Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

[82rude]

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.

those that have power steering say its the greatest thing since sliced bread.i don't have it but you can bet your bottom dollar it will be put on my sportsman next year.in my previous post I wasn't putting down yammy or Honda just pointing out in any product you can get a lemon or a terribly designed product.i looked at tons of bikes before I bought my polaris and the main points for were ride,parts ,dealer and word of mouth around my area.im like MTboatguy in that I live in a area where there are tons of atv,s and 5 minutes from my door an area the size of most states that is virtually uninhabited.when I first got the atv a couple of years ago I put over 800 miles on it just moose hunting and bird hunting in 10 days.though we lost suzzy,can-am and yammy at least we have an option to go to soo Michigan to get parts for most except can-am.my local polaris dealer will match any advertised Michigan price so I know I got a fair deal on my bike.i have several friends that do have yammy and Honda and they love them though they will admit that the polaris is far and away the better for ride quality.i do find the polaris is a little porky compared to a similar sized competitors' bike though.if we leave kymco out of the list I would say you really cant go wrong with any of the big seven mfg as long as you have proper dealer support for at least till the warranty is expired .afer that in this day and age you can order almost anypart online be it aftermarket or oem in a matter of days.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Never driven one with PS, but I guess if you are playing in the mud or not strong enough to muscle it around then it would be a good feature. Most important option is a helmet, no matter what you are doing on it. Friend of mines sister died in a driveway at idle - ran her front wheel up on a rear wheel of another quad - over backwards and onto head.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Funny, you'd think it wouldn't be too much to ask for power steering and EFI to be the norm.
So here's another question. I see some used 500CC Polaris with EFI and some 2013 550HO Polaris with Carbs. Was EFI an option? Why is it on some 2007 500's but not on 2013 550's?

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Never driven one with PS, but I guess if you are playing in the mud or not strong enough to muscle it around then it would be a good feature. Most important option is a helmet, no matter what you are doing on it. Friend of mines sister died in a driveway at idle - ran her front wheel up on a rear wheel of another quad - over backwards and onto head.

Wow that just sucks. We are helmet people as we've gotten used to them snowmobiling for so many years where it's cold so not really an option.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

cant go wrong with a gently used honda

For utility purposes I think the Honda is a no brainer. Their power plants are proven winners, the "rancher" I owned at the lake for the same reasons served me well. I do disagree about used value, I bought new and with just 12 hours on her, sold it at loss big enough to say, I wouldn't buy new again. Let another person take the hit then grab a used, blinged out one. Those add on's do add up. I also wouldn't chose the best one based on what cost the most. I would have put Polaris at or near the top of my list, but I'm sure others will have much different views. Used is your best value once you figure out which model fits your needs.

Have fun!!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

I do disagree about used value, I bought new and with just 12 hours on her, sold it at loss big enough to say, I wouldn't buy new again. Let another person take the hit then grab a used, blinged out one.

Problem with used toys (sleds and ATV's) is that the first hours of their life are the ones that some chucklehead can use to really screw them up. If I were buying used, I'd buy one with 100 hours before I bought one with 12.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

For utility purposes I think the Honda is a no brainer. Their power plants are proven winners, the "rancher" I owned at the lake for the same reasons served me well. I do disagree about used value, I bought new and with just 12 hours on her, sold it at loss big enough to say, I wouldn't buy new again. Let another person take the hit then grab a used, blinged out one. Those add on's do add up. I also wouldn't chose the best one based on what cost the most. I would have put Polaris at or near the top of my list, but I'm sure others will have much different views. Used is your best value once you figure out which model fits your needs.

Have fun!!

Problem with used toys (sleds and ATV's) is that the first hours of their life are the ones that some chucklehead can use to really screw them up. If I were buying used, I'd buy one with 100 hours before I bought one with 12.

Good points. Funny back in the day it was all about Honda's and now I rarely see a Rancher for sale on CL. I haven't seen enough to even form an opinion.
As for the hours...I wonder what the break in hours are on these. 10, 20, 40 hours? I've had good luck with used snowmobiles but those things depreciate like nobody's business. The 2 stroke engines on the previous generation ones are almost bullet proof I've found. Four wheelers...I honestly have no clue.
The very idea of a one cylinder engine baffles me.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Good points. Funny back in the day it was all about Honda's and now I rarely see a Rancher for sale on CL. I haven't seen enough to even form an opinion.
As for the hours...I wonder what the break in hours are on these. 10, 20, 40 hours? I've had good luck with used snowmobiles but those things depreciate like nobody's business. The 2 stroke engines on the previous generation ones are almost bullet proof I've found. Four wheelers...I honestly have no clue.
The very idea of a one cylinder engine baffles me.

There just aren't many Honda dealers in MN.

As for break in
The manual will say for sure, but on a Polaris:

The break-in period for your new POLARIS ATV is the first ten hours

of operation, or the time it takes to use the first two full tanks of gaso-

line. No single action on your part is as important as following the pro-

cedures for a proper break-in. Careful treatment of a new engine and

drive components will result in more efficient performance and longer

life for these components.

NOTICE: Excessive heat build-up during the first three hours of operation will

damage close-fitted engine parts and drive components. Do not

operate at full throttle or high speeds during the first three hours of

use.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

how bout finding a cheap suzuki samuri.....fix it up to be street legal and add a 5 foot plow. they are not much bigger than an average side by side utv and have heat, windshield wipers and a radio!! for less than 3 grand you could be plowing your driveway and making a few bucks plowing others.Suzuki Samurai offroad extreme - YouTube

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Good luck finding a samurai around here. They were popular with the offroad crowd for a while, but they rust into dime sized pieces from all the stuff we put on our roads.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Suzuki samurai,

Ya, right, I have been looking for 10 years now, talk about a pipe dream!

 

[nwcove]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

lol...same deal here! great little 4x4....but they all dissolved in the salt air.

 

[82rude]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

same here on the samurai,s.we also went through a period where a lot of guys were buying those used Japanese mini trucks.they come in 4x4 and have a small motor like a suzy 660 engine.also right hand drive and street legal.back to bikes ,in a few years I believe efi and powersteering will be the normal and non p/s will be rare.how many manual steering cars and trucks are around now?how many carb car and trucks are made now?

 

[roscoe]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Honda and Polaris are tops, have had both. 500 Honda, 600 Polaris
Now I have a 400 Cat ONE CYLINDER. !!!!

I consider the cat to be a mid-weight machine.

I would have kept the Polaris, but needed cash for medical expenses, so I down-sized.

I plow plenty with the 400, pushing a 60" plow.
Only very wet snow slows it down.
I clear out an area that is 40x65', plus another 50' of drive, and often 50' of the road so the county plow doesn't dump everything in my driveway..

I agree, find a gently used wife's machine, than add your own winch and plow.

I picked up a Warn Pro Vantage plow system for mine. I use a winch, not their plow lift mechanism, as reviews for it were so-so.

Went with this plow setup because I wanted the high lift capability. It allows you to pile the snow up quite a bit higher than a rail mounted plow.











http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sue_laqcH5o


And you don't need the power pivot gizmo.

Have the dealer install the plow, and heated handgrips.


It doesn't really matter which is best ( Ford-Chevy-Dodge-Toyota), you want one that feels right to you.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

same here on the samurai,s.we also went through a period where a lot of guys were buying those used Japanese mini trucks.they come in 4x4 and have a small motor like a suzy 660 engine.also right hand drive and street legal.back to bikes ,in a few years I believe efi and powersteering will be the normal and non p/s will be rare.how many manual steering cars and trucks are around now?how many carb car and trucks are made now?

I bet I can drain and clean a dirty carb, faster than you can find someone to tow your disabled efi back to the trailhead.

And my steering will still be working.

 

[82rude]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

:joyous:roscoe. for one thing I have a standard steering carbed 500 ho polaris sportsman .you sound just like my chum ,I will never buy a efi truck ever!!!well guess what, if you want new you certainly will .the powersteering on bikes is normally electric assist and you do have steering if it fails just like a standard bike. remember when efi first started coming out in cars years ago ?now where are we at?heck powersteering is even making its way into snowmachines now.efi is proven technology ,not some dark mystic bugabaloo.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Oh, I love technology, just like to keep things simple and serviceable if they are going to be used in the wilderness.

Things like outboards and atv's can leave you stranded or worse, 30 or 50 miles from help.

Cars and trucks are usually driven near civilization, but I still don't think I need things like v2v and auto drive.

Too bad no one is still making a "world" car.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Good points. Funny back in the day it was all about Honda's and now I rarely see a Rancher for sale on CL. I haven't seen enough to even form an opinion.
As for the hours...I wonder what the break in hours are on these. 10, 20, 40 hours? I've had good luck with used snowmobiles but those things depreciate like nobody's business. The 2 stroke engines on the previous generation ones are almost bullet proof I've found. Four wheelers...I honestly have no clue.
The very idea of a one cylinder engine baffles me.

My hunting buddy just snagged two nice quads from an auction, these two were used at our local Air Base and had less than 300 miles on each one. His cost was less than $1000.00 for both. They did require some work, but in the end he got a smoking good deal. Once you figure out what you want, that may be a consideration (auctions). Good luck

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

If you want a smoking good deal, you just wait until deer hunting season is over and the guys who can't pay for their quads are thinking about swapping for a sled they can't afford.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

If you want a smoking good deal, you just wait until deer hunting season is over and the guys who can't pay for their quads are thinking about swapping for a sled they can't afford.

Good call. I'm betting there is a season for them like for boats. Been looking every day and haven't seen one that's peaked my attention yet. Problem is I look at them and think well since I'm buying used, i'd like the ones with the aluminum wheels, which tend to be the big bore/more expensive ones. I don't like the stamped steel wheels that rust. Saw one I liked that was only 5k and 3 years old/big bore the whole thing but had 5,000 miles and two owners which was a record for mileage so far that I've seen. It really is almost amazing at how many wheelers have only a few hundred miles on them after 5 years.