best/worst atv

I do know that the HONDA'S are hard to beat in a used machine......they just keep right on running.

I just purchased a new HONDA 450 ES....I got it for the wife really because it has all the bells & whistles on it, she needs all the help she can get savvy.

Now I am going to purchase a new one for myself later on! I do know that Honda and Polaris have the best suspenion on them. Yamaha's only have one shock in the rear.

No one needs anymore power for utility work than a 350 cc engine. Anything over 500 cc is a waste of your money simply put. The 600 & 700 are to heavy in the marsh and water.

HONDA has the sealed rearends and brakes! Better for the going in water.

The Polaris 500 had some over heating problems, that have since been addressed by the company. They are a very good machine, as most of the Canadians use them only.

You can get your hands on the ATV comparison tests, it would be a big help to you, however when you buy used, one really has to know what they are looking at and hope for the best.
 
I just purchased a new ATV and after talking to salesmen at different dealerships, who said all of the Japaneese made ATVs are good. However at 2 differenct dealerships after asking the salesman what he would buy if he had his choice they pointed me to the new Suzuki Vinson 500 4x4. The 2004 ATV guide rates the above average in most categories. The Suzukis are made in partnersip with Kawasaki. Mine is an automatic (H/L, reverse, and park), shaft drive, selective 2/4wd with the push of a buttton, and liquid cooled. Haven't had it long, but the first couple of trips on the new toy were great. I was cutting down several 8-10" diameter hedge trees on my ranch and then drug them into a pile with the Suzuki had no problems doing it.
 
My brother-in-law has 2 Polaris' and his father has two Hondas. That Polaris has out-performed those Hondas in muddy N. Central TX hands down. Not to mention that the Polaris rides smoother and is the most comfortable 4-wheeler I've ever sat on. Excellent suspension makes riding it over rough country a breeze.

Just my $0.02.

Rusty
 
Honda makes nice dependable machines however they are a little behind the current competition. Honda uses drum brakes and though they work good, they do require a little more maintainence if you use them in the deep muck. Just a good cleaning will do but you still need to pull the drums to get the stuff out. Dry conditions they work as good as anything else out there. Go to www.highlifter.com for disc brake upgrades.

Most everything else out there uses disc brakes now and they are much easier to service and clean. Honda has a transmission system in some of the models that is second to none. Both the Rubicon and the Rincon are major players in the ATV market. They do not use belts and are not affected by water.

I chose the Kawasaki Prairie 650 for the wife and the Prairie 700 for me. The Kawasaki offers the V twin motor and has enormous power, neither has let us down yet. Neither have had belt slippage problems when they get wet.

Yamaha has a Kodiak 450 that is a great machine along with the Grizzly 650, both capable of doing anything asked of them. The 450 will do it all, the 650 does it faster.

Suzuki offers a Vinson 500 and the Twin Peaks 700, which is the same as the Kawasaki Prairie 700 and even made by Kawasaki just yellow plastic, both very capable machines.

The Polaris machines are good and bad as anything goes, but I have heard of more little problems with the Polaris line.

To do it all again for me it would be Honda for realiability and resale value. I can alsways change out the front drum brakes to disc.

Look closely at all the products as you may find something more or less appealing to you on different models. Honda also now offers two models with onboard GPS systems and push button or auto shifting.
 
It's probably like any other Ford, Chevy, or Dodge type of deal.. But, my brother-in-law has an Artic Cat and likes his and if I was to buy one tomorrow it would be a Polaris, they're built just 20 minutes away from my house.

Later,
Wisco
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top