The perfect ATV setup

[perma]

Honestly if it's a road that can fit a big sxs then get a used compact pickup, put a winch on it and it will have a lot of benefits over a sxs.
1 cost
2 has heat/ cab
3 quiet
4 can haul more
5 can jump from trail to trail without trailering.
6 less tempting to drive all over hell for no reason

If it's a atv trail then don't take a sxs or pickup down it you will need a 4wheeler or dirt bike.

You need a motor vehicle use map for the area.

My arsenal is
3 horses
1 honda rincon
1 yamaha tw200
1 nissan frontier
The yamaha and honda hardly ever go hunting

I did underutilize my winch. Maybe that was half of my issue.

 

[npaden]

I have the Rzr 570 trail that I use occasionally for hunting. It goes on the 50” trails and can haul a lot and 2 people can ride comfortably in it.

I have had 2 different Yamaha Grizzly 450 4x4 ATVs that have both been rock solid. Sold the first one with 10,000+ miles on it (I got it used with most of those miles on it) and the one I have now has like 4,000 miles on it. They are kind of an in between the small 2wd and the big heavy 800 and 1,000cc ones. I can pick up the front or back and move it around if I need to but it’s going to take more than one guy to get it out of a hole.

I just bought a Honda Pioneer 1000-5 that is going to be a good worker for me when I don’t need to worry about the 50” limit for a trail. It is going to be nice to be able to fit 5 people in it if I want to show people around my place in Colorado and the folks down back seats make a nice cargo carrying machine with a dump bed.

I also have a Husqvarna FE 501 that is just for fun.

 

[Rie Bread]

The best atv set up is the one you barrow from you neighbor

 

[WapitiBob]

This was a "good" section of road last week. A $40,000 sxs will fly over this at 20+ mph. It sucked on my quad.

 

[Scott85]

Sweet bike. What front rack is that?
Here is my dub.View attachment 343439

The front and rear rack were fabricated by the previous owner.

 

[LIK2HNT]

Driving through rocky roads with handlebars is a workout. That’s why SxSs were other their steering wheel have gotten popular.
The downfall of a motorcycle ( trail bike) is the workout and having to keep your eye on the road.
A lot of benefits to a SxS.

 

[npaden]

I've been looking at upgrading my ATV to something with power steering. From talking with people who have upgraded to an ATV with power steering they don't seem very likely to ever switch back.

I don't use my 450 Grizzly very much and am thinking I will just put it in a storage container on my place in Colorado to always have it there in case I end up there in a car or something and don't have a UTV or ATV with me. The "roads" that I have are for the most part ATV trails. I wouldn't want to try to take a full size pickup down them without some significant improvements.

If I do that I am looking at the CanAm Outlander Max machines. I think a 550 or 570 would still not be too heavy but would be getting close. My machines get used as much when I haul them to our church camp each summer as the rest of the year combined and I think a 2 up machine would be even more useful for lending it out for people to use. The power steering would be a game changer for that too.

That said, a full size UTV is going to do better on rough roads and rocks than an ATV is. You mentioned in your thread that your UTV was miserable on a rough road. What kind of UTV do you currently have? The machines that are designed for trail riding are generally much nicer for that type of thing than the more utility type machines. I used to have a Polaris Ranger and it would make it on most of those rough roads, but it did it a lot slower and less comfortable than the same road in my Rzr. All the manufacturers tend to have one of each type of UTV. (sport vs utility).

I'm hoping my Honda Pioneer is a good mix of both and will be a good fit for the way I'm using it most of the time.

These are some things the Pioneer will probably do better than the Rzr at.




This is what the Rzr does great at. A 50” trail that is 20+ miles long. It can hold a lot of stuff.




Here’s the 450. Does what it needs to do.

 

[mxracer317]

I've been looking at upgrading my ATV to something with power steering. From talking with people who have upgraded to an ATV with power steering they don't seem very likely to ever switch back.

I don't use my 450 Grizzly very much and am thinking I will just put it in a storage container on my place in Colorado to always have it there in case I end up there in a car or something and don't have a UTV or ATV with me. The "roads" that I have are for the most part ATV trails. I wouldn't want to try to take a full size pickup down them without some significant improvements.

If I do that I am looking at the CanAm Outlander Max machines. I think a 550 or 570 would still not be too heavy but would be getting close. My machines get used as much when I haul them to our church camp each summer as the rest of the year combined and I think a 2 up machine would be even more useful for lending it out for people to use. The power steering would be a game changer for that too.

That said, a full size UTV is going to do better on rough roads and rocks than an ATV is. You mentioned in your thread that your UTV was miserable on a rough road. What kind of UTV do you currently have? The machines that are designed for trail riding are generally much nicer for that type of thing than the more utility type machines. I used to have a Polaris Ranger and it would make it on most of those rough roads, but it did it a lot slower and less comfortable than the same road in my Rzr. All the manufacturers tend to have one of each type of UTV. (sport vs utility).

I'm hoping my Honda Pioneer is a good mix of both and will be a good fit for the way I'm using it most of the time.

The Polaris general is in-between both the rzr & ranger.