Which ATV to buy?

[jltimm]

Are you looking for a 500cc class machine,or are you open to all cc's?In the 400 class it's between the Outlander 400 HO and the Kodiak 450,both great machines,that get the best ratings and reviews in the magazines.with the Kodiak being a little smaller in overall size,but the weight on the two is close.I do not know anyone that has the Bombardier,and know several people with the Kodiak.Everyone I know likes their Kodiak,and from what I've heard everyone likes their Bomb.There are ATV forums on the internet that talk about all brands.Highlifter.com and atvconnection.com are 2 that are very informal,and atvconnection also does ride reviews you can read.

[Corey Bechtold]

Thanks for the tip! I'll check them out.

I will look at the 400's and 500's if the price isn't that different.

I still want a lighter machine just in case I get stuck or need to move it by hand in the garage.

Thanks,

Corey Bechtold

[slammer]

I have an 04 Honda Rincon, I put ITP 589 tires on it, it has more than enough power to get you wherever you want to go, you will run out of traction even with the mud tires before you run out of power. First gear is low enough to pull out a sportsman hooked up to a 8X16 fishhouse...haha .

The suspenion is a little soft in the rear for hauling so i installed the "high lifter" heavy duty springs - works great now - still rides nice. Never had any problems, use the primer and it will start in the cold.

[jltimm]

If weight is an issue,and it should be,the Honda Rincon,Yamaha Grizzly,Suzuki Kingquad,and Kawasaki Brute force 750-650 are all around 600 lbs.The polaris and the Arctic Cat are the heavy ones in the group that run around 700 lbs.Honda's,Suzuki's,Yamaha's,and Kawi's are all around 600 lbs or lighter.

[Macgyver55]

I don't think that anyone has mentiond it but one final thing to consider is resale. Honda has been the world leader in ATV sales, followed by Polaris, Yamaha, Kawasaki , Suzuki, Arctic Cat and Bombardier. Honda exceeded the ATV industry's healthy growth rate of 18.8%, strengthening Honda's already dominant number one market share position of 32.6%. Honda typically retains a higher percentage of resale value than most other brands. The problem is, you will often find less used ones for sale.

Each and every Honda I sold, went within a few days and most sold to the first person that came out to look. My last 450 Foreman was 3 years old when I sold it with somewhere around 6000 miles. I sold it for only 1100 dollars less than I paid for it new. Thats less than 400 bucks a year to own it! That aint bad!

[Corey Bechtold]

I don't really consider resale very much. It seems to me that when people buy a wheeler it's kinda like a marrage, till death do us part.

The exception would be people who just hafta have new no matter what the cost. (like my dad)

I'm still looking for the perfect fit and would like to thank everyone for their thoughts!

Corey Bechtold

[Macgyver55]

If you feel that way thats great, but that means you need to be even more sure of what you want before you buy. Virtually everyone I have introduced to 4 wheeling (I'm known as a home wrecker by several of my buddies wives) has found after they purchased one that they enjoyed it more than they had anticipated and found more ways to use it than they had thought about before owning one. If you are confident you won't change your mind or preferences than resale isn't an issue. If you are like most guys, you will more than likely follow the same path most of us do. You'll work your way to a different model than you originally started with because of changing needs or realizing what they are capable of after owning one.

[CHOPPERTHEDOG]

I'd have to agree with Mac. Your needs/wants may, and probably will, change. Most all of the people I ride with have switched machines atleast once.

Also, depending on what type of towing you plan on doing with your machine, IRS may not be the way to go. I think a solid rear axle has a pretty good advantage here if you plan on anything with tongue weight. Though, I have known some people to make rigid struts to replace the rear shocks on the back of IRS machines so they can tow their fish houses in the winter then switch back to the shocks for other purposes.

I currently own a Honda 650 Rincon 4x4(fully capable of turning larger than stock tires) and a Kawasaki KFX 700 2x4. I am pretty happy with both, though neither is perfect (no machine is). I haven't had any problems with the Rincon other than the stock battery crapping out after a year. I just bought the KFX in September and haven't had it out that much, but so far so good.

I ride with Open Trails ATV club from time to time and it is usually a pretty large group when I do. They have all of the brands covered. Break down frequency has become less and less over the past couple of years but I would still have to say that Polaris gets the dump-out award, mostly seemed to be coolant leaking issues. You do see the occasional wet belt issue with the belt drive machines. My brother had a few issues with the front axles breaking joints on his 03 660 Grizzly and has a problem with his belt case taking on water.

I still think it is hard to beat the Honda Foreman 450.... Air cooled, 5 speed, auto-clutch. Next to no maintenance.... change the oil/filter, clean the air filter, lube a cable from time to time. A very capable machine and extremely user friendly. If I weren't strictly a recreational user it would have been my first choice. All I do is trail ride so I opted for IRS with the Rincon. The KFX is mostly for my son/wife to use, though I will hop on from time to time.

[Stradic]

I only own an '84 Honda 3-wheeler (which still runs like a top, of course) so I am by no means an expert. I just had a few more thoughts/questions:

Is insurance cost a factor or is this all about the same per brand?

What accessories are available for what model you are considering?

Take a look around you next time on the ice, what do most people seem to be driving?

I know people with Honda's and I think most people know of their legendary reliability. I have seen a lot of Polaris' on the ice also. Just my 2 cents.

[CHOPPERTHEDOG]

My first wheeler was a 1981 Honda 200atc. I've also had an '82 185s, '82 200, '80 110, '84 200ES, '85 350x, '85 250R, '00 400ex, '00 Yamaha Blaster, '80 Yamaha yt125, '89 Yamaha Banshee. In my experience Honda wins in reliability without a doubt. My 400EX was the best machine I have ever had but problems with my left foot ended the manual shifting for me. I beat the hell out of that machine then my son continued to do the same. Now his freind will continue that tradition as we sold it to him and bought a new KFX700 Kawasaki so our family could have 2 fully automatic machine due to my wifes newly found interest in "some" riding.

I have found that pretty much any machine I get will cost between $100-150 to insure, full coverage, for a year.

Accesories are pretty abundant no matter what you have. A lot of things are universal. Certain things may take some "engineering" but most are simple bolt ons.

I think as time goes on you'll see a wider and wider variety of machine as all of the manufacturers keep building more with more options and the machines themselves are becoming more and more popular and being more accepted as a useful tool and just a plain fun way to recreate.

Here is a picture from Outing a couple of weeks ago, all manufacturers represented...

[caseymcq]

I will put in another plug for Yamaha. I have used Kodiak 450's for work and if I were to buy a new one it would be that. They have independent rear suspension and a front dif lock. Lots of snort out of the engine.

If you wanted to go a little smaller/cheaper there is a 400 model available with the independent rear suspension but not the dif lock.

I have a Yamaha outboard and every time I use it I am impressed. IMO you can't beat Yamaha for quality and reliability.

[Rainydaze]

I've quite a bit of experience with used atv's, and would like to cast a vote for Polaris. I currently own a 2004.5 Polaris Sportsman Mossy Oak edition, and this thing is awesome! The only pitful I have experienced is they are a little cold blooded. If your in some cold weather you typically need to let it warm up for a few minutes, but that gives you a couple extra minutes for jigging!

[Corey Bechtold]

On the Kodiac 450, do you have to get off the machine and manually lock the front? Or is there a switch on the handlebars?

My dad also drives a Polaris 600 Sportsman and he really likes it. It is also a bit cold blooded but that can be expected from a larger machine.

Looks like I have a lot of good ATV's to choose from. Is there any that I should shy away from? Any models that had quirks/problems?

Thanks,

Corey Bechtold

[waskawood]

I would also like to add a question. I am looking at some type of ATV vehicle. I will be using it strictly for ice fishing. My question is, is there a better choice for cold starting? I live on a lake and would leave it down on the ice so I would like it to start when it is very cold. How about the new EFi's. DO they start better? Thanks for any help?

[icedoctor]

I just bought a 2005 Arctic Cat 500 brand new. I spent an enormous time researching all the different atv's and I feel good about my decision. I primarily will be using it for ice fishing. The things that sold me on the Arctic Cat were the independent suspension, ground clearance, the ability to shift into 4 wheel drive on the fly, two year warranty on the 2005's bumber to bumber. And the pages and pages of accessories available for this ATV are amazing. Their speedrack system is simply pulling a pin and your ready to attach or detach any accessory in seconds. They have a fishouse (Clam) accessory attachment that is so cool. It sits on the side of the ATV and folds out leaving your ATV inside the clam and plenty of room to fish two comfortably ($449.00). This same clam accessory is available in Camo for hunting ($519.00). In addition all the Arctic Cats come with a built in reciever hitch so just take it off your truck and slip it into the wheeler thats great!

I got a plow and a winch put on it and what a great set-up. The 500 has plenty of power and a smooth running machine. If your looking for a deal there are dealers with remaining 2005's and you'll get the two year warranty with them. If you go with the 2006's you'll get the three year warranty. Oh, you can lock the front differential in with just a flip of a switch. Good luck if you have any other questions let me know.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

Icedoctor;

How much money do you have into your setup????

[JohnMickish]

After doing a fair amount of research myself, I can say that there are not many used Arctic cats for sale, either at dealers or on hsolist. Weather that's good or bad I don't know, but I do know that Bass Pro and Gander are Arctic Cat ATV dealers. Those are some pretty major players in the outdoor world. Just my .02

[Kidd]

I'll have to second Icedoctor on the Artic Cat. I just got back from a 3-day trip with two older Honda Foremen's and the Cat performed much better because of the additional clearance. I have a 2005 Artic Cat 400 and it has a full 12 inches of clearance where the Hondas have noticeably less. The Hondas are good machines but could not handle the deep snow and slush as well as my Cat. On the second day we left the Hondas at the cabin and rented 2 sleds, on the third day we left the Cat at the cabin and rented another sled. Each day the ice got worse and worse and the slush was too much.

I bought it used this year, it had just under 50 miles on it, a wench, 4x4 with hub locks and fully independent suspension for $4,500

[caseymcq]

The locking front dif on the Kodiak is activated by a button you push on the handle bars.

I know that Polaris came out with a Sportsman 500 EFI. Might not be cold blooded.

[jltimm]

On the Kodiak,there is a switch on the handlebars for the diff. lock.If you wanted a non cold blooded machine in the cool or cold weather I would suggest you get a fuel injected quad.

[luckey]

I have a 2001 Kodiak 400 and my brother in law has a 2004 Kodiak 450. When ever I go across a swamp to get a deer or do some trail work, I take his with the diff lock because it will go through a lot more without getting stuck. Yes, there is a big difference with the diff lock in what you can go through.

[icedoctor]

Here's what I have got into my new 2005 non-current Arctic Cat 500 automatic. I just got it end of December.

$5,299.00 for the Cat

$160.00 Front Bumper

$449.00 Winch

$483.00 60 inch Arctic Cat curl plow (Lime)

The dealer installed all accessories and gave me a free arctic cat windshield.

Out the door after tax the total was:

$6,926.87

P.S. I don't know how quite the other brands are when idling but I noticed yesterday this thing just purrrrs!

[jltimm]

That's the SUZUKI engine in it!

[luckey]

Icedoctor,

Looks like you all setup and ready to go. Nice rig have fun.

[cold one sd]

I have heard that if you want a used Arctic Cat you want to look at an AC dealer as most AC owners buy another Arctic Cat when they trade up. Just what I have heard.