Pages: 1
Posted by: Bill.Ciliberti
mr bill,
is right on the money.Check out all the 4x4s,take your time.Leave if the dealer wont let you take the quad for a test ride.
I liked my 500cc Sportsman alot,I like my Xplorer even more.There are ALOT of nice automatic 4x4s out there today,every manufacture does a great job of producing a very fine ATV today.
Mr BILL,
I see you are from Mich to?Im from Burton near Flint Mi,I ride with a bunch of good ole boys ages from 40-53.Your invited to get together with us for a wk end trail ride this spring?
Bill
Posted by: Bill.Ciliberti
Mr Bill,
I've been a member of the CCC [Cycle Conservation club of Michigan]for going on 3 yrs now,I am also a member of MATVA [Michigan All Terrain Vehicle Assoc.]And I will very soon [March] become a certified licensed ASI[ATV Saftey Instructor].I started out in 1983 with a 3 wheeler,and switched to 4wd ATVs in 1986,been riding them since.I currently ride a 00 4x4 Xplorer,I bought a Honda Recon for the wife,though my friends have MANY more miles on it than her.Most the guys I ride with are laid back and we like to take in the beautiful scenery that Mich forests give us.The guys that want to go fast can[about three of them],we'll catch up to them later.With my CCC membership,they give me a yearly booklet of EVERY LEGAL riding area in the State of Mich.We have not yet road the Black Lake trail yet,however, it is in our very near future plans.We ride some Poker runs in the U.P of Michigan to,they are an absolute blast!
As for the helmet?Buy a full faced helmet that is at least DOT Approved.[Dept of Transportation]All DOT approved helmets will have the printing DOT in the rear of the helmet,so if you see one that does NOT say DOT on the back side of the helmet,FORGET IT!Now you can even go one step better than a DOT approved helmet if you like,but they usually cost more $$.Look for a helmet that is DOT and SNELL approved,it will have both printed on the helmet.Do NOT cheap out on your helmet.Glad to hear from you and looking very forward to having you join us on future rides,
HAPPY TRAILING,
Bill
Posted by: mr.bill
I recently bought a kodiak, but i looked and research this for 1 year before buying the kodiak. I too was afraid to buy the wrong machine. I now feel that their really isn't a bad machine out there. I bought the kodiak because of these reasons. Two wheel or four wheel drive....nice option to have. The auto trans.....i'am not worried about the possible belt slippage.......i'am almost 50 years old and will drive around a mud hole....to lazy to clean the mud off. I thought my wife could run it easier with the auto trans.......i'am buried in snow or should i say "was buried". Here is what i paid for the kodiak....$5599 + tax, warn plow $229, warranty for 42 months $486. I hope this helps........come to Michigan we have alot of trails....plus great fishing
Posted by: mr.bill
Bill, Thanks for the invite. I'll take you help on the offer. Do you guys ride up by Black Lake (Onaway) area? I'am new to this riding, what helmet would you suggest? I quit riding motocross bikes back in 1978 so i've been out of touch.
Posted by: ATV_MAN
Check out the new Sportsman 400...it's cheaper than the 500 and has a 425cc 4 stroke engine in it. It wont be as powerful as the 500 but it will be close.
The Kodiak is nice, it won ATV of the year in 2000 by an ATV magazine.
The Honda ATV's are built to last a long time...their engines never give up.
Posted by: Ursus
Another quad to consider would be the Prairie 400 4x4. It seems that places are practically giving them away since the news of the 650 v-twin. It has a very nice soft ride, big comfortable seat and floorboards. So if price is an issue it is a quad worth considering. I have seen them in ads for well under 5 grand.
Posted by: Farmr123
Right on Mr Bill!
If you ask 10 people, you will get 10 answers, usually the guy will recommend what they drive. All this means is that there are a lot of good machines out there. All I would recommend is selectable 2wd-4wd, and automatic tranny. The rest depends on your particular use. Drive as many as you can & get the one that fits you best.
Posted by: Boss70
My needs for a 4 wheeler were nearly identical to yours, plow snow and work first, then some play. I looked at many, read the stuff on this board and wound up buying a used (99, low miles) Polaris Sportsman 500. Let me tell you, it makes short and fun work out of the normal tedius task of removing snow. I plow 2, 700 foot+ driveways, and this machine works great. There are several things to consider when using the machine for work. The weight of the machine, the ease of shifting between low range and reverse were major issues for me. A light, small quad will get pushed around more by snow, and snow banks. The traction and power the SP500 has is incredible. It is also very easy to shift between low gear, and reverse. The only negative I can see with the SP500 is the turning radius is not as tight as the shorter wheelbase quads out there.
Posted by: 2YellowSportsman
Couple things;
First of all, if you ask 10 people which ATV is the best, chances are that each person will give you a different answer, but all of them would be 100% correct... every machine has its advantages and disadvantages, giving us tons of combinations so that we can each choose the best machine... for ourselves. The best advice I got on this forum before I bought was to test drive everything you can, analyze your specific needs, and choose your best machine for you.
Not to jump to the defense of Polaris - I am a first time owner and hardly close-minded - but am I the only one to come to the conclusion that the reliability concerns arise from the increased maintenance requirements? Perhaps the primary reason for the problems are that people either don't know or don't care about the proper maintenance of their machines???
I spent countless hours researching ATV's (reading, asking riders and dealers, and riding), before I found the best ATV... for me (see below). I can honestly say that I have had 0 problems, and both my wife and I would buy the same machine if we had to do it over again. Of course when Polaris says bring the machine in for scheduled maintenance, we do it :).
Ride, ride, and ride some more before you decide... and have some fun doing it! Good luck.
Posted by: exmxer
My needs are a little different than yours. I don't work the quad or plow snow. But if I were, then I think the Polaris Sportsman 500 would do the trick. I love the all wheel drive system it has. This is a heavy quad, which would be beneficial for plowing snow. I used to own one and I thought the motor was great. The new H.O.(High Output) probably will be even better than the one I had.
My only advice if you buy a Polaris is to buy the Polaris extended warranty, and make sure you do the routine maintenance. I feel like the Sportsman requires a little more maintanence than some quads, but it will be a fine quad if you take care of it.
Good luck with your purchase.....
Posted by: lilgirlblue
Hello Bill, hubby and I are from MI too... where do you ride? We are also in that age range, not many people our age that ride around here.
Posted by: TEXASCAT
eaaicf,
i have an arctic cat 500 4x4 auto and wouldn't have anything else. it has plenty of power and an extremely high torque low range. it doesn't take off as fast as most other 4x4's but it more than makes up for it in raw pulling power. arctic cat builds its atvs to work first to play second. if you hear polaris guys telling you that arctic cats only have 3wd not 4wd, know that it is just a line of bull. i tried to pull a large stump (16" diameter hackberry) out yesterday (i knew it was hopeless) but all i was able to do was to dig FOUR (4) holes in my lawn.
texascat,
Posted by: TEXASCAT
eaaicf,
good choices. no one would recommend a lemon atv unless they were sick or demented. you have done your homework and now comes the fun part...... buying the beast. best of luck.
texascat.
Posted by: RSE500
same here mister bill, I bought mine for the same reasons as you did, I got an sp500 and could not be more pleased. 2 or 4 wheel drive, auto, power, and a great ride, 1100 miles and no problems so far. ride as many as you can, there are some very nice 4x4s to choose from
Posted by: Eaaicf
Hi there, I'm new to this ATV stuff and new to this website. It appears as though you guys know what your talking about.
I need to get an ATV and I also want one.
I need one for plowing snow. I plan on doing residential driveways only, no commercials or anything very large. As far as playing goes, I would use it for trails, back in the woods, and hills. Speed is really not a criteria for me as there is really no place for it. I'm guessing that a 4X4 is for me and a full automatic would probably be very nice as well, especially for the plowing part. I've already ridden the Yamaha Kodiak. It seemed very nice, but I have nothing to compare it to. Do I need to go larger than a Kodiak? What else should I be looking at?
The models I had in mind are: Rubicon, Grizzly, Kodiak, Sportman 500, Arctic auto 500. If there is anything you guys feel strongly about let me know. If there is an ATV on this list I should stay away from let me know that too. This is a major purchase at these prices and I want to make sure I get the best and correct ATV for me for the money.
Thanks, Eric
Posted by: Eaaicf
Well, I have heard it in here and people I've been talking too and most of them are saying the same thing about Polaris: They are great machines but the require a higher maintenance and are not as reliable as the Honda, Yamaha and Arctic Cat.
