Picking a new ATV?

tom4018 · Nov 12, 2011

Any problems with the fuel injected ones?
Is Honda electric shift troulble free/
Belts drives?

whistlepig · Nov 13, 2011

tom4018 said:
Any problems with the fuel injected ones?
Is Honda electric shift troulble free/
Belts drives?

I have a 2006 Polaris 800 EFI Sportsman. EFI is the only way to go. Starts so much better. For sure in cold weather. It also has belt drive and the belt drive has been trouble free for almost six years. We also have a 2000 Honda Rancher with the ESP electronic shift. The electronic shift on the Honda is a bit more troublesome and takes more maintenance than the Polaris belt drive. All things considered if I had to chose between Honda and Polaris I would go Honda.

drakefamily2 · Nov 13, 2011

I have a belt drive on a Kawasaki, never any trouble.

Code54 · Nov 13, 2011

The older Honda ESP machines had a few issues but they seemed to got that worked out and I have not heard of many problems with the newer ones.
We bought a small Rancher 420 a while back with EFI and ESP. No issues. I like the idea of not having the belt (if the ESP goes down I can manually shift it to get home) but my Rhino is a belt drive and I have never had any issues so......
The EFI is the way to go, no if's ands or buts. Always starts fast, runs smooth and I have never had the gas issues on my EFI stuff that I have had on carbs. I am a big fan!

Kyle_in_Tex · Nov 13, 2011

My buddy likes his Yamaha with the assisted power steering.

sal64 · Nov 13, 2011

we just bought a rancher, we bough the shift one. i read somewere that the esp isnt as good if you are pulling something

tom4018 · Nov 13, 2011

sal64 said:
we just bought a rancher, we bough the shift one. i read somewere that the esp isnt as good if you are pulling something

Wonder how the belt drives are at pulling?

dconine · Nov 13, 2011

As far as I know, all of the Ranchers have Hondas "Hondamatic" transmission which is a true tranny with no belts. We have a 2003 350 Rancher with almost 9,000 miles with no ESP problems. We have pulled quite some heavy loads without any trouble.

sal64 · Nov 13, 2011

two things i dont like on the rancher is plastic skidplate and no kick or pull starter,if your battery dies your stuck, they do sell opptionall pull starter and alum skidplate.

WilliamBos · Nov 13, 2011

tom4018 said:
Wonder how the belt drives are at pulling?

Honda is the only one who does not use Belt CVT, so what does that say?? They are far from Crap. Honda chose a different path.

IF you are looking for a puller, do not buy a small quad. Depending on how much you want to pull of course.

Dirt trax did a review of the electric/foot shift 420. Have a look.

sal64 · Nov 13, 2011

i also have a 1984 honda sx350 4x4 it still runs, never failed me.

foreman Etexas · Nov 13, 2011

My father has the Rincon and I have a brute force 650,I dont like how the Rincon shifts but the ride is really comfortable.Power the brute force really out does the Rincon.Now I have been threw 2 belts but i also have a 2in.lift and 28in.tires(dont have it in reverse trying to keep yourself from sliding forward when winching will smoke the belt everytime).Neither has had any issues(other than my belt ) and they are both 3yrs old. The belts are really not a big issue,I really abuse mine and only had the 2 go out doing stuff I shouldnt have been,saying that the cost of a belt is 100 bucks and takes about 15min. not a real costly mistake. Ill take my ArticCat Prowler over both..

DCTCJT · Nov 13, 2011

tom4018 said:
Any problems with the fuel injected ones?
Is Honda electric shift troulble free/
Belts drives?

What is your intended use for the ATV? Just riding? Riding and work? Some machines are better suited to certain tasks than others.

With that said, I have a Suzuki King Quad... great quad... very reliable and ride-able. Excellent CVT (belt drive).

There are plenty of guys that swear by the Honda ES... there are also a fair share that swear at them. Other than that, Honda's are reliable machines.

Wouldn't have an ATV without EFI... and EPS for that matter.

tom4018 · Nov 13, 2011

DCTCJT said:
What is your intended use for the ATV? Just riding? Riding and work? Some machines are better suited to certain tasks than others.

With that said, I have a Suzuki King Quad... great quad... very reliable and ride-able. Excellent CVT (belt drive).

There are plenty of guys that swear by the Honda ES... there are also a fair share that swear at them. Other than that, Honda's are reliable machines.

Wouldn't have an ATV without EFI... and EPS for that matter.

Mainly farm use, running fences checking cows and a little pleasure riding on the farm. Want somthing easy to drive for the kids and wife.

Milo · Nov 13, 2011

tom4018 said:
Want somthing easy to drive for the kids and wife.

Honda's Rancher AT could be a good option. EFI, full auto or paddle shift, and I think IRS now. We have an older AT (carb and solid rear axle) and an older 300 King Quad. Everyone (except me) likes the Honda better.
I happen to like the manual 5 speed with 3 range transmission on the Suzuki better.

tom4018 · Nov 13, 2011

Milo said:
Honda's Rancher AT could be a good option. EFI, full auto or paddle shift, and I think IRS now. We have an older AT (carb and solid rear axle) and an older 300 King Quad. Everyone (except me) likes the Honda better.
I happen to like the manual 5 speed with 3 range transmission on the Suzuki better.

Just looked a 2011 up, $6300. It may be something to consider.

Kyle_in_Tex · Nov 13, 2011

I know they have warnings out the ying yang about underage kids riding the full size ATVs, but, have any parents been prosecuted for their kids getting hurt badly on one?

DCTCJT · Nov 13, 2011

tom4018 said:
Just looked a 2011 up, $6300. It may be something to consider.

Yep, the Rancher AT would be a good one to consider. If your wife and kids are going to be riding it, you probably want to stick with an auto... whether it be a Honda type auto, or another brand with a CVT. A paddle shift or even a ES may be a pain for them.

Another option might be a Yamaha Grizzly... probably the 550 or maybe even the 450. The Grizzlies are also on a slightly smaller frame (especially the 450) than some of the big quad like the Sportsman or King Quad, and the big ones might be too much for the wife and kids to handle. However the 550/700 700 frames are still good for an adult too.

If you are intent on the wife and kids riding the machine, make sure you take them along to insure that they are comfortable with the machine.

Good luck with your decision.

tom4018 · Nov 13, 2011

Kyle_in_Tex said:
I know they have warnings out the ying yang about underage kids riding the full size ATVs, but, have any parents been prosecuted for their kids getting hurt badly on one?

Biggest helper on the farm is my 22 year old daughter.

tom4018 · Nov 13, 2011

DCTCJT said:
Yep, the Rancher AT would be a good one to consider. If your wife and kids are going to be riding it, you probably want to stick with an auto... whether it be a Honda type auto, or another brand with a CVT. A paddle shift or even a ES may be a pain for them.

Another option might be a Yamaha Grizzly... probably the 550 or maybe even the 450. The Grizzlies are also on a slightly smaller frame (especially the 450) than some of the big quad like the Sportsman or King Quad, and the big ones might be too much for the wife and kids to handle. However the 550/700 700 frames are still good for an adult too.

If you are intent on the wife and kids riding the machine, make sure you take them along to insure that they are comfortable with the machine.

Good luck with your decision.

We rode a friend;s Honda with ES today and his Polaris 500. I like the Polaris better and i think the wife does. Looked at a Grizzly 450 the other day with EPS but have not rode one. The one thing I don't like about it is not EFI, thought that might make one less cold natured. The 550 is but then again more money. Found a 850 Polaris with EPS for $8000 but really don't want to spend that much. Really want to replace the 17 year old unit though.