My friend just bought a Honda Rancher. Its only a 350 but its very powerful, its almost as fast as my wolverine. Its avalible with eletric shift. I'm so impressed with my friends I'm thinking about buying one.

 

refer to the listings entitled "2WD or 4WD" (posted by yellolab) and "Help with Buying Decision" (posted by David Zitlow). i said some things about Polaris. whoever told you that Polaris is crap was misinformed. the only thing about my Polaris is that it is a 2 stroke and you have to maintain it. now though, Polaris has some 4 strokes(i think). and as for climbing hills, my Polaris is one of the most qualified i've seen. the automatic transmission is great for hunting - allows other hand for gun. trust me, it's come in handy before (i'm a hunter too). so, don't be fooled by what other people say. go take a look for yourself. i love mine. oh, and stay away from kawasucki. they make great jet-skis, but not quads.

-Z71man

 

Take a look at the Yamaha Automatics. I have a Grizz 600 Auto that has on demand 2/4wd and built in transmission braking for downhills. If you are a horsepower freak like I am, nothing (stock 4WD)will outpull or outdrag a Grizz.

 

i think it's safe to say that almost ALL 4WD quads have push button 2/4 wheel

 

I own 2 Artic Cat 300's and have had no problems at all. I'm an organizer of a ATV club here in CO and have see the trials of all the different types of ATV's and there are advantages and disadvantages to them all. It comes down to want your wanting to accomplish.

The reason I like the Artic Cat is that it is a 5 speed with 3 different transfer case settings. 1 setting is low, and I mean low gear, 2 is middle and 3 is high. I use 2 for most of my mountain climbing. The middle gear is equivalent to the Polaris low gear. My Artic Cats are 99 so they are required to be in neutral to start. One of the disadvantages. Artic Cat does make an automatic but I believe it only comes in the 500. Another thing that I liked is that I can almost completely submerse the Artic Cat and I know that no water is going to get into the engine area at all. There is no drive line to the rear, it is gear driven.

One thing that I have noticed with the automatics is when the belt gets wet the clutch will slip. The belts have to be in a breathable area because of heating up and such. I've pulled many automatics out of water areas that were up to the gas tank because of this. We've taken quite a few automatics apart to get the belts dry. The nice thing about the automatics is you don't get your foot wet when you change gears. My feet get wet all of the time because of this.

I suggest that you test drive them all, check them all out and see what you like the best.

Good luck, and let us know what you descide.

Later
Offroader Colorado

 

Not all ATV's have push button 2/4 wheel drive. Again, there is an option for having this or not. Another thing to break. Seen it. I have a cable on my artic cat that enables the 4wd. Yep, I've also broken that too but am able to remove it and still have 4wd, again because it is machanical. Electronic is harder to track down and fix out on the trail. Again, there are advantages and disadvantages.

Offroader CO

 

Polaris! Fourstroke 425 or bigger, I hunt, fish, trail ride, work and play on my Magnum and with TRUE 4WD (not 3WD)on demand I can play in the dirt with the 2 wheelers, or climb with the 4's. NOBODY else offers a reliable automatic with shift on the fly 4WD. The only thing is they are HEAVY!

 

Good luck...you've chosen to make one complicated choice..All the imports are good products..the magazines seem to think one better than the next...I belive its all a bunch of hooey.. It all comes down to dollars and cents what makes the most sense for your dollar...The option of changing two and four wheel drive just makes things more complicated. ie. more moving parts, more maintnance, more things to fix, more things to break, etc...

You need to find a quad that appeals to you..
"Does it look good?"
You will need to decide if it satisfies your needs..
"Can I go out on sunday and haul some firewood, on my way back shoot a 10-pointer and drag the carcass thru the mudhole I made on saturday?"
Last but not least..
"Can I make this fit in the budget?"

I prefer Honda products over the next..They make a real nice 450 and the new 500 Rubicon is outstanding..just a thought




Luvin 4 wheel'd life

 

My friend has a Polaris and something breaks everytime we go wheelin!!!

I really like the new Honda Rubicons! They have tons of feature, 500cc's and are sweet!

But they are pricey.

The regular Foreman and Ranchers are good choices also!

Mike
IN TOO DEEP Off-Road Club
http://emmett.coloradk5.com

 

Actually there is a quad that has shift on the fly 4x4. The Yamaha Grizzly. It doesn't have the 4WD capabilitys of the Polaris, but I can ride it in hi range all day and not burn up the belt. Far supperior tranny! Plus it has more power to boot. As well as the fact that the 4WD is mechanical, not electrical. Making it far more dependable!

 

I've had a Rubicon since June and would buy another. It is turning 28-inch Outlaws with no problems. I don't ride with anyone else that is doing so on any other bike without extensive engine mods. Best thing to do is go ride the ones you are interested in and you will get an idea of what feels best to you.
Rubicon features include:
500cc 4-stroke, 4-valve engine
hydromechanical tranny that has no lag and shifts without jerking
Sure-Trac torque sensing front diff
underhead camshaft design, short-stroke water-cooled that is a very compact design with a low center of gracity.
Dry sump oiling
tranny is continously variable
engine and tranny share oil (about 6 quarts)
electrically heated carb starts easily in cold temps
engine is rubber mounted and has internal balancing shaft for smoothness
stainless steel exhausst for corrosion resistance
you can let the tranny go full auto on its own or select ESP and shift it electronically yourself.
Hi and Lo range
D1 and D2 in auto and Hi range ESP--for maximum horsepower or maximum torque.In Lo range--maximum torque is automatically selected.
6.7 inches of suspension travel.
12x6.5 and 12x7.5 aluminum wheels standard. 10" and 12" wide tires standard-25-inches tall.
12-volt-12-amp accessory socket on the headlight.
3 headlights that are quartz-halogen auto quality and all burn at once.
330-watt AC generator
has a combination floorboard/footpeg setup for protection and stability.
Start in gear function-don't have to get to neutral to start the engine.

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