The financial officer has stated that I (we) can buy a four wheeler in a few months. I ride on 2-wheels (except when upside down on the XR-250) and don't know much about 4-wheelers.<br>The intended use: 30% hunting lease (me) and 70% trail riding (wife driving, following me). I do not intend to go mudding or bogging with it, I do not want to put big tires on it (she has to be able to turn it), I do not plan on putting a snorkle on. I am looking at something I can use right out of the box without BOMBing it (at least for a while ;D).<br>We need a full automatic or one that you only have to push a button to switch gears. I am thinking in the 350-450 CC range. Is 4-wheel drive a necessity for non-mudders? I would like independent rear suspension for the trails but that is not required. Is shaft drive reliable?<br>I am thinking of the following (in this order):<br>Polaris 400 Sportsmen (4x4, locker I think, independent rear)<br>Yamaha Kodiak (400, 4x4)<br>Yamaha Bruin (new for '04, 4x4, Auto, 350 cc, avail. as 4x2)<br>Honda Rancher (400, 4x4)<br><br>The Polaris is at the top because it seems to have everything I want: auto, 4x4, indep. rear susp (but do I need?).<br>Are there any other models that I should consider and any other questions I should ask myself before this purchase.<br>Thanks for any input.<br>Rob

 

Fella I cannot stress this enough HONDA!!!!!!!!!!!<br><br>Here is my experience. <br><br>We got 2 honda's in 91 and my uncle got a big bear. Our 2 hondas are still running only ever needing brakes and tires. He went through 3 big bears and 1 polaris before biting the bullet he is glad he rides a Honda now. Ours have not had a dime spent on engines or anything else. We traded them in this year (finally) for 2 RINCHON'S best decision ever they have a 2wd selector so you can run it in 2wd so you use about 1/2 the gas of the others. With the new independed suspension you will go through most stuff in 2wd the others need 4x4 for.<br><br>Last year moose hunting at a camp there was a guy with the latest and greatest polaris there belt drive etc.. Every time he got into the mud the belt would get wet and the thing would stop : he ended up borrowing our spare Bombardier I borrowed form a buddies dealership which is a pretty good bike to pulled a 1000 lb bull moose out of the bush by its self in about 12&quot; of snow.<br><br>There is also a guy at my cottage who bought a polaris 3 years ago he rides it daily to town because he is paralized from the waist down. He is on a tight budget and has nothing but problems with it the clutches wear out really quick and the sprockets are terrible. <br><br>My opinion right now is the Honda Rincon is the best bike on the market but all the Honda's are excellent bikes. They have quality that they others can't touch and I guarantee that you will have nothing but success with them and NO mechanical failier.

 

I have a '99 Kawasaki Prairie 300 4x4. I love it! It has the CVT transmission. I have never had a problem with the belt in the CVT but kawasaki did have a recall to install a stronger kevlar belt. <br><br>MikeyB

 

You answered your own question.<br><br>POLARIS<br><br>Had three of them and had absolutely no problems. Two 400 Express and one 400 Explorer 4x4 I think it was.

 

Polaris in a heartbeat. I bought my wife a sportsman 500 and she loves it. It is very easy to drive and very comfortable. Best ride on the market. I have owned a yamaha grizzly and a honda 450 es without the 2wd/4wd switch and it rode like a tank. WORSE than a tank. It would pull anything but it hurt your butt. Opinions are like azzholes, everybody has one. Everyone on here has different ones. I personally have never got water into my 500 sportsman but I have in my 660 grizzly. I think honda's will run forever but the Brakes(DRUM, even in the new rincon) suck. They are triple sealed to keep water in and then dont work. The polaris is so easy to drive with one brake lever, a 4wd switch that you can just leave in 4 wd and the machine will go into 4wd when it needs it so the machine is easy to turn, independant rear suspension soaks up all the bumps. Plus the polaris has true four wheel drive, my honda didnt and when you need it you wont have it. I am trying to sell my grizzly 660 for a 700 sportsman.

 

I'm kind of partial seeing how I've had 3 Polaris quads (still own 2) but IMO Polaris has it all. 8) If it wasn't for Polaris offering a full auto, a single brake lever, and REAL 4WD we would still be riding Honda 400 Foremans and Yamaha 350 Big Bears. Polaris made them all start offering a better quad, something with more features, smoother riding, and more power. <br><br>My first Polaris was a 96 Magnum 425 4x4, never had any trouble out if it in the 3,600 miles I put on it. The second was and sitll is a 99 500 Magnum 4x4, this quads is a moose, it will pull anything you throw behind it and plow the heck out of some snow. 2 years ago while deer hunting in Kentucky with some friends that Magnum hauled out 4 deer at one time. 2 110lb doe's, one 180lb six pointer, and my 210lb 12 pointer. I couldn't believe it, put that bad boy down in Low Range 4wd and dove right out of the woods. 8) The newest addition to the 4wheeler family is my 02 500 Sportsman X, it's my trail riding quad, the first IRS suspended quad I've drove and I'll tell you what the ride is awesome. I recently rode at Coal Creek in Oak Ridge TN, we rode 72 miles in one day and the 2 guy with me had 500 Rubicon Hondas and they had some sore backsides by the end of the day. <br><br>As you see I'm kind of partial to Polaris but I've had 3 of them and neither one has let me down. Alll the manufacturers make good quads and I'm sure you'd be happy with any of them. I would recommend the IRS suspension and 4wd is nice for pulling out that big buck. The 400 Sportsman is an excellent machine, with lots of features for a good price. May I also recommend a clutch kit for more performance (if you want it) I put a Heel Clicker kit in my 02 Sportsman and it made that quad come alive. The added power is amazing. <br><br>Good Luck and Happy riding.<br><br>DB

 

Oh! I almost forgot, a winch is also a good thing to have on a quad you're taking hunting. I have one on each of my quads and it's nice to be able to drag the deer out of the holler with the winch instead of by hand. <br><br>I know : boys and there toys but dang it's a lot of fun. <br><br>DB

 

First of all, when you consider that this vehicle you are buying is gonna be used exclusively offroad where traction is limited, I'd have to say 4wd is a must. Espeacially considering that you drive a 4wd truck that is use mostly on hard road surfaces. Not to mention that if you plan on working this bike at all, every one of the bikes you have listed will EASILY over power both rear tires (and all 4 in most cases) if you ever have something to pull with them.<br><br> Now, for what you are wanting, I think you should also add a couple more bikes to your list. These include the Arctic Cat 400 and the Bombardier Outlander 400 HO.<br><br><br><br>As far as all of these bikes comparing against each other. Well, I used to work on a few of these bikes (Sportsmans, Rancher 350s, Kodiaks, and Arctic Cats) at Bert's Dirt Works in Houston/Spring, Texas and Sammy Broussard's in Lafayette(Arctic Cat Dealership) and New Iberia(Polaris Dealership), Louisiana. And in working on them I've also test rode many of them and I can give you a pretty honest oppinion of the ones I have experince with.<br> <br>Of the ones I have worked on, I can honestly say that the Kodiak 400 is the most single minded ATV of the bunch. With it's lack of a low range, narrow stance(aka less stable and more tippy), and overall smaller frame it is minded mostly towards sporty types of trail riding. Yes it is fun to ride, but when it comes to ever useing this bike to work, or even ride at a slower pace it will not have the low end grunt to do so due to it's higher gearing. This also effects the ATV's reliablilty since the Belt is put under more strain when tring to accomplish task that you would normally use Low range for. So, unless you plan on not useing this ATV for anything more than joyful riding and small game hunting (no Deer, bear, elk, or anything larger than rabbits really) I just don't think this bike is enough for you, now if you stepped up to the 450 the story would change.<br><br>All thought I have not rode it yet, the Bruin seems to be the exact same thing as the Kodiak, but with a smaller air cooled motor, which make it even worse for daily chores around the house.<br><br>This leaves the Sportsman, AutoRancher, Outlander, and Arctic Cat. Of these, I'd have to say the Rancher would be the next to go due to it not being able to ride as good as the rest of the group. Granted, I have riden the 350 manual tranny models, which share the same basic chassie and suspension with the 400, and I have been fairly impressed with them with there combination of being able to work, ride decent, and handle good. But they are clearly outclassed when compared to the suspensions of the 3 above mentioned.<br><br>So, this would leave you with the Arctic Cat 400, with it's 10&quot; of fully independent supension travel front and rear and 12&quot; of ground clearance. The Outlander with it's unique trailer arm rear independent suspension that is getting rave reviews for it's ability to ride great while still handing just as good (if not better than) as many swingarm suspended bikes (like the 2 Yamaha's). And finially the Sportsman. Which has the largest, most powerful engine of the bunch.<br><br>OF those three, they each have there own strong points and low points. Strong points for the Arctic Cat being it appears to be more structurally sound. There is just no comparing the Cat's huge diameter tubed frame and suspension componets, which is a double a-arm design all around I might add, compared to the Struts (aka Single wimpy a-arm suspensions) found on the front of both the Outlander and Sportsman. The cat also has unmatched ground clearance, suspension travel, and rack capacity numbers. All of which make it not only great for working around the house and Larger game, but also awesome when it comes to slower technical riding (like rock crawling or other extremely rough trails). And it also has a fairly light steering effort, with selectable 2wd/4wd for the wife.So, if this is the type of riding you might plan on doing in the future, it would suit you well. But the downfalls of this bike are the same things that make it great in other area's. Althought the suspension is great at lower-mid speeds, it falls behind when compared to the other two bikes when the pace gets up there. It also has a mechanical (vs electric push button) engageing front axle that does have as much traction when compared to the other 2 bikes. And the other 2 bikes will almost always beat it in a drag race.<br><br>Then we have the Outlander. Although I have no personal experince with his bike , it has been put up against everthing from full on utility bikes to full on 4wd Sport bikes and has won darn near every shoot out doing this. If radically different is what you are after, this is your bike. From it's Intergrated storage rack styleing, inborad mounted brakes, twin trailing arm rear suspesion, to it's Sorrounding Spar Technololy frame. This bike is truely different, but from the reviews that is a very good thing. The only bad thing that I have found about this bike (remeber I have no personal one on one experince with it) is the looks. For some reason I keep reading about how great it is, and I'm thinking &quot; It's the Hummer of ATV's&quot; yet when I look at it I think &quot; It's a Hummer with a hot pink plastic Barbie jeep body on it.&quot; I just personally find this bike Hidious and I could never ride something like that. But thats my personal oppinion.<br><br>As for the Sportsman, you seem to have done alittle bit of homework on it so I will try to just state a few things that I have noticed while working on them. they can be a pain in the rear to service. Polaris has gotten rid of almost every single grease zerk on them, but the spark plugs, oil fill/dipsticks, and other little knick knack things are still a royal pain in the rear to get to on these bikes at times. They also have a much higher failure rate of parts from my experince. I have found that Bombardier and Arctic Cat ATV products hold up MUCH MUCH longer to abuse than Polaris bikes do. But this is from my personal experince.<br><br>Either bike you choose, You almost can't go wrong. They are all decent bikes, it's just that some are alot better suited for certain needs of certain people than others are. IF you have any more questions you can contact me personally, or I would recomend you go to WWW.Highlifter.com and chat on there forums where guys like TEXMUDDER, Damacoles, and others will help you, Just tell them BONER sent you.

 

Get a Polaris. We've owned 2. A '96 Xpress 300 2X4 and an 01 Sportsman 500 H.O. 4X4 Ducks Unlimited Edition (our current one). We took the Xpress to you know what and back and the only problems we ever had with it were we sucked mud into the intake a couple of times (apparently, you can't go through chest deep mud with a 2x4 ) and we accidentally left the pull rop loose and water got in there and it sat in there for a year (imagine the amount of rust and corrosion). Our current Polaris is a beast. It's lifted, has a Warn 2000lb. winch on front, is 4x4, full independent, fully automatic. I have gone through fender deep mud before and it pulled through without even trying (tires are stock, not mud tires). I can pull the front end up about a 1' off the ground from a standing stop. I can even powerbrake the son of a gun (I don't recommend that. I've already roasted the belt in the tranny :'(). It has been very reliable. It's our goose hunting machine. We also use it on the farm to haul horse manure, hay, or anything else we can think of. That independent suspension is amazingly smooth. I've whooped much larger standard transmissioned four wheelers with it. The service has always been great (basic tune up, nothing special). Personally, I wouldn't even consider another brand.

 

Ill race you bigblue........ ;D

 

Sorry man. You know I'd take you up on that offer if I could but I know how much more abuse that belt can take. It's slipping BAD. To much powerbraking. :'(

 

Polaris offers the best ride. Honda is the best built, most reliable &amp; has the highest resale. Depends on what's important to you.

 

[quote author=03 HO link=board=10;threadid=17232;start=0#162389 date=1058817909]<br>Polaris offers the best ride. Honda is the best built, most reliable &amp; has the highest resale. Depends on what's important to you. <br>[/quote]<br>Honda is the best built? How about that open front end, drum brakes, suspensions that dont eat up the bumps. The reason their resale is so high is that they cost a bunch more to buy. They usually cost about 600 bucks more than their competition. I am not saying that honda's are bad, I am just saying there are better machines on the market that are cheaper and ride nicer. I had one and it just killed my butt.

 

We've had 2 Honda 3 wheelers, a Kawasaki 4 wheeler and a Honda 4wheeler. The Hondas were more reliable than the Kawasaki. All were only 2wd used for farm / utility work in place of a garden tractor and as must thrashing as I could give them. When we got rid of the Kawasaki it only had 2nd and 5th gears left and no exhaust system. The Honda took the abuse much better. My uncle has a Polaris, 2stroke, and has to carry extra spark plugs with him because he fouls them out so much. Unless you plan on really running the ATV make sure you get a 4 stroke. I have no experience with Suzukis an Yamahas.