Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

[jkust]

So I've been kicking around the idea of getting a 4 wheeler to keep at the lake house. I would like it for pulling the dock in, plowing snow, trail riding and just recreation. It would be a utility version not a sport version. I'd like at minimum a 550 CC and EFI is a must (it's not standard quite yet on some). It seems they hold their value exceptionally good and even a 5 year old one isn't much cheaper than new. The benefit with a used one is you generally get the plow, winch and some other accessories included and many times the have under 300 total miles on them and many are under 1000 total miles. I'm gathering that Polaris is the bottom of the heap judging by their prices, then Kawasaki, and I'm thinking Arctic Cat then at the very top is BRP (again judging by their amazingly high prices new and used). I don't see enough Honda's to know where they fit in and there is a relatively cheap brand called KYMCO that has popped up too.

Anybody have any opinions on any of the brands? Used versus new, is one more expensive to fix, break down more. Is Polaris the Bayliner equivalent etc.

Thanks

 

[nwcove]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

cant go wrong with a gently used honda

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Its cheap so it must not be good - lol, can I sell you some stuff?

Polaris is cheap because they are made nearby. The only folks I know with ATVs have Polaris Sportsmans.

If it were me I'd be looking for one without a plow and then buy a plow. Those that have a plow have already been beaten to death plowing

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

I am partial to Suzuki's. I recently got rid of my 2003 500 Vinson and I still have my 700 King Quad. The 700 if fuel injected and a powerhouse with independent suspension.

I would vote for independent suspension and fuel injected. Honda makes a great machine too The arctic cat machines are okay and have used suzuki motors however...... I worked at a dealership. Honda, AC, Suzuki, Kawi, Can Am and I have seen them all in the shop....... the AC were infamous for frame breaks, the honda's and can am's were expensive to repair and I saw many front end issues with kawi's. Polaris are okay but not as popular here.

My current and past wheelers have always had full skid plates installed and warn winches.

The Kingquad 700 was replaced by a 750 and there are probably some good deals on the used 700's. Stay away from machines that have a plow as stated above they might have been beaten to death......but w/o a plow and install one yourself. I refuse to plow or have one installed since I am too old to be a tough guy........ I like the comfort of my 3/4T chebby with a 9' plow, heater and cupholder for my coffee!!!

Oh yeah......... buy a helmet too.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Like my 4 wheel drive club car

 

[NewfieDan]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Have you looked at Yamaha. My BIL has 550 and loves it. I have a 700 and I still get surprised how much power it has. I don't use it for plowing. I do know it has lots of power for moving the boat around the yard though. Also known for decent reliability.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

A 4 wheeler to keep at the lake house sounds like a good idea. I don't know what I'd do without my Honda Foreman 450 and Honda 500 with power steering. There are larger units on the market, but I see no reason to go with anything bigger. Mine run 55 mph or more, and that's fast enough to hurt you. I certainly suggest getting one with power steering, especially if you're going to install deeper lug tires.

Our local dealer's selling the Yamaha 450 Grizzly auto w/ps for $6700. The Yamaha 500 goes for $7100. The 2013 Honda Foreman 4x4 electric steer is $6100. They rip your head off on options and camo paint.

You can find new Kymco's, Bennche's and other Far East/Chinese ATV's on the market. But the availability of parts is very important, and you want to do business with a dealership that'll be there to service your needs in the future. I wouldn't touch one.

In our area, Honda and Yamaha are the biggest sellers and I hear great things about durability. The Bombardier is a great machine, but out of my price range and dealers are few and far between. The Polaris machines are not as durable as Honda/Yamaha's, and they're also expensive. I do like the Kawasaki's very much, and some Suzuki's are actually Kawasaki's and vice versa. Both are well priced and very durable.

ATV's hold their value exceptionally well and I would suggest you go with a new bike if you can swing it financially. Since you're in an area that gets so much snow, I would suggest you switch the OEM tires for a mud style tire and install a winch on day one.

 

[82rude]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

if you have a dealer around you kymco is a sleeper brand.look at most of the atv rags, they usually rate them very good with the provisio that there are not a lot of dealers yet.good value for the bucks.i have a sportsman 500 polaris and im very happy with it .does everything I want it to and more.heck your right in polaris country my friend!if you find a good deal don't let the lack of powersteering stop you as aftermarket p.s. is easily installed on lots of models.im putting it on my bike next year for sure.up where I am Hondas are stupidly priced and polaris is much more reasonable.of the main brands up here new bikes are usually Honda or polaris as we lost our suzzy dealer along with can-am and yammy.sucks to be in the middle of nowhere sometimes.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Thanks for the responses...It did cross my mind that the ultra low mile ones for sale with a plow are low because they spend their life working. I need to figure out the miles to hours correspondence since they track hours as well. Some have low miles and higher hours and others low miles and low hours.

As for Polaris, of course there is a marina about 3 miles from the lake home that sells Polaris wheelers so good point service is very close and nothing remotely nearby other than them. The KYMCO reviews for the 700i are relatively good and are in the vein of 'not bad for a newcomer but have to make some improvements' and the only dealer I've seen for them is hours away.

I wonder if a 450 is enough...when you get under 500CC's the prices drop dramatically. I'm always of the opinion that the bigger the engine the better but a 700cc or an 800cc will probably go to waste on me. Also the bigger bore version seem to have all kinds of nice options on them that the little guys lack.

The other thing that bothers me is the new ones seem to only have 6 month warranties. That is to me a joke of a warranty period.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

The bigger engine will help with plowing, although honestly I'd buy a snowblower. Plowing with an atv sucks and unless you have 1" of snow is slower than just using a snowblower.

Short warranties are standard on machines that people buy to beat the crap out of. Snowmobiles are the same way.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

The only one I can say stay away from is the Kmyco, there are very hard to find parts for, made in china and just not a good bike, I personally ride a Yamaha, quite old, but still works great, it is full time 4x4, which I would not do again, but it is what I had the money to buy when I got it.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

The bigger engine will help with plowing, although honestly I'd buy a snowblower. Plowing with an atv sucks and unless you have 1" of snow is slower than just using a snowblower.

Short warranties are standard on machines that people buy to beat the crap out of. Snowmobiles are the same way.

Keep in mind the plow helps with the justification for buying one with the boss and our parking is such that we do legitimately need some method of snow removal.

As for Kymco, to me they should be a lot less expensive than they are compared to the other established brands. I believe it is Korean and while I think Hyundai shows a lot of value for the money after many years of being the butt of jokes, I'm not certain I'd take the leap there with a wheeler. It would need to so much less that you just couldn't ignore it.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

KYMCO or Kwang Yang Motor Co, Ltd, is a Taiwanese company that manufactures motor scooters, motorcycles, and ATVs for worldwide distribution. Founded in 1963 after splitting from Honda, KYMCO originally made parts for Honda.

 

[82rude]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

The only one I can say stay away from is the Kmyco, there are very hard to find parts for, made in china and just not a good bike, I personally ride a Yamaha, quite old, but still works great, it is full time 4x4, which I would not do again, but it is what I had the money to buy when I got it.

you have personal experience with kymco?all the rags ive read say that they are just as good as the established names .the down side is dealer support.kymco is a large mfg ,just not over here.also Taiwanese,not Chinese.another one that is Chinese is cf moto though same goes for them ,little dealer support yet,though they do have a 5 year warranty.ive had Yamaha products that were total junk ,same with Honda. it happens, but is not the norm.so my point is I will not shoot down a bike maker till I know that they are selling scrap.this is a general statement MTboatguy and is not directed at you personally.i own a polaris which is the best period so I don't know why im even discussing other makes . I can see this is going to turn into a ford vs chevy thread,lol.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Ok Taiwanese. I swear I saw Korean. The graphics on their machines were a bit cheesy too I thought. Funny my wife actually seems to be agreeing with me as I've hinted a couple times at buying one. She though it'd be a good xmas gift for the family. We already have a snowmobile trailer so at least that part is covered.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Honda.........! Had many over the years both bikes and 4 wheelers.....Parts avalibilty anywhere.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

you have personal experience with kymco?all the rags ive read say that they are just as good as the established names .the down side is dealer support.kymco is a large mfg ,just not over here.also Taiwanese,not Chinese.another one that is Chinese is cf moto though same goes for them ,little dealer support yet,though they do have a 5 year warranty.ive had Yamaha products that were total junk ,same with Honda. it happens, but is not the norm.so my point is I will not shoot down a bike maker till I know that they are selling scrap.this is a general statement MTboatguy and is not directed at you personally.i own a polaris which is the best period so I don't know why im even discussing other makes . I can see this is going to turn into a ford vs chevy thread,lol.

Yes, I have personal experience with Kymco, there are a few in my area and I have towed them in from the area I hunt. Where I live in Montana there is a very high density of ATV's, virtually everyone owns an ATV, we use them for all kinds of work. Another thing about the Kymco bikes, I have not seen a snow plow for them as of yet, that don't mean they don't make one, but I have yet to see one. If you are going to do much plowing, the bigger bikes are much better, I did plow with my 400 for a couple of years, but anything other than a light snow fall, takes a long time and the way the plows are set on ATV's can make it difficult to plow with them because the plow blade will bounce over the hard pack snow. I set mine up with a synthetic rope on the winch after breaking cables several times.

I am not saying what is best, but unless you have a dealer close by, I would not purchase a kymco.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

So what are your thoughts on power steering? It's about $600 more on a Polaris? Is it necessary or a convenience? My entire experience with 4 wheelers was growing up on a 1986 Honda 200sx 2x4 back in 86 that my good friend owned. That thing was unstoppable. I can't imagine how much more capable a modern machine is.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

I drove my buddies Yamaha 700 with power steering and it was very nice, I could see how it would improve tight turns when plowing, however as you saw, it is an expensive option.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

I drove my buddies Yamaha 700 with power steering and it was very nice, I could see how it would improve tight turns when plowing, however as you saw, it is an expensive option.

Ok good point...didn't think of its benefits when plowing.