buying a utility quad

[xander1027]

i've never owned a utility quad before but i have several sport quads and i think i want to get one to snow plow and to ride in a pit behind my house do u have any suggestions for a first utility quad

[4punksdad]

Originally posted by xander1027
i've never owned a utility quad before but i have several sport quads and i think i want to get one to snow plow and to ride in a pit behind my house do u have any suggestions for a first utility quad

stay away from independent rear suspension models. I like the new kawasaki brute force 650. They are on sale now for 5999.

[Ken Robey]

I raced the prairie last year and beat the hell out of it. It is definately worthy. Also check out the new King Quad, it will turn some heads. qracer213 @comcast.net

[bbhondas]

nice intro utility out new this year is the 05 honda 500

[TheFontMaster]

Originally posted by bbhondas
nice intro utility out new this year is the 05 honda 500

Thats what I was thinking too. But don't get the electric shifting if you can avoid it.

[dn1911]

the Honda 500 is available with the foot shift.

if you want the best for everything utility and want a bid one the new Suzuki King Quad is the best all around big ute.

if you are looking for a great ute but smaller i would look at the Bombardier Outlander mine has been great. pushes snow very well also.

[RancherDUDE]

Hey I have a 350 Rancher 2004 2x4 and there a great quad its done a wonderful job for me. Its done things 4x4 could and couldnt do. Which was a huge suprise to me! There is also the 4x4 Rancher 400 and 350. I'm sure that they are one of the best utility 4x4 out there. The rancher does pretty damn well also on hills and has a decent speed that is about 55mph. Also another hint of advice don't turn sharp on the Rancher they love to get you on 2 wheels. Around here my friend has a 400ex and the other has a 250ex and its hard to keep up with them when they fly around turns really fast because there fourwheelers can wip around good. But they dont suck trust me if you want it for MUD, CLIMBIN HILLS then this quad would be a great qaud.



Ride Red!
Ride Honda!

[bonified5]

Whats wrong with independent rear suspension????

[4punksdad]

Originally posted by bonified5
Whats wrong with independent rear suspension????

In my opinion they don't handle off camber situations well. They are a softer smoother ride in most other situations. I prefer stability to comfort.

[chevy19]

I HAVE AN 03 PRAIRIE 650 VERY FAST AND I HAVE A WARN PLOW AND IT PUSHES 20 OF SNOW LIKE NOTHIN ALSO THIS QUAD IS SICK. ITS THE FASTEST 4X4 QUAD OUT THERE! AND IT DOSENT HAVE INDEPENDANT SUSPENSION WHICH IS BETTER CAUSE YOU CAN SLIDE IT ALL YOU WANT AND DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FLIPPIN IT. i JUST PUT A SET OF ITP MUDLITES THESE TIRES ARE INSANE!

[blaster2000]

i owned a 2002 yamaha wolverine it was fun and still looked sporty and the price now lower then it ever was 5200.

[EzZ]

i owned a 400 polaris explorer that was a nice 4x4 and i owned a 250 fourtrax honda 2 wd and that did everythign the 400 explorer did and it could keep up with it too! but now i am looking at either a utility or a raptor 660? so if you guys could tell me which one you perfer, i would like some outside oppions? :)

[js3350z]

my dad has the rancher 400 AT... he loves it, and so do I

when there is to much water for the ex I use his, it is so nice not getting wet, or stuck;)

and it was a lot faster then I thought for a "utility" quad, and yeah it does go on the side wheels easy

[TheHouse]

I am a first time UTE Quad owner & I love my 2005 Honda Rancher...It's got shift on the fly 2wd or 4wd...You can use the ES Shift or go fully Auto...It tops out at 53 MPH which is plenty fast enough for a 400...It's easy to upgrade like I have done...I can go anywhere the bigger UTE's can & then some....

[MudMonsterGrizz]

Just a few things here:

Its done things 4x4 could and couldnt do.
Man, I love when people say that LMFAO! No 2wd quad is going to hang with the big boy 4x4 quads out there. If you think it will keep up or do more I want some of what you are smokin’! LOL!

The rancher does pretty damn well also on hills and has a decent speed that is about 55mph.
In what dream was a Rancher doing 55MPH? I take it you were reading this off the speedometer?? Get a GPS and tell me what your top speed is…I promise it’s not 55MPH.

In my opinion they don't handle off camber situations well. They are a softer smoother ride in most other situations. I prefer stability to comfort.
Well, that is a matter of opinion. Some people don’t care about going fast and like to ride in the mud. I ride in the mud so I have IRS. IRS bikes will tear up SRA bikes in the mud, they don’t come with the built in anchor on the rearend. LOL!

I HAVE AN 03 PRAIRIE 650 VERY FAST AND I HAVE A WARN PLOW AND IT PUSHES 20 OF SNOW LIKE NOTHIN
Wow!! I have a D-5 Cat dozer that won’t push 20ft. of snow. Maybe I should trade it in on a Prarie! LMFAO!!

I am a first time UTE Quad owner & I love my 2005 Honda Rancher...It's got shift on the fly 2wd or 4wd...You can use the ES Shift or go fully Auto...It tops out at 53 MPH which is plenty fast enough for a 400...It's easy to upgrade like I have done...I can go anywhere the bigger UTE's can & then some....
For mud riding the 400AT is a horrible quad. I have a buddy in my club that bought one and he went through 3 engines and 4 transmissions before Honda finally bought the bike back from him. No low range for pushing or pulling big loads. Slap some big tires on them and the engine has no juice. Nice quad for putting around on the trails though.

I guess I have messed with you boys enough for one day. Don’t take it to heart! LOL!

[akraptor]

this has to be one of the funniest threads i've read so far thanx Mudmonstergrizz. you cracked me up with setting those guys straight. oh and thnx for putting a post to atvmudmania.com, i joined and its a great site. good people that has helped me out alot with info.

[MudMonsterGrizz]

No problem. I just figured I would mess with a few people while I was sitting around. If I see any more funny business I am gonna start crackin' skulls again....LMAO!!

Thanks for joining ATV Mud Mania. Ask any questions you might have and if we don't have the answers we will find them. It's a fairly new site so the forum can get a little slow, but it will pick up as more people learn about it.:cool:

[TheHouse]

What a bunch of clowns.....

You guys wouldn't know a quality piece of machinery if it bit you in the *****

Ride the red or ride nothing.....:D

[4punksdad]

Originally posted by TheHouse
What a bunch of clowns.....

You guys wouldn't know a quality piece of machinery if it bit you in the *****

Ride the red or ride nothing.....:D

clowns..............?

[bulkdriverlp]

honda may be the most reliable by far but they are behind the times when it comes to bells and whistles. until this year you couldnt even get the rancher that was switchable 4x4, it was stuck in four wheel drive all the time, how stupid is that. they also didnt come with a locker. if you dont have a locker you may as well have a 2wd cause what good is one front wheel spinning? a little better but if you want to mud ya may as well stay home. irs is the best thing they came out with. much better ride. most other machines are a little tippy when it comes to off camber stuff but bomb.. came up with the mid-mounted engine in they're traxter and outlander, not sure of the others. it would take quite a bit to roll a bomb... let me tell ya. as for the snomobile belt idea of polaris and ac and quite a few others... what a friggin joke!!! get those in a deep water hole and listen to the belt slip, lol thats good engeneering???? yesterday (sat) i rode and drove a bomb traxter max 2-up for the first time. its only like 6" longer than a normal big bore ute and this thing is amazing, will be saving my pennies for this for sure. locker, switchable 4x4/2x4, fluid filled transmission with gears, esp full auto mode or manual shift, mid-mounted engine,pass-thru floor boards. wow what fun this thing was. the guy put a 3" lift kit on it with 27" lightfoot mud tires on it. we just locked the locker put it in manual shift low range mode and 2nd gear and creeped through mud that was higher that the floor boards. others in out group had to do the "giver hell" technique and we pulled alot of them out after they got stuck. i have a 300ex right now, as soon as i sell that i think im gunna save up and get a traxter and get back into the mudding scene. im 33 now and 305lbs so this is a better gig for me. getting to old to try to keep up with the young guys, sorry to ramble but im pretty excited to get back into the utes....see ya

[akraptor]

i like the snowmobile tranny in my AC. if it does break somehow its pretty simple to fix myself. and if your afraid that the belt might slip buy a snorkel and snorkel everything. air intake and belt intake. besides going into to deep of water. i have no complaints about my AC. plenty of power and irs is awsome

[4punksdad]

my utility choice.

[_grinch_64]

Originally posted by MudMonsterGrizz
Just a few things here:

Man, I love when people say that LMFAO! No 2wd quad is going to hang with the big boy 4x4 quads out there. If you think it will keep up or do more I want some of what you are smokin’! LOL!

In what dream was a Rancher doing 55MPH? I take it you were reading this off the speedometer?? Get a GPS and tell me what your top speed is…I promise it’s not 55MPH.

Well, that is a matter of opinion. Some people don’t care about going fast and like to ride in the mud. I ride in the mud so I have IRS. IRS bikes will tear up SRA bikes in the mud, they don’t come with the built in anchor on the rearend. LOL!

Wow!! I have a D-5 Cat dozer that won’t push 20ft. of snow. Maybe I should trade it in on a Prarie! LMFAO!!

For mud riding the 400AT is a horrible quad. I have a buddy in my club that bought one and he went through 3 engines and 4 transmissions before Honda finally bought the bike back from him. No low range for pushing or pulling big loads. Slap some big tires on them and the engine has no juice. Nice quad for putting around on the trails though.

I guess I have messed with you boys enough for one day. Don’t take it to heart! LOL!

I know what you SRA guys are sayin' ...it hurts to give up stability....powerslides, side hillen' ....why not a quad that's in between? 4400 mi on my outlander....IRS, just shy of 10 in of travel (not as much as some but smooth under there) The Rancher has 6". By the way 61mph on my gps (64 on the speedo), sitting strait up on level ground. Powerslides and side hilling ability is about as good as you'll find in an IRS quad. If you try one and it's not stable enough don't bother looking anywere else. Other IRS systems have better clearance and other advantages for sure, but the sporty nature of the Bomb was my single biggest reason for buying it. I ride with a rancher and 2 rubicon owners. They can't stick with me on any type of terrain. The outlander has many more mechanical noises than the Honda's side by side, but I drive the @#!$@ out of mine and not a problem in 4400 miles....

[MudMonsterGrizz]

What did I get quoted for?? :rolleyes: