travisville

Why does everybody think they need so much power!!?? What's wrong with a 300-500 honda?

BillyMack

Go to www.highlifter.com

Look under the "Mudhole" tab and look for the forums. LOTS of info on all brands. Price will vary right smart regionally. Southern Powersports in Chattanooga, TN has 'em for $5,800 OTD! []

homers brother

Travis,

Absolutely nothing wrong with a 300 Honda. My dad rides his with neighbors who have 500 and 700 Polarii (what's the plural of "Polaris"?). Goes everywhere they go - and then some, since he's not having to pack fuel along with him. My brother also has a 700 Polaris, and he complains about how much gas it uses, too. I've ridden both and prefer the Honda, simply because it doesn't feel like an open-air 3/4-ton crewcab pickup like the Polaris does.

We don't hunt from/with them, though. Around here, the Forest Service closes most of the roads and trails by deer season. You see a few guys on four-wheelers on the main roads, and sometimes tracks from an "illegal" who's found a way around one of the Forest Service gates. Nothing more irritating than hiking through timber all day to get to a "pristine" hunting area and sitting down for lunch and hearing that "putt-putt-putt-putt" of a gate-crashing, four-wheeling hunter leaving a spot he shouldn't have been toin the first place. A pox on them. If the rangers are out, they'll give them tickets for going around the gates.

But, the more road-bound and trail-bound hunters there are, the easier it is for guys with nothing but a rifle and a good pair of boots to get into the woods and into thedeer.

stubblejumper

And it will spend less time in the shop as well.However as a Canadian,I will never buy any can am or bombardier product,because they as a Canadian company continue screwing us Canadians by charging use a great deal more,despite our dollar being worth more.I can tolerate that from a foreign company,but not from a Canadian company that has in the past been subsidized by the Canadian taxpayers.

stalkingbear

If I was getting a new atv today,I would choose rhino sxs. In conventional atvs,my pick would be artic cat's thundercat 1000.

wyotimberghost

One word- FUN. Sure, the small-bore quads will get you everywhere you need to go, but the ride won't be nearly as entertaining. After riding big-bore quads for recreation a number of years now, I find trail riding much less enjoyable when I have to use a smaller machine.

homers brother

WyoTG,

Ha, ha - "entertaining"? Now just what might you mean by that? Are they putting DVD players and XM radio on ATVs now?

Now, if it's "excitement" you want, there are a couple government outfits around that'll even give you the "H1" and all the weapons and ammo you need! Gotta putup with guys trying to blow you up, but hey ...!

ATVs just seem to be going the same direction snowmobiles have gone lately. Ten years ago, people would have thought I was nuts for riding something biggerthan 600cc, now they think I'm nuts for riding something as "small" as 670cc. Bigger motors, heavier/bulkier chassis (what took two guys to lift now takes four), and LOTS more expensive.

Most guys could buy a used 4x4 for what one of these big quads is going for, trick it out a little, and have a street-legal hunting rig that'll do double duty the rest of the year.

I suppose it's whatever floats your boat, though. I've ridden both my dad's little Honda and my brother's big Polaris. To me, the Polaris decided for me where it was going (so big,it didn't give me a lot of say in the matter),I HATE that belt-drive (fine for snowmobiles), and be sure to bring your earplugs. Sure, the Honda's probably a little "pokey", and maybe not so "entertaining", but much more nimble (standing on the pegs you could actually "throw" it around a little to get around deadfall on the trail), none of that belt-drive clutching to annoy you, and you can still pick one up new for a few thousand bucks less than what an "800+" costs.

I could apply what I save to .... more hunting trips? I've had enough "excitement" packed into12 months to last alifetime.

stalkingbear

I would like very much to get the biggest and most powerful atv I can find,and then hop it up. I'm not even talking about excitement of atv riding. I'm likely 1 of the last people to actually USE my atv for other reasons. Why I like the biggest,baddest atv is partially due to the fact that I weigh almost 300#,have pulled trucks, elk, moose out,and have skidded logs with mine. For the moment I'm still using my artic-cat 500 with manual transmission,full blown bigbore kit resulting in 730 ccs,27"x12"x12" vampire tires,3000# winch,etc.
I have done things with it that God and artic-cat NEVER intended it do!!!!!

rookie51

I have personally never owned a polaris, but i have seen my freinds be very disapointed with thiers. I highly doubt i will ever buy anthing that isnt honda. My fourtrax has been flipped at least 5 times, burried to the racks in mud and water, and hit a tree doing about 30 mph. It is still trucken and starts everytime and the most work that has ever been done to it is oil and air filter change. It a 96 with more miles than most peoples trucks. Just my opinion, you buy what makes you happy because that is all that matters.

wyotimberghost

Maybe "thrilling" is a more suitable word.

I also find the Polaris 800 to be much too heavy a machine. I think the same thing about the Polaris Sportsman 450 and 500 too. Their excessive weigh has nothing to do with being big-bore machines, because a 450 and 500 were not considered big bore quads the last time I checked. It's just the way Polaris makes their quads.

My Kawi Prairie 650 weighs nearly the same as Honda 450 or 500 (600lbs), so it is just as easy to throw around, but it has that extra power that'll rocket you around corners and up hills and get you going 60+mph with ease. Same with our Grizzly 660. Dimension-wise they're both larger, so they may not fit between narrow gaps quite so well, but both the grizz and the prairie turn tighter than the Honda 450's that I ride at work, so it all evens out in the end when it comes to manueverability. What's more, the Prairie has a lower center of gravity and lower seat-hight than the Honda 450, and consequently performs much better on side-hills.

There is only one set-back to big bore quads in my eyes, and that is their price. But even this can be solved by buying a used machine instead of dropping $7K on a new one.........