brand new Honda Foreman 450ES and can honestly say that it is one of the most trouble free things I have ever owned ! It has 3700 miles on it and all you need to do to it is put the key in and go..It plows snow like a truck, goes anywhere. Since new I’ve had to put tires on it, one battery and I service it using Honda oil and filters.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I have a couple of additional thoughts after reading some posts here.

Power Steering, For my uses, I personally don't like it. I do travel some actual roads as well as trails. You don't get great feedback with power steering. It's also something else to break. I like simple. However, if you spend lots of time on rough trails or not even on a trail, that power steering is going to soak up lots of the bumps and not wear out the rider as much. It really depends on how you are going to use it. Mine actually doesn't spend all that much time on rough trails or off trail. Most of the time it is, it's moving a stand or pulling a deer out.... otherwise I'm walking in those places. The feedback of manual steering helps me not drive too fast for the bike.

Honda's Electronic Shift Programming, I've had two bikes with it. I've not had problems with it. My FnL has, but it can be diagnosed and fixed. It is added complexity, but I like the system fine. I'd probably get a manual shift if buying new, but if I'm buying used, I wouldn't be picky unless it was easy to be.

Solid Rear Axle vs IRS, kinda goes the same with the Power Steering. The solid axle is stronger and simpler, the IRS will soak up the bumps. The Rancher and above can be had with IRS. For me, the solid axle is better.

 

[WHOCARES]

Owned several Polaris. They were good. Can Am now. Best ride out there.

 

[Stay Sharp]

I purchased a Polaris Sportsman 570 which means I also needed to buy a trailer so I bought a 5 x 8 with a built in Ramp. Both needed some modifications to suit my particular needs.

The trailer did not come with a spare tire so I picked one up when I got the stuff for modifying the trailer.

The before.

And the after.

Hooks to tie a top down with.

I added a holder and some security for the spare.

Thompson's water seal on the wood. I also picked up a ball hitch so I can pull the trailer.

So far so good.

The added weight makes the tongue much heavier so I picked up a trailer jack and other stuff.

I added a whole lot more grommets to the edge of the canvas (not poly) tarp.

Since its real canvas I soaked it with 2 cans of silicone. I also added small ropes to each grommet.

 

[Stay Sharp]

I dont want sag in the canvas as water will build up and destroy it. I added one additional row of wood to the front of the trailer and cut it to roughly a 2-12 pitch and used the hooks along the side to create a ridge and rafters made of rope. This pitch and the silicone will shed water well.

I will seal up the front corners to keep tire splash water from entering.

There is a lot of storage in the front. I got a 15 foot cable (security) and I sewed a hook and a loop to the ends of 25 feet of towing webbing.