Suggestions on a new Quad

[rattydawg]

Hey guys, I fairly new to the quad world, I have always been a dirt bike guy and would laugh at the ATVers. Now I am older, slower, and not into catching big air. I am looking for a quad for myself. I already bought my daughter a new Eton 90 and my wife a new Ozark 250. We ride all wood trails, they are muddy and have a lot of hills and ruts. My previous bike was a Factory Pro-Circuit Team Suzuki RM250, it was Denny Stevenson’s old Arena Cross bike, that I bought used from his brother. I loved the power that thing had! Twist the throttle and snap your neck! But it was too much for the trails, it was like a work out riding that in the tight stuff, I was faster on my CR125. I have a great time on my wife’s Ozark but it lacks the power to take on hills and is a little slow for me. I like the idea of a shaft drive for maintenance and a clutchless tranny for putting around. Would I be happy on an Eiger 400 or Vinson 500? I really don’t think I want a 600lb plus quad. Maybe I need a Z400. I just want a nice trail machine, I have an eye on some utilities but the Z400 and 400EX caught my eye too, I just don’t know if they could handle the mud a utility can. I just don’t want to get bored with a super slow utility. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

[honda_foreman10]

imo for your kind of riding id get a foreman or a vinson .. i know you said you dont need a 600 pound machine but i have a 05 grizzly 660 and that thing is awesome on trails and through mud .. and its got that zip when you punch the throttle for a ute ... also a very nice ride with the i.r.s

[cds]

I miss riding a dirtbike sometimes! When I get into mud and snow, I'm glad that I made the switch to 4 wheels. I enjoy my quads year round.

Sport quad vs. ute is a tough choice, IMO. Buying a ute doesn't have to mean slow (anymore), but it means a heavy quad.

I have a 400ex and a Z400. They won't go through deep mud pits, but they will go through quite a bit of mud. Their low ground clearance is the main limiting factor in mud. They are both great trail quads, IMO. You can ride really slow on both of them (especially the ex) without having to feather the clutch.

I have a decent amount of seat time on a 5-speed Arctic Cat 500 4x4 (same engine as Suzuki Vinson). The AC is _great_ for deep mud, hills, and crawling over obstacles. The suspension is really plush. However, the plush suspension doesn't offer much control at high speed. The AC is a heavy quad! It has lots of ground clearance.

If/when Honda comes out with their version of the Polaris Outlaw, I will probably buy one. For my tastes, it would be the perfect quad.

HTH,