going from sport quad to utility

[tbrackman84]

Hey guys got a question and looking for some one with some experience to give me some info. I've been riding quads and bikes my whole life. Right now i have a 400ex and a CR250. I ride the bike alot more, but still love the quad. All my friends are into or getting into utility quads, and when they go out, I take my old honda recon 250. I've been really enjoying cruising around on that machine, but i still like to get it going when i have the chance. I'm going to look at a 2007 Can Am Outlander 650 this week, and am more or less wondering what people think of them and these larger utilities in general. Can you hammer on them or are the unstable and top heavy? Are they a blast to ride, or a chore? Do you feel confident when riding them, or does it feel difficult to get through rough terrain?

Also i'm not even considering selling my bike or 400 to get this one, just wondering if i should spend the money on it or not!

Thanks guys

[CJM]

Honestly the can ams are awesome quads, but me Id buy another honda over anything else. While your buddies are busy fixing their stuff cause its busted-your still riding.

[Stickman400]

x2 on that one. Can-Ams are nice, but all my buddies that have/had them were constantly working on them every weekend when they burnt up a belt or ruined the brakes after 2 days of riding, broke an axle, broke a differential housing (yes the actual housing cracked in half), etc. And the parts for them are through the roof, and insanely expensive. It's like they think you're buying gold from them. All my buddies that had Can-Ams have since jumped on the Honda band wagon and we now have 7 or 8 guys with 420 Ranchers and 2 or 3 guys with Foremans, all of them love them and don't regret selling the Can-Am and switching at all. I have one buddy and his dad that buy a new (used) Can-Am every year just so they aren't putting money into the same one throughout the year and through the winter. They are very hard on quads though. Bottom line: unless you have deep pockets, get a Honda. You have to pay to play with Can-Am, and most just don't have the money to justify the little amount of fun you get out of them when they are going.

[tbrackman84]

Thanks for the advice guys. I love my Hondas but the problem is I rode a rancher 420 a few times and I don't think it's the most comfortable ride, it felt very top heavy and it lacked power, I guess I'm just not too sure at this point! Maybe I'll give tha can am a try and if I hate it, I'll re sell it and get a honda. The other problem is I've had a hell of a time finding any Hondas for sale around here, and the ones I have found are REALLY new and over priced. Lots of things to consider I guess...

[blacknblue#2]

The only Honda worth comparing to a can am on the ute side is a rincon. I've put several wide open rough miles on a good friends Renegade and its never made a hiccup

[beastlywarrior]

Don't forget to take a look at the grizzly 550 or 700. Handles good, dead reliable, fairly light for the category it's in and it has irs. I wanted a can am too but now I'm looking at the grizz for the same reasons as up above. I say keep the bike for blasting around the woods when it's nice out and sell the 400 for a utility for trail riding. You'll really be surprised how these new utilitys ride.

P.s. Just sold a foreman. I liked it as a worked quad but the ride and handling sucked as a trail quad. It needed better shocks at least and some caster put into the front end.

[CJM]

Perhaps the Rincon would be more to your liking? More power and larger than a foreman a bit.

[Stickman400]

I've got 420 Rancher AT that has IRS and it's blast. I think I kind of ruined it for the trails when I put the 2" lift and 27" Zillas on it, but if I had left 25" trail tires on it and had the tuner and slip-on on it, it would be a really fun utility quad on the trails. That IRS and auto tranny make for a really fun ride on them. They won't have neck snapping power, but enough to give you a smile. I'd really like to give the new Foreman Rubicon with a tuner and pipe a try...

[fastredrider44]

My current utility is an '11 Foreman. Love it, exactly what I was looking for, something to knock around the farm on. I wouldn't want to go trail riding with it much though. Its a stiff ride and down on power, especially if your buddies have Can-ams, Polaris, etc. I also have a Rincon, my personal experience, steer clear. If you must, get a 680 for sure. Not much a Yamaha fan, but the 700 grizzlies aren't a bad machine at all. As far as that Can-am you mentioned looking at, well, Can-ams have come a long way since then. You might be happier if you just spent a little more and got an 800.

[blacknblue#2]

My current utility is an '11 Foreman. Love it, exactly what I was looking for, something to knock around the farm on. I wouldn't want to go trail riding with it much though. Its a stiff ride and down on power, especially if your buddies have Can-ams, Polaris, etc. I also have a Rincon, my personal experience, steer clear. If you must, get a 680 for sure. Not much a Yamaha fan, but the 700 grizzlies aren't a bad machine at all. As far as that Can-am you mentioned looking at, well, Can-ams have come a long way since then. You might be happier if you just spent a little more and got an 800.

The formans are just that. A boss when it comes to work. I have an 08 rubicon I use around the farm and for cutting fire wood. It's fun to muscle around and play with but I think if I had to spend a day in hatfield mccoy on it I would throw a match in the fuel tank at the end of the day

[wilkin250r]

Many of the utility quads I've ridden, I wouldn't call them top heavy. I would describe them as FRONT heavy.

On a sport quad, when you come to a whooped-out section or a short section of rough terrain, you can lean back and gas it and power through them. More like power over them. You cannot do that on a utility quad, you'll beat the the front end to death. The suspension on the utilities just isn't made to handle the impacts that sport quads are, you can't jump them, you can't power through whoops, you can't gas it and lift the front end over obstacles.

It's just a different type of riding. The utilities are much more comfortable when you're going slow over obstacles and rough terrain, but that's because you HAVE to go slow.

I ride both, my sport quads are for sand, jumping, and adrenaline. My utility quad is for cross-country, when I'm going to be spending hours and hours in the saddle, covering a hundred miles in many cases. When I'm riding my utility, it's not about adrenaline, it's about scenery and the journey.

It's like a one-night stand vs a girlfriend. They're both fantastic, but one isn't necessarily "better" than the other, they're just different, and you treat them differently.

[Moparornocar]

good thread, ive been throwing around trading in my 400ex for a utility or a sxs because trails is mostly what i ride, after reading this though i think ill just make a few mods to the 400 and keep thrashing.