I want to buy an ATV soon and I am undecided on which brand.

Main use would be for plowing,hauling,hunting.

Machines I have looked at online:

Sportsman
Quest
Grizzly
Bearcat

Any opinions? Everyone seems to compare to the Pol. Why? Does that mean the Pol. is the one to buy? I dont care what name is on the side,not biased towards any brand!

Thanks

When I was looking at buying an ATV, I was looking at Polaris as they were the only company with the cajones to slap a diesel engine in the frame. Would have been perfect for me as my main use would have been dragging tree cuttings, watering plants at the back of the property, and other light duty "farmlike" work. While not fast, I would have been able to have some fun with it as well. Unfortunately, these sold like ice cream in February, and have since been discontinued. I elected to pass on the purchase myself as I also needed a car, that being more imminent of a need.

For a workhorse, I couldn't think of a better piece of equipment. Lots o' torque, and very fuel efficient.

If I was to buy new I would go Polaris. The quads are bulletproof.

IMHO, I would either go with the Grizz or a Kawi 650.

I don't know why, but I have never been a polaris fan.

Currently, I have a 2000 griz, nice machine, and wouldn't even think about upgrading to a 2003, if I had the money. But I must admit, the Praire 650 is a real nice machine, and the diff lock is a great option.

Oh, damn I can't decide either. The Quest is a nice machine, but I haven't riden one, so can't give an informed opinion.

confused FishHog

I would go witha polaris 500 or check out the hondas as well, a foreman 450 or rubi. All of them seem to be bullet proof, my honda 450 has 9000 k on it and is still running, and my friends polaris has 11000 and finally calved. :hallo2:

from the experance i've seen and had i would stay away from the polaris if you tend to ride it hard and work it.the grizzly or the kawi. would be my choice alot of the people i know ride the kawi's,new and old,and don't seem to have any problems.if i was to buy a nrw one it would be a kawi.just my thought.

The Polarises have gotten much better over the last few years and have become the machines to own in the atv world. The Hondas have had much better reliabilty etc but the polarises are like I said much better than they used to be. The ride of the irs on the polaris atv is compaired to that of a caddy. As far a power the Pols are rite up there especialy with the 700 and the new sportsman 600 twin.

I do have my opinions when it come to mudding and irs (independent rear suspension) vs SRA (Solid rear axle/swingarm type) but that is another discussion.

As far as the griz 660, prairie 650 etc there have been many overheating issues discussed at great length in some of the forums.

Also Hondu has come out with a very nice machine if you are into irs machines. The Rincon, a 650 cc quad with a fully automatic trans , similar to a hydromatic trans, Independent rear suspension and loaded with goodies except a front locking dif.

My Doo dealer also sells Honda. I looked at the Rincon and whats not to like,but the price on it is high,$7500.00 ???

I can pick up a Quest 500 4X4 for around $5200.00 plus a 250 rebate and 3 year warranty and 2.9% financing.

The Bombi ATVs seem to be OK but not quite up to snuff against the competition. I still dont know what to do. For some reason I really like the Sportsman.The others seem nice also,Yam and Kawi,Cat,Honda.

Keep the opinions coming...........

the sportsman and the grizzly are both great machines ive had some experiance with all of those and those ones are the best out of them

:D Petey... I jave an opinion.......Buy me one!!! :D

One other thing, if you stay with something like the 450 honda, they are simple, not as many cv joints, and if you ever decide to put big tires or something like that on it, it will have the power, and to snorkel it would be simple, where as other bikes would eb a pain in the @$$ :sly:

I would say sportsman all the way. In my family and friends there are 5 Sportsmans. 4 - 500's and 1-700. All the way from 1999 to 2002. Not a problem from a one of them. Most are used for trail and hunting but the 99 is used for plowing and landscape work and is tuff. Sportsman offers industry leading clearence and suspension, top of the line Goodyear tires standard. Plus the price is right. I don't think you can do better for what you want to use it for.

Never had any complaints about Honda around here...those things run forever

I have to vote for Polaris, I have 2 500's now and had a '96 before that, the first year they came out with the 500 Sportsman, no major problems with any of them, I plow my driveway, haul a 4X8' trailer with firewood and ride the snot out of them, go to any ATV pulling event and see what brand is always out front, the P team !

Just to get all differing opinions I own a 2001 500 Automatic Bearcat and have had ZERO problems with this quad.I run with most other brands and we all end up at the same place basically the same time.Lots of power and pulling prowess.I like the Auto because I am a lazy BUGGER as most of my riding buddies are.It is by no means a speed machine 55 MPH tops but great for the trails here in Ontario.

Well I like th esmaller stuff usually but oh well. I have a Honda Rancher S 4x4 that I do quite well on.

Good looking piece SNORAT!!! :thumbsup:

Kid next to our cottage has a new Arctic 500 with the IRS, Warn winch. It's a blast just watching him in the lake playing. We used it to pull pontoons onto shore and other chores. I wouldn't buy one of those huge pigs for nothing, darn car is they're size.
Caleb

You sit my Buds 600 Grizzly side by side with mine and the Grizz is actually bigger.Being they are big means you need a bit more speed when in tight tree situations.LoL. :D

Geeeez Snorat, you must run that thing pretty deep. That intake pipe is quite high :

Looks good dude,that would work for me!

Well I have to the bars in water before so that is why the snorkle is that high, heck I have seen them much higher than that. I do have a few modds to the machine as you may beable to see. it has a lift kit, performance exhaust and jetting along with a K&N filter, Locked front differential to keep all 4 pulling no matter what, Ported and polished head, just to name a few. I did add a third steerable light to it and some things to add in my passion for hunting ie the bow carrier and the rear rack bag. When I got the machine it had a Superwinch 1500 on it but I am looking to upgrade to either a warn 2000 or 2500 with a Roller fairlead. I am also debating a bigbore kit that will take the 329cc motor to about 375 and a highperf cam for more torgue for the tires that I am planning on getting. IE 27 or 28 Maxxis Mudzillas.

Since we have gotten very little snow in the last 4 years I have decided that atvs are the way to go. I can ride it any time and I am not dependent on the weather.

I am looking at snowmobiles again but not until it snows real good ie 2 to 3 ft and it must stay with snow every week. The only thing is that I am done buying 6 to 7 thousand dollar machines to ride very little. My next sled will be a used one some were around 2500 to 3500.

rat if i were you i would buy an xlt. Good for the price. I love mine, and they aren't that costly to run. I bought mine just incase we get snow and i havent regretted it.

Personally, I have a polaris Magnum 500 and would recomend their ATV's to anyone. The 500 has plenty of power, and the prices on the Sportsmans are way better than the honda. But I would encourage you to make your own decision. Personally, I would stay away from the 600 and 700 sportsman though. They are smooth and have lots of power, but no recoil, if your battery goes dead your SOL.

I checked into all the new atv's and test rode most of them before I made my choice. The Kawi 650 had too many features to pass up
pros
1) best power to weight ratio of any big bore sport ute
2) industry leading front brakes
3) industry exclusive rear sealed wet disc brake system
4) locking front diff
5) solid rear axel (better for powersliding in corners)
6) piggyback rear shock
7) lowest centre of gravity in any sport ute due to the Vtwin engine design
8) lightest big bore sport ute

Cons
1) tires suck big time
2)belt issues keep clutches clean and drive in low gear when under 50kmh or it will decrease belt life

I would buy anything but a Polaris. In 96 I bought a new 425 Mag. It broke the first ride and 18 times in 500 miles. When I bought it I asked the dealer if Polaris had any problems I should know about and they said "NO." When I took them to court they said my machine was average and they had machines out there that had way more problems. So I put it in the paper as "For Sale Lemon Polaris 425 mag 18 break downs in 500 miles, they say that happens." I had over 30 calls on the machine. A few wanted it for nothing, and most wanted to know what problems I was having, because they were also having problems. I did end up selling the pos and at this time I have a Kodiak 450, it has been a very good machine. I am not brand loyal, but I would walk before I ever give Polaris another dime. I am sure you will be able to find people that have had no problems with their Polaris. 50/50 isn't good odds on $6000. BTW on the court deal, the judge said the dealer had to keep fixing the machine on an free extended warranty. The dealer asked if I thought they should have to keep fixing it for free forever. I guess he didn't think it would get better either.

Tac: Don't bash an entire brand because you got one lemon. I have a 94 trail boss that has a lot of miles on it, and in 9 years all I've had to replace is 1 belt and 1 chain. I also have a 01 Magnum 500 and have 2000 miles on it, nothing but grease and oil changes. I keep 15 acres mowed and my 1/4 mile driveway plowed with it. I have personally seen magnums and sportsmans with 20-30,000 miles on them and very little problems.

andw1, it wasn't only my machine. I have friends that have had no problems with their machines and others that have had plenty. I really do not want to get into a debate with a loyal Polaris owner, but when someone asks for an opion I give an honest one. Anytime a person offers an opion, someone will disagree. atvconnection has a good forum and it may pay for a potential buyer to spend time doing research. Remember, "A mind is lke a parachute, it only works when it's open." I hope your machines continue to treat you well. Dave