Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

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.

Meh - don't worry about the wheels. If you feel the need for alloy wheels you can always add them later.

If I were in the market, I'd be looking at this one:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/sno/4209561664.html

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Meh - don't worry about the wheels. If you feel the need for alloy wheels you can always add them later.

If I were in the market, I'd be looking at this one:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/sno/4209561664.html

Well that posting is already removes so betting it was something good. For fun I went and priced some new ones on the factory sites and see the value of used a bit more. Just the low grade rims upgrade is $1,000, a plow is $1,000, winch is at least $250, and on and on. I realize those are msrp but wow the add on really add up.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

I only paid $300 for my plow and only $79 for my winch, got the winch mount off ebay for $25, around here there are always people selling rims for less than $200 often times with tires. I put radial tires on my and only paid $25 a piece for them, got them from a dealer at dealer garage sale, they were takes off from new rigs. My plow was a Moose snow plow, 60" model. The best time to buy plows is in the spring, lots of people get rid of them after snow season.

 

[82rude]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

roscoe. artic cat atv,s like yours and several other smallish ones are rebadged kymco,s.they also make them for some of the others also.cat 450 is a kymco.was just watching a atv programme and they mentioned this ,had no clue, so who knows whom is already riding a kymco and doesn't even have a clue!!MTboatguy,i just drove past a samurai yesterday in mint condition all jacked up and looking pretty.back in the 80,s up here we had a rig called the lada niva.did you guys have them in the states?russian rig,tough as nails and could climb like a billygoat.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

82,

I saw a lot of lada niva's when I was stationed over seas, but have not seen any in the area that I live in, they were a pretty cheap rig, that could basically go anywhere, one of the guys that was stationed with me shipped his Jeep CJ over to our base and that lada, kick butt against that jeep!

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

As I'm still looking I think I hemmed and hawed too much when I started this. The private party, nearly new, wheelers that were for sale, little did I know, were all really good deals and are now all gone off of CL. I stopped by the powersports dealer by the cabin this weekend with the kids and they warned me against getting an 800 or an 850 when they saw the kids' ages. Apparently they are a bit too much power to mix with kids who might be driving them in a few years.

It seems it is practically the All Polaris show as I am learning around here in MN. Arctic Cats are far and few and just not the same value for the money and the rest of the foreign brands are all more money. It seems though that the Polaris are just a higher maintenance machine than the others but are such a value. As for KYMCO, they were the oem for several major brands for their smaller wheelers and up until 2010 had a non compete agreement in place hence why the newest KYMCO wheeler is a 2010. Additionally, apparently the Polaris employees receive a free wheeler from Polaris and dumped a bunch of them on the market...I think that would explain all the low milers I saw a couple weeks back. The dealer told me about the employees flooding the market and a friend has a friend who works at Polaris who explained they actually receive them for free as part of compensation somehow. So I keep my eyes peeled.

 

[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.

If you do get the Honda, the only gripe I had was the steering and how hard it was. Power steering would be a must if I ever have one again, the Rancher was very tough on steering!!

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

If you do get the Honda, the only gripe I had was the steering and how hard it was. Power steering would be a must if I ever have one again, the Rancher was very tough on steering!!

Yeah, I had my wife with me at the Polaris dealer and she is getting on board and having heard the difference between the difficult slow speed steering without power steering, she wants it. I'm getting the sense from every review video that I've seen that Polaris is like the chink in the 4 wheeler armor offering better machines with leading innovations for a cheaper price. One video I saw, the professional reviewer was literally gushing about how much better the Polaris sportsman 550 xp was than any wheeler they've ever tested...ever.

 

[Travis91]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

honda, yamaha, kawi, and Suzuki are the best in that order in my opinion. I wouldn't **** on a Polaris or arctic cat that was on fire.. Dont buy a belt drive or CVT transmission.. buy gear drive.. I have a honda rancher 350 electric button shift two wheel drive.. Ive worked as assistant mechanic at a leading artic cat dealer right next to a artic cat certified mechanic. Even he would only buy honda or yamaha.. said he wouldnt own a Arctic cat if it didn't have skis..

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Yeah it is funny that most manufacturers...I think only one doesn't have cvt these days, all use cvt. I recall way back when Polaris introduced CVT and we were all thinking how odd it was to have a wheeler operate like a sled. Really the only downside I've heard about Polaris (here where Polaris are favored very heavily and not sure you can get a non bias opinion) is that they design the wheeler so their belts can slip and they need to be replaced more often along with the gasket.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Haven't bought one yet? Uh-oh, snow fell - price just went up

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Haven't bought one yet? Uh-oh, snow fell - price just went up

Yep and the selection is practically nil. Gonna be rough at the cabin this weekend with just a shovel and no way to bring my snowblower up. I need a truck like nobody's business. At least I have my sleds.

 

[Lone Duck]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

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

How about a John deere with a dump box on the back. Does everything the others do just a little slower.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Yep and the selection is practically nil. Gonna be rough at the cabin this weekend with just a shovel and no way to bring my snowblower up. I need a truck like nobody's business. At least I have my sleds.

Just get one of those racks that attaches to the receiver hitch - load snowblower on that.
Ultra-Tow Receiver Cargo Carrier ? 500-Lb. Capacity, Fits 2in. Receiver Hitches | Receiver Hitch Cargo Carriers| Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

How about a John deere with a dump box on the back. Does everything the others do just a little slower.

Funny you mention that. They aren't what I want but there was one on the market locally that they seemed to not be able to give away.
I think it was a Buck model. The kept dropping the price.

Just get one of those racks that attaches to the receiver hitch - load snowblower on that.
Ultra-Tow Receiver Cargo Carrier — 500-Lb. Capacity, Fits 2in. Receiver Hitches | Receiver Hitch Cargo Carriers| Northern Tool + Equipment

That's a great idea but i'll be towing the sleds up there.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

That's a great idea but i'll be towing the sleds up there.

And it won't fit on the trailer with the sleds? Even if it doesn't there are some racks that are designed to tow behind (receiver hitch hooks to the back) and you shouldn't have an issue exceeding the rating if all you are towing is a trailer with a couple sleds.

Sounds like you need to upgrade to a 3 place trailer though if you are considering an ATV or need to haul extra stuff

Something like this that has the V
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/sno/4216428487.html

 

[Lone Duck]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Yup they are not stylish or racy, had one on the trap line, Always got the job done. easy maintenance.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

And it won't fit on the trailer with the sleds? Even if it doesn't there are some racks that are designed to tow behind (receiver hitch hooks to the back) and you shouldn't have an issue exceeding the rating if all you are towing is a trailer with a couple sleds.

Sounds like you need to upgrade to a 3 place trailer though if you are considering an ATV or need to haul extra stuff

Something like this that has the V
snowmobile Trailer 2 or 3 place w/ Ramp

I need to put the sleds on the trailer and see if it can fit...it's a big snow blower. Trailer is out back and sleds get stored in the garage but haven't actually used the trailer for the sleds in years so don't recall how much room between the sleds at the rear there is.
I'm falling into the trap of needing more and more and more stuff it seems. Trailer is a 5 year, old two place Floe tilt style I bought new and hate to think about getting something bigger. Go figure, now, Wayne Floe is my neighbor at the lake.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

I need to put the sleds on the trailer and see if it can fit...it's a big snow blower. Trailer is out back and sleds get stored in the garage but haven't actually used the trailer for the sleds in years so don't recall how much room between the sleds at the rear there is.
I'm falling into the trap of needing more and more and more stuff it seems. Trailer is a 5 year, old two place Floe tilt style I bought new and hate to think about getting something bigger. Go figure, now, Wayne Floe is my neighbor at the lake.

Seems unlikely that you would be able to fit it between the sleds in the rear unless you can really swing them to the sides a bunch. On our 2 place there is about 4" between the skis of the 2 sleds, which means only a couple feet between the tracks. On the bright side, aluminum sled trailers don't really depreciate much

 

[jkust]

Re: Anybody Know 4 Wheelers?

Seems unlikely that you would be able to fit it between the sleds in the rear unless you can really swing them to the sides a bunch. On our 2 place there is about 4" between the skis of the 2 sleds, which means only a couple feet between the tracks. On the bright side, aluminum sled trailers don't really depreciate much

Well due to the insane cold at the lake we decided to stay home for the weekend so will have more time to figure out what will and won't fit on the trailer with the two sleds. Yeah, It seems alum sled trailers hold a constant price and there are few innovations or improvements on them from year to year. My 2007 holdover I got in 2008 is identical to the newest one. Only thing they changed was the optional loops that you use in the smart track system that I only just bought earlier in the year anyway. Apparently they innovated.