Quad Purchase

[Got Juice?]

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onroad/.../2014/2014.php

[Mountain Adventurer]

Did you make a choice yet ? If you get a Honda get the new one I've heard good things. The bad things I've heard in the past is that the Honda engine is good and a lot of people like the transmission but the rest of the machine is problematic for several reasons.

[gatorr]

Check out the Yamaha Grizz before you buy. I have owned 2 and they never let me down. I now have a 2015 Can am 800 xmr loving the power and ride. I thought about another Yamaha but by the time I got bigger tires, rims, clutch kit and rad relocate done it was damn near the cost of a can am. I like to mud bog when not hunting so I went the Can am route.

[Ranch11]

Honda.
We have 2 with over 13,000kms on em, no issues at all.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by Mountain Adventurer

Did you make a choice yet ? If you get a Honda get the new one I've heard good things. The bad things I've heard in the past is that the Honda engine is good and a lot of people like the transmission but the rest of the machine is problematic for several reasons.

If somebody told you the rest of a honda is problematic besides the engine and tranny they have no idea what they're talking about. Sure the old drum brakes fail after 12-14,000 km's but compared to most other brands that have been sold off as scrap metal by then I don't really consider that a problem I can't live with.

[Got Juice?]

Spent the day on a "Canned Ham" 800

Not a bad trail machine Inboard brakes are a little strange, but they work well.

Loved the power.... I think I need more power....

Ground clearance was not as good as the Grizz... getting it high centered was easier too. Ride quality was smoother in the CanAm

Crisco Loc worked great in intermediate loose terrain... liked it a lot.
In the really tough going while crawling over rocks... not so much.

I think the Can Am overall is a good machine for those who do not go rock crawling, and really push the machines into 'trail breaking'

Yammy is a better all-around package for what I do

Can Am is a bit better in the 'play' factor though.

[Got Juice?]

One thing I would like to try is a Can Am with tracks on in the winter.

POWWWWAAAAHHHHH!


Pic is of MT Evans in St.Marys (Near Kimberly B.C.)

Which of the outlanders did you try out... L, XT, XP ...guessing a limited model...another machine with better ground clearance...hard to imagine for stock machines.. Which Grizzle machine...? Hondahs seem to fall short here as well but like a tractor are great to work on.

[338mag]

Our garage has Polaris Kawasaki and can am. I can get most parts needed from royal Dist mailed to our po box. But working on the can am is a challenge most maintenance parts have to come from the dealer which means trip to city for us.
If you work on your own machines go Honda.

[Got Juice?]

Originally Posted by Precisionshooter

Which of the outlanders did you try out... L, XT, XP ...guessing a limited model...another machine with better ground clearance...hard to imagine for stock machines.. Which Grizzle machine...? Hondahs seem to fall short here as well but like a tractor are great to work on.

It wasn't a Renegade.....i am not sure the model/trim?

I would buy one in a heartbeat if it had selectable 4wd and true Diff Lock, and lost 40lbs.

Today was spent on a Polaris 850. Power was soft until 25 KM/H then it seemed to come on cam, and get going. Best Ride, so smooth. But ground clearance was not great, got hung up a few times. AWD system is not too bad.
When riding rough roads at speeds over 70km/h the potholes set up some nasty gyrations and a 'floaty out of control' feeling... very disconcerting. I felt quite a bit of chassis flex.
Brakes SUCKED! (could be the weight?? or the 14's??)

I think if I had to choose between Polaris and Can Am, I would take the Can Am. It behaved a lot better, and felt more like a finished machine..just better screwed together.

Hopefully I will take a Brute Force out for a drive this week.

[Sako300]

I have made my choice and I am waiting for the new Yamaha Grizzly's to come in. With that being said I have owned a Honda before and it is truly indestructible…I watched it tumble about a 100m down a hill, I walked down, turned it back on drove it out.

Reason for change is I would like something with a little more power, and a little more ride comfort even though I will be using it primarily for hunting. Will post some pics once the purchase has been made.

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by Sako300

I have made my choice and I am waiting for the new Yamaha Grizzly's to come in. With that being said I have owned a Honda before and it is truly indestructible…I watched it tumble about a 100m down a hill, I walked down, turned it back on drove it out.

Reason for change is I would like something with a little more power, and a little more ride comfort even though I will be using it primarily for hunting. Will post some pics once the purchase has been made.

I stayed out of this thread because it's always a "my quad is the best ever" type answer you get. You made the right choice. I've had Arctic Cat, Honda, Polaris and Yamaha atv's, they all run and all break down. Proper maintenance is the key, the biggest factor should be the intended use, and for a hunting quad I believe the Grizzly is the best tool for the job. I had a couple grizzlies and I kind of regret selling them. My only issue with the grizzly 700 is it doesn't have a pull start like the 660 does, I guess that's the trade off for having EFI. The power steering is a bonus too, after owning a quad with power steering it would be hard to go back!

Congrats on the grizz, you made a great choice.

Just out of curiosity who makes the most expensive ATV and SxS?

[Sparx]

Originally Posted by Sako300

I have made my choice and I am waiting for the new Yamaha Grizzly's to come in. With that being said I have owned a Honda before and it is truly indestructible…I watched it tumble about a 100m down a hill, I walked down, turned it back on drove it out.

I've seen them all break, even the Honda 300's. If it's got a bearing or a seal it can fail and leave you stranded. I didn't even make it through a full days hunting 2 years ago on our 300 before the rear axle bearings failed... I've had a motor blow on me as well, seen 400's with broken rear swingarms back in the day too working at the shop. I just had a Rubicon 500 with a failed shifting unit in the shop a month ago, Rancher 420 with broken front CV and Foreman 500 with torn rear driveshaft boot in the last year... The new one's with all the fancy features are way worse than the old one's for obvious reasons. It's all the bells and whistles that contribute to the majority of the failures and the increased horsepower.
Grizzly's have toothpicks for A-Arms, buddy last year snapped his clean off running Camoplast Tatou tracks. Never hit anything either, price you pay for light weight!

I do think the Grizzlies is one of the better units, just be sure to get some aftermarket wheels and tires to help balance the unit out better. Power steering is super nice and very much worth it no matter how much you think you really don't need it. It could save you from rolling the unit going downhill and hitting a rut or stump one day!

The simpler Honda's are great too, but your back to square one with the solid rear swingarms and I can't believe they still make them that way, lol. Can't figure out why they put a rubber boot on that Foreman 500 that had a sealed U-joint on the shaft anyways? It was rubbing on buddy's swingarm shield squealing and freaking him out, so I installed some Ricochet skids on there as well to help, but only so much covers that area when hung up on a log....

You know that saying for tits and wheels, definitely applies to quads... Just tends to happen to certain models maybe a tad more. Haha

[Got Juice?]

Originally Posted by Sparx

Grizzly's have toothpicks for A-Arms, buddy last year snapped his clean off running Camoplast Tatou tracks. Never hit anything either, price you pay for light weight!

Wierd. I run Camoplast tracks on my Grizzly. No trouble.... yet

[husky7mm]

Originally Posted by Got Juice?

Wierd. I run Camoplast tracks on my Grizzly. No trouble.... yet

I ran TJD tracks on my 04 grizzly for years without an incident, i just bought a new grizzly and plan to run the same tracks, I expect the same results. The yamahas have been very good to me, and I have around 40000 ks on them combined now.

[husky7mm]

Anybody have the new kodiak yet, they are all 700s now, small platform, big power? Nice strong racks too, should be a good ATV.

[Got Juice?]

Originally Posted by husky7mm

I ran TJD tracks on my 04 grizzly for years without an incident, i just bought a new grizzly and plan to run the same tracks, I expect the same results. The yamahas have been very good to me, and I have around 40000 ks on them combined now.

I have had the 600,660, and 2 700's.....

The 600 was not too bad.... the 660 was a quantumleap, and the 700 was the 660 perfected.

Although I preferred the revabilityof the 660, the 700 pulls harder.

I would have loved a 660 with fuel injection!!! RIPPER!!!

[Mountain Adventurer]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

If somebody told you the rest of a honda is problematic besides the engine and tranny they have no idea what they're talking about. Sure the old drum brakes fail after 12-14,000 km's but compared to most other brands that have been sold off as scrap metal by then I don't really consider that a problem I can't live with.

It wasn't people who told me it was what I have seen on the trail first hand, I can't count how many times I've seen issues with them, drums like no tomorrow, seals, axles, electrical, rattling clunks and bangs from the diffs which I believed to be a cause from too aggressive of a tire.. From all I have seen they are a good groomed trail machine, light mud and bush machine but really show their weakness when rode hard. This was since 2006 to 2013 and haven't seen many in the last couple of years so I can't speak for the newer ones because I haven't seen or rode with any.

I'm riding the 2015 xmr 1000 I have owned a 2012 xmr 800 and a 2007 outlander max 400 in all the time and about 6000 klms on the trail I've only had one belt break and one axle snap and both were from hard abuse and both on my 400. I blew the belt hauling a log across my acreage that was probably 1200lbs and landed a jump on the back tires with wide open throttle snapping the axle. To date I have only had one issue with my XMR's and I believe it may have been my fault. The ignition switch had to be replaced on my 1000 because I jammed the key in the wrong way, on my 2012 you could put the key in any which way and it didn't matter. The 2015s matter apparently