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Posted by: gardner10
I missed this discussion last night due to work. I think all of us are moved a little by what these guys write even though we don't believe them 100%. You don't find many AC dealers in Ark. I think we have one. I wish I had a chance to ride one. I believe the Suzuki quad is quite maligned by the press and looks like a good machine. Heck, they are all so much of an improvement of what we had 10 yrs ago I don't think for utility use you can go too wrong.
Just remember when you are out riding with your buddies you see machines put to the best test.
gardner10
Posted by: gardner10
ATV Magazine has done some shootouts on the large 4x4quads before. They were not as complet as I would like (like a pulling test, mud test ect.) Also like others have pointed out they are tested by sport riders that complain about floorboards, and mud guards on the fenders. If they come out with a pure dirt magazine I would definatly have to subscribe.
Posted by: minehunter
I think the only way that there would ever be an unbiased write up is to have all the manufacturers loan an ATV club the use of a machine for about a 6 month period for use on club event rides. Each machine would have to be the same approximate engine size. Each time have different riders and have them express their opinions after every ride using a standardized questionaire. Each person could only ride the same machine after riding all the others for equal lengths of time and covering different types of terrain. It may take a 5-6 week period before you'd be able to ride the Arctic Cat or what ever again or it could even be longer depending on the number of people participating. I think then the tests would be as fair and equal as possible.
Matter of fact they could even loan them to the Club I belong to. I wouldn't mind a bit. When it comes to Free I have an open mind.
Posted by: Thor
What every happened to the old tests where they used to drag race the quads for 50 or 100 yards?
It appears that the editors of these magazines wish to remove all objectivity from their tests and make things rider subjective.
Some of these articles are as bad as the one where the Rancher out pulled the A-C 500. Yeah right!
(Probably in ultra low first gear for 2.3 seconds)
But... the 500 auto is pokey... they are right on that one. Powerful but pokey.
Posted by: aczr2k
What would be wrong with a all out utility magazine? Something on the order of a 4wheel&offroad for ATV's. No sport bikes, just good old backwoods wheeling. A magazine where they could test Snowplows, winches, mud tires and all the other gotta have 4x essentials. What do you guys think?? Aczr2k
Posted by: Tim1
It was a Honda lover who wrote that one for sure.They admitted that two bikes had more power than the Rubicon but wrote a small paragarph about the Rubicon's power and said nothing about the two bikes that out powered it.They even said they did not like the idea of Polaris adding more power to the SP500 motor because it was a utility bike and speed was not important.Points off for to much power and speed?I call that a bonus.
Posted by: Tim1
Texascat,
I like that idea and plus get it all on tape.
Minehunter,
6 months is to long,Polaris guys like the bike to be new and the shootout over quick.LOL
Posted by: Tim1
They also gave the Rubicon the win in the suspension department and it is just a straight axle with short travel, which all the others also had.Next time you ride with a person with a Sportsman trade with him for a few miles and ask yourself if your Rubicon rides smoother.Most people who own the new H.O Sportsman had the non H.O before and do not mention they are weaker on the bottom end.I,m not a Dirtwheels fan but when they said the SP suspension was far superior in ride comfort to the other bikes in there comparison I would have to agree.I never rode a Rubicon but rode many different kinds of straight axel quads and they are all hard to tell apart.
Posted by: Buckfever
Yea it gets old having top end speed equated to overall horsepower. I requested some information on ATV tires from a write-up in ATV magazine a couple of years ago and had a rough time getting through to one of the editors what I wanted. After he finally understood he said almost all of are staff are under 30 years old and we all perfer sport ATV's.
It became very clear that I was in the minority being that I needed a tough utility and not a Banshee, or a sported up utility. Why would anyone review a Utility ATV and report on how it jumped, landed and how easy it is to do wheelies? That light front end the sport rides have is dangerous out in the country! So this leads me to the conclusion the market for a pulling, bullet-proof outback ATV is small compared to the crotch rockets the majority of the market wants. But I guess they don't make many HumVees either. This CAT I rode was the best of Breed in the bush hands down but you would have to ride there to know that!!! I get a smile on my face when I read these articles. Most of the time they don't even have their machine specifications correct and that means they can't copy from a brochure. Most of these editorials are the best disguised advertising ad money can buy. I would also bet most everyone, whatever type of ATV they have, had the same disbelief about what they read about their ride!!
Posted by: Buckfever
There has been some chatter on the Highlifter boards about the need for just that. The magazine would discuss conditions and products, do tests and provide information about Utilities only! I for one would get a subscription right away. The ability of a couple of magazines to cover the whole field is not working!
Posted by: cowboy
A REDNECK competition? Hey, sounds cool! Where do I sign up??? A B.Y.O.B&G (bring your own beer and guns) would be pretty cool-fully safety conscious of course. Maybe riding/shooting during the day, a little celebrating at night...
Like I said, where do I sign?
Mike
Hey Minehunter, how's the 'Cat fairing here lately? Get the parts in, or at least ordered yet??? Hope your wife is feeling better by now!
Posted by: sxr6
Bearhunter; your testing methods go back to speed & time, not the way to test a utility ATV, those tests rely on hp & tire quality. You cannot test Atv's subectively, I don't believe, because everyone, who is a capable all terrian rider WILL have individual preferances & thus lean to one brand over another. I believe the best all around off-road ATv would be the Suz 300, except for lack of suspension & brakes, Guess thats why I bought the Cat 300. My opinion only.
Posted by: zigy
I was wondering if any of you read 4 wheel,atv action magazine's 4x4 shootout.what a bunch of crap!let's see they called the ac500 pokey,un competitive,awkward to ride,cheesy.ect.ect.what planet are these guys from.my 500 hitch to hitch has pulled a griz backwards for starters.im not one to knock others machines,but while the honda's with their elec shift,won't shift when wet,my ac rides on,when the polaris is sitting on the side of the road with a belt shredded or a major clutch failure,my ac rides on,when the griz is watching from the creek bank while im about rack deep in water.i could'nt coax him off the bank with a brand new drive belt.i ride on.anyway i just needed to get that off my back.it gets awful heavy carrying everybody else back to the trailer ,but someone has to do it.oh yeah they did say one good thing about the cat.BULLETPROOF!!!any advice on how to improve my ac to keep up with the competition ,please reply ,thank you very much.zigy
Posted by: girthyguy
Never trust what a magazine says. just look at who put the most adds in the mag. Then guys who will win the shoot out. Like I just finally rode Rubican for the first time. Boy I was not impressed at all. I have no clue how they rank that above the sportsman. Or better yet what about the grizz, no offence besides having great speed, i trhink it doesnt come close to any of the other big bores I have ridden. (never ridden the suzuki or traxter) BUt that too is always up there in the rankings. Why because they advertise in the mags. Thats why you always have to test you options before you buy. You cant just go out buy what the mags say. My biggest gripe is they always say cat is under powered. what horse*&^% If I wanted top speedI would of bought a bashee or ds. But I wanted an atv that would go through almost anything. And I believe for that it doesnt get much better then the cat.
matty
Posted by: BearHunter
It would be nice to see how all the bikes perform with stock everything in these categories:
1. Belgium Road Test - this is a great suspension test which tests ride, stability, and off camber maneuvering.
2. Hill Climb - Start from the same point, quickest time up.
3. Mud Test - Start from the same point, quickest time through.
4. Pulling Test - Start from the same point, see what pulls the most the furthest.
Of course these would have to happen in a controlled environment with each run being as close to exact conditions as possible using the same rider or group of riders, but I'm sure there is some organization out there that has the capabilities to perform such a comparison.
I'm sure that all the ATV magazines out there would pay for such a comparison.
Posted by: BearHunter
sxr6....I understand what you are saying, but I think there has to be some way of comparing so that you are not relying on a persons judgment to say that one ATV made it up the hill better than the others.
Have you or anyone else seen the Suspension Video that Arctic Cat has distributed to its dealers??
I beleive that it is the Belgium Road Test, It is by far the best suspension related comparison that I have seen. Even though AC did the comparison, it looked to me like it was done quite fairly. I would recommend stopping by your local AC dealer and checking it out...If they have it.
Posted by: TEXASCAT
zigy,
hey man, we are all atv riders right? then why the hell should we follow the trail the bia$ed magazine editor$ blaze. screw 'em and blaze your own trail. it is disheartening to read that the machine i bought for $6100 is basically a piece of feces to the editors of some bulls**t magazine that makes the company who bought the most ads look good. there is only one way to prove which atv is better--an all out, no holds barred, purely redneck competition. i'll bring the A.T.F. (alcohol, tobacco, and firearms), who's gonna the bring the chips?
a ticked off texascat,
Posted by: RSE500
I think that the hunters, farmers, and general utility riders probably spend more money buying quads than any other group. They seem to be a little older and have more money to invest in thier machines and accy. They should have a magazine devoted to them. Just my 2 cents worth!
Posted by: thenewfiebullet
When the editors of ATV Action commented on the new SP500, I don't think they complained about the extra power. They complained because the extra power was all at the upper end of the rpm range, and came at the expense of power on the bottom end. In a utility machine, they said, it makes more sense to have the power come on at lower rpm's.
Posted by: thenewfiebullet
I can't decide If zigy is trying to be sarcastic or not? He spends a couple of minutes telling us how his quad is better than all the others that he rides with, and then at the end, askes how he can improve his quad so he can keep up with the other brands? Are you joking around or what?
Posted by: ROMAN
The Rubicon winning Atv of the Year is a joke. It didn't even win its class. I can think of at least 4 quads that had it beaten for top spot. It just goes to show, when you compare anything against a Honda. Forget about it. These mags just have Honda on the brain. Must be paying the bills for those mags.
