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Need Input - Gonna start the search for a 4 wheeler

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
Case in point. All Hondas and Yamahas. Then one dip shit on an Arctic Cat and a nimrod on a Suzuki sport bike!!! :D That Acrtic Cat is a POS. Just ask the guy that gave it away after riding it for a few years. He was just ready to get rid of the damn thing. My uncle borrowed it for deer season this year and you talk about a contraption of a bike. It steers like a drunk homeless guy pushing a shopping cart and runs like it's on it's last breath...

Mine would be the one with all the beer strapped to the front! LOL!!!


Hey 1023, ever ride in Hillsville PA close to Youngstown?? Now that place will make a man a whipering little boy. CJD and I have been there.
 

formerbowhunter1023

Now Posts as Jesse..
0
0
SE Ohio
Have not. But ain't no whipering little boy either! If it is just me and my bike with nothing on it, I ain't afraid to take that bitch anywhere as long as I have a helmet. I've been riding pretty serious for more than half my life. I've never raced, just rode utilities. You become one with your bike after a while and it's a thrill to challenge the both of you. We kinda got out of the riding this past summer, but I'd like to make a few trips this year if at all possible. Be nice to see some new terrain...
 
what milo said i owned two polaris , and gave both away , they are shit , now there snow mobiles are freakin awesome

honda or yamaha is my choice in quads

when i had my mercury cougar , i slid off into a ditch playing in the snow buried it in the muddy ditch , had a honda rancher pull me out , he had a guy sitting on the front end to keep front end down locked it into 4 wheel drive and out i came , ranchers are def work horses that last
 
Have not. But ain't no whipering little boy either! If it is just me and my bike with nothing on it, I ain't afraid to take that bitch anywhere as long as I have a helmet. I've been riding pretty serious for more than half my life. I've never raced, just rode utilities. You become one with your bike after a while and it's a thrill to challenge the both of you. We kinda got out of the riding this past summer, but I'd like to make a few trips this year if at all possible. Be nice to see some new terrain...



powerline park , plenty of trails , mudholes ,mud boggs ,beer, chicks in bikinis on four wheelers , its a riders dream, o and lots and lots of jacked up redneck trucks , powerline is all over youtube
 
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CdBurner

Junior Member
98
0
I agree with almost everything Bowhunter1023 said. Honda first yamaha second. There is no third.

I've had a rincon a foreman 450, a rancher and a big bear. All kicked butt, were super reliable and treated me right.

Go with liquid cooled.
 

Diablo54

Senior Member
7,082
126
Outside
Our artic cat is junk. 4 years old you can't turn the frigging thing at all. It's loud as can be also.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

CJD3

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
14,836
215
NE Ohio
Dan my Man..............

Kawasaki all the way bro.

I have a 4 x 4 750 Brute Force, fuel injected, twin V's and a big ole winch on the front. No matter what you buy invest in a electric winch, the first time you get stuck it wil pay for it's self.

Good Luck Dan.

Oh, CJD bought the same one I have and loves it. :smiley_bike:




For 15+ years I have said"someday, I'm going to get one of those 4 wheelers" and for nearly 15 years I would have bought a honda...
But this was the year. And, when I researched everywhere, talked to riders, played on the Honda and Kawasaki...

Nothing can touch the V-twin in the 2010 Kawasaki Brute Force® 750 4X4i Utility ATV . (I have the deep forest green color)
Sorry 1023. Thats just the way it is. I agree that Polaris is bad news and Arctic cat's no good either in the long run.

It really does come down to the Kawasaki or Honda Dan. I know Kawai factory rebates for the 2010 are between 500-1000 dollars if you want to beat up a dealer for 2010 clearance. If it used, It will just be a batter of timing...
Watch the used ones though. Not many old men selling em that have been babyed. Mostly guys like us on this page that ride em hard. If possible, buy a end of the year new so you know and keep for a long time.


http://www.kawasaki.com/products/product-specifications.aspx?id=399
 
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Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,506
205
Portage
I ain't afraid to take that bitch anywhere as long as I have a helmet. ...

Just a safety reminder guys,,,,,wear your helmets if you're doing anything more than putt putting around.

I lost my good fishing buddy down in UglyKat country at Thunder on the Hill on Aug 1 this past year. Drinking and riding with no helmet. He flipped his Thundercat 1000 on his chest and head and died in Pittsburgh hospital a couple hour later.

I've lost 2 friends to four wheeler accidents so far in my lifetime.
 

Schu72

Well-Known Member
3,864
113
Streetsboro
I have a 2002 Polaris sportsman 500 HO and all I have done is buy a new battery. Not sure what problems everyone else had, but mine has been a great machine. Great ride with independent rear suspension, large selection of aftermarket acessories available like the glacier plow system, plenty of power (we put my family of 4 on one bike!). To each their own I guess...I haven't owned anything else and its been years since I've rode any other bikes.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
40,355
288
Ohio
I have always been a Honda utility quad fan. Can't speak for their sport models. If I am going fast off road, I am on my dirt bike. I was hesitant when i bought my Yamaha Kodiak 450. I am very happy with it now having owned it for about 2 years. Independent suspension on the 2003 Yamaha leaves the 2006 rancher sitting in the barn usually. The Rancher pretty much just plows snow now.

The Rancher is a solid all around four wheeler. Mine is a 400 and is carburated with the electronic shift or automatic. It will do everything you would need it to do. I bought this one used in 2007 with 295miles. It had the extended warranty to three years and a snowplow. I had to give $4250.

The Kodiak (very similar to the Grizzly if you look at them) is strictly automatic and 450cc. Did not come with a plow. No warranty. It had 360miles and was a cream puff. Independent suspension all around with the differential lock. I had to give $3650 for this one two years ago.

Prior to these I had a 2000 Honda Fourman 4x4 which was also 400cc. I think I paid $2800 with a plow. Maybe not. Can't remember if I put a plow on it or it came with it. Point is, I drove it a year. I plowed snow with it and invoiced $2600 in sidewalk plowing with this machine. I sold it the next year for $3000.

Buy any Honda or Yamaha utility quad. Use them easy or use them hard. Doesn't matter. Keep them serviced. They will hold their value. That said, I am a firm believer you do not need 500-600-700-800cc machines to do what you want. I have pulled fertilizer tanks, pushed snow on commercial strip plazas, toted the kids around, and moved trailers with them. I have hauled junk and numerous other tasks. I never really abused them as we always had bigger equipment if a bigger job needed to be done. However, I maintained them. I always buy used. I keep them a couple years and move up. There are always deals to be had. Keep your eyes peeled. This is a great time to shop. Plenty of people out of work that want to give their kids a good Christmas that will be willing to sell their toys cheap right now. Plenty of deals of mowers and things too if anyone is thinking of next spring. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you want me to look for something for you. Phil
 

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
Hey CJD, you should post that link showing Hillsville. I found one link butcan't get it to copy and paste. You should talk with Jake to see if wants to sell my old one to Dan, that would be perfect. :smiley_clap:

1023 if you been riding as long as you said you need to go to this place, bring a compass becasue you can get lost, lol.


:smiley_bike:
 

Dannmann801

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,880
205
Springboro
Looking on Craigslist at a 2000 Kawasaki Prairie 400 4x4 4 wheeler ATV

Here's the text of the ad -

2000 Kawasaki Prairie 400 4x4 Automatic transmission (high and low range) with reverse. It has a 2” trailer ball on the back to tow trailers around. I am the original owner and once my son moved out of the house, we stopped riding. It has been sitting around hardly ridden for the past couple years. Had a problem in the carburetor, so I took it to the dealer in Middletown which I purchased it from and had all new parts. It runs great and drives smooth. I cleaned it up and ready to sell it. The only things wrong with it are that half of the sticker on the right side of the gas tank tore when washing it a couple years ago, the left front corner of the plastic that covers the rear cargo rack got chipped, there is a ¾” tear in the lower rubber fender of the foot wells and the speedometer stopped working. I also have a full sized rear spare tire for the 4 wheeler. I have pictures of all these that I can send you if you would like more pictures.

So -
Kawasaki?
Big enough to tote 500 #? (me, my gear, and a deer)
One owner, sounds like well maintained, he's just bitching about cosmetics....
Dude lives in a high-end kinda neighborhood, so I'm thinkin he's probably taken care of it....

Everyone's thoughts?
 

Gordo

Senior Member
5,515
121
Athens County
Mines a 360(not 350) and toated me,my dad, and a deer out last week. Me and the old man combine for prob around 480 pounds. We had all our gear and still threw the deer on the front rack.

We werent doing wheelies out of there but it was no prob at all. The 4x4 is key.

Its a work horse. Nothing fancy but gets it done and always starts.
 

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
Dan, that is what I had when when you were up last summer.

Well actually mine was a 300 4x4 automatiic. It was a good machine for me. Had it like 8 years, about after 6 years I had to replace the battery, At 8 years I bought two new front tires ( that was becasue the kids would drive it on asphalt roads to go to the barn, (back roads), a new fuel gauge, breaks and that was it. Over the course of 8 years I put $850.00 into it. I sure the heck am not complaining. Jake bought it from me, you remeber that little fellow don't you Dan? :smiley_chinrub: