Quad Purchase
 

Hi,

In the market for a new quad and I was hoping to hear some opinions and suggestions between the two quads i am looking at.

I would use the quad mainly for hunting/hauling but also some trail riding.

I had a Honda 2013 TRX 500 and it hauled just fine but made trail riding a little tough.

Two quads I am interested in are the:

2015 Honda TRX500 Rubicon DCT IRS EPS

2015 Can-Am OUTLANDER MAX XT 800

Suggestions?

Those 2 quads are like comparing night and day. The can am will do everything better. Honda is known for reliability..... That's all they are known for.

Honda if you want a reliable work quad for the next 25 years

Can-Am if you want a powerful sportier quad that's going to cost a lot of money in repairs and if you work it hard will likely not last 10 years. But it is way faster then the Honda.

x2


Yamaha Grizz 700 if you want the best of both worlds:)

Hello and good morning, both are excellent machines and each have there good and bad qualities. Honda has an excellent reputation for being a very reliable machine and fairly easy to work on. The can am outlander max is a unique quad and the first new quad I purchased back in 2006 I do believe. With it's longer wheel base it's not quite as nimble as the Honda but can still keep up for the most part and technology has advanced drastically since 2006 the max is probably one of the best hill climbers on the market and when you don't have your wife or kids on the back there's plenty of room for what ever game you hunt. I estimated with the amount of klms I had on my first max when I sold it I could have rode it from Vancouver island to prince Edward island with doing nothing but changing a belt, which was my fault hauling huge logs around my acreage with it and beating the crap out of the machine. It never let me down not even in -40 weather way hell and gone from anyone or anything. So in my opinion I'd pick the max for it's versatility and reliability, I'm on my third max now and have no regrets.:)

Quad
 

Of the two I would go with the Can Am. Personally I have two Polaris machines a 500 and a 550. The 550 has power steering. and is a great ride. If you are looking bigger the 7 or 8 would be a good choice.

I switched out my Honda 500 for a 2015 650xmr. You can't compare a twin cylinder big bore to a single single Honda. Clutching is night and day also as they use different styles. (Centrifugal vs belts). Honda in my opinion is better for hunting as if you get stuck it's very easy to man handle in a pit. My canam weighs in at 956lbs but it can also get through more. 62hp versus 27hp. The ride of a canam is like a Cadillac while the Honda is like a horse and carriage. I prefer the IRS my self better for going over trees and better in ruts. With that being the newer Honda has now gone with irs.

Each has pros and cons but as far as hauling the canam will haul more. Everyone says Honda for reliability but every make has a lemon. Hondas we're good for the 300 and the 450 foreman. The newer ones are behind in every aspect.

But you did say you wanted the max which is quite long for trails and turn radius blows on all canams.

Forgot to mention if your mechanically inclined the Honda is 100x easier to work on (I could have engine out in around 45 minutes including a beer break). You have to take apart everything in order to do anything on a canam.

x2.

Have had Honda, Yamaha and Polaris, never a Can AM. Still have a Honda for hunting. Polaris are similar to Can AM and the Polaris blow when you need to work on them. They also needed work way more often. Just one of them would have been more repairs than all the Honda's put together. They were however MUCH faster for high speed trail running, not as good for heavy hauling and hunting type use. Used the Polaris for trails, always took the Honda for hunting.

You also need to think about fuel consumption, weight if you get stuck and propensity to break down. If you are hunting, even if you are out with partners you likely are quite a few mile apart if you are on quads. Trail riding there is usually a group of you and breakdowns aren't as big a deal.

My suggestion, get one of your choice specifically for trails and a Honda for Hunting. A foreman 400 or 450 with manual shift is very hard to beat for a hunting machine and you have an extra if the wife or kids want to do a little trail riding with you.

for your use? Probably the honda
 

First off I am a Polaris guy but since you asked about the new Honda 500 with IRS (finally after everyone else has had it for years Honda has stepped up to the plate!) and the Can am 800 I will offer my 2 cents.

As has been mentioned if you want any kind of performance at all the can am will definitely provide that. The Honda's make almost no power well some but not enough to really put a smile on your face IMO.

The Hondas do seem to be quite reliable and given that the new for this year models have the IRS and I believe diff lock? They should be an excellent choice for Hunting where reliability, light weight, and fuel efficiency are more important than say blowing past your buddies on the trail. Go with the Honda.

If you want a good trail machine and a good hunting quad look at a Honda Rincon. They've had independent rear suspension since 2003.

I have two 2008 Rubicons but my 2008 Rincon definitely rides and handles better. I just picked it up from the original owner with 2100KM's on it for $6500 with ITP MudLite XTR radials on ITP SS wheels. Looked new when I got it, hardly used.

The old style (up to 2014) Rubicon is a great machine if you can find a good used with low KM's.

The big CanAm's might be great fast trail machines but I'd rather have a Honda for an all around machine.

Polaris?...on the long weekend a friend came along with his new 570 Polaris. It over heated twice while just putzing along, yes that rad was clean, and we had to zip tie the shifter mechanism back together on the trail. Machine had less than 250 KM's on it. No thanks.

Had a Can Am for years. Great machine but not as good as my Argo!!😊

Honda

Yup

Have a look at the Kawi brute force 650 straight axle. Better yet take one for a rip. For a work/play unit I wouldn't look at anything else.

Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming.

A few things about this statement. first the canam only needs to go fast if you want it to which then makes it a great all round machine with more power than the honda when you need it. second, the polaris rad is plugged or the thermostat is faulty, which is not made by polaris and stuff happens to all makes and models. its clear you like the hondas which is good if that works for you, but theres nothing really wrong with any of the big makes but I'm easy on the throttle but want more power availible if I do want it. I have the 2014 canam 1000 XMR and a 2008 Polaris 500 limited edition, neither have broke down even once. I would take the polaris over a Honda just on the smooth ride alone but they are a bit heavy which may be the smooth ride but the best is their all time four wheel drive and its actually all four wheel drive with no shifting, idiot proof if you will. The Canam is just a complete beast but its long and a bit heavy but not much more than the Polaris. Its clutched low from the factory so its top speed is only about 90km's the one the op is looking at will far exceed my canam for speed. Put a 2inch lift in the canam and the airshocks will smooth right out but still wont match the polaris for ride. Lots of nice options on the canam, multiple levels for air shocks and power steering, onboard air compressor and those factory gorilla tires and axles rock. The rad on any quad needs to be relocated or you will have issues in the mud and its always better if the factory does it which is common on a canam. Each machine made by each manufacturer has its plus's and minus's just figure out which ones you can live with but what you cant easlily change is lack of power, too much power is silly to say, just use what you want/need because its there. some people like the red chevy cobalt for its simplicity, others like the yellow corvette for its power and its confidence lending characteristics. another important thing, if you want bigger tires and more clearance, that will void hondas warrenty but the canam comes like that so no warrenty issue. happy shopping

My brother in-law in New Zealand has a Polaris 570 sportsman that he uses everyday for heavy farm use and he has a tick over 14,000kms on it now and has replaced one drive belt. Having been there and seeing what he puts his farm bikes through I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with a Polaris quad as general rule. Now your friend may have had a lemon but they are certainly not all like that.

Before he went with the Polaris he had a Suzuki king quad 700 that he traded in with 31,000kms on the clock. It was (as one would expect) nearly dead frame was cracked and nearly every major component needed replaced.

The kms Donald puts on those bikes is amazing. I don't think my Honda will ever see 31,000 km's but it's at almost 18,000 now and still going strong. I'm not sure what everybody wants all this extra power for. Mind you I only use mine as a hunting rig and mud bogging or extreme speeds aren't my thing.
I've loaded the Honda up with myself (300+ pounds), a barrel of bear bait (300 pounds) on the back racks while towing a tandem axle trailer with 3 more barrels of bait in it. (1200 pounds ish) and I've never climbed a hill or went through a hole where I couldn't spin the tires.
So with a 1000 cc quad could I have spun the tires faster ???

No doubt the ride on the Honda is the worst out of the big names, not too sure how the new model is.
I do know if you look on kijiji for a 20 year old ATV 85-90% of the ones for sale will be a Honda. And it's not because people hang on to all the other brands, it's because they fell apart and were scrapped years ago.

Darren I know you love Polaris and I do enjoy cruising in my Ranger, but I would never dream of putting a Polaris through what my Honda has seen.

As for the truth about Can Ams, well boonerkiller can show you how to weld a frame after you hit a stump at 4 km's per hour and tear your lower control arm off :(

I just had to make the same decision and it was agonizing lol. I ended up going with Honda as I'll be doing some hunts where I could be driving into camp myself and wanted the reliability more than anything. The Rubicon having independent rear suspension, fuel injection, and a diff lock this year was just an added bonus. If it was just for trail riding I would have gone with the CanAm

How about consider the Yamaha 550 EPS ..has Independent rear and EPS steering .

I would recommend grizzly 700 I just bought one over the Honda only paid $9990.75 out the door with mud bugs and a winch from red line in grande prairie !!! cant beat that price

Canams are for guys with monster energy drink stickers on their back windows and tribal tattoos... But once, buy Honda

no power steering but not a big difference unless your a smaller guy

Nice upgrade! Pink wasn't your color....:sHa_sarcasticlol:

I've never had an energy drink in my life and don't have a sticker of anykind on my back window and my tattoo is a mountain scene with a cabin and a river, I'm 50 years old and maybe could say Honda owners stereo type everyone but that would not be fair to them all when it's likely just you.

^^^^ Funny !!! I like that :sHa_shakeshout:

X2

I've got a 2014 800 outlander. Rides great lots of power, but they are not very easy to work on. Brake pads were completely wore out at 34hrs. Next to impossible to change the oil in the gearbox unless you take the skid plate off. The shocks are probably the cheapest money can buy. If you are an old guy like me who doesn't want to wrench I'd buy a 550 yamaha or a Honda.

And bringing home the meat too!:)