What atv you run

[twolfd3]

just wondering what everyone uses for an atv i have a 99 polaris magnum 500 great rig have a 2500# warn winch fender bags and still looking for a gun boot as they are reqired out west so lets hear what you got

[blacktail]

Yamaha Timberwolf and a Honda Foreman

[Headhunter]

I gots me a Honda Forman S with a 2"lift, 26" Kenda Bear Claws and a 1500 Lb Superwinch. It is a 2000 model I bought in 1999, It has 2800 miles on it and has seen some country.

I use it every day.

Headhunter

[muskrat30]

I just did a leap from a 1983 Honda 3-wheeler ATV to a 2002 Honda Foreman 400(395cc). I have a tow behind mower on order and the 3-wheeler has some limitations and a few problems. Honda has/had a rebate on ATV's. I got a $600 instant rebate on the Foreman.

[Contender]

I've had a Kawasaki 400 since 1993. Last fall I bought an Arctic Cat 500 auto to keep it company so it doesn't get lonely when sitting in my garage at night.

[Jabba]

1999 Bombardier Traxter.

It's a truck. 2000 miles. Very hard miles.

It's great, and pretty neat too.

Jabba

[Wahnie]

My hunting rigs are a 2000 Yamaha Grizzly and a 2000 Yamaha Bear Tracker.

My play rig is a 2001 Yamaha Banshee.

[1olhunter]

I swore for years I would never own a 4-wheeler, and even cursed those who run up and down the backroads on them. But a couple years ago I bought a used 1989 Yamaha Moto-4. It is a 350 CC, 2 wheel drive. It has certainly extended my hunting area, and made getting deer and hogs back to camp much easier. It turns what used to be an exhausting 1 hour uphill walk back to camp at the end of the day into an easy ride.

[EXTREME]

I run a 2000 Yamaha Big Bear that is bone stock....gets me where I need to go and never has a problem....gotta love it.

[Dan in the Delta]

I've got a 2000 Honda 450 Foreman S and just love it. When the mud gets really deep, like it did last year, I've got a set of 27" Super Swamper Vampires I can put on it. I've been thinking about adding a winch, but I'm not sure I need one.

[TKO]

I have a 97 LT 500 Suzuki. Now Its deck out with the camo package, fenderbags, saddle bags and a rear bag. Winch coming soon. After being around some of the other quads on the market, I will stick with the Suzuki!

[Silver Bullets]

I got a 2000 grizzly 600 it works great!

[Longknife]

I'm still living in the past as I am still using a 84 honda 200S 3 wheeler that I paid cash for when new.:) It has been a good one and I can ride circles around any 4 wheeler that I have tried. But she is getting tired so I am thinking of getting a polaris or artic cat next year to give her a rest although I'm not going to retire the old girl. Just keep her as a faithful back up:D I cried when I had to shell out 12 $100 dollar bills back in 84 and I will really be crying when I have to shell out over 60 bills next summer for a 4 wheeler. Dangit, Krogers would be alot cheaper but not near as fun:D Oh well, I will only live once. Longknife

[Wahnie]

Hey Longknife, I challenge your 3 wheeler! :p

Only thing that will outrun my Banshee is one of those new Raptors, because it has a higher top end, in the 1/4 mile. Once you get those things going, theres no stopping 'em. I've got the holeshot, though. :D

You may also want to look at the Yamaha's when you buy a new ATV. I love mine and they have never let me down.

[Elbesta]

Artic Cat 250 It has lo-high range and a locked rear axel. 2wd

Only time it wont go is in heavy deep snow when it bottoms out on the belly pan.

http://members.tripod.com/elbesta10/0a4da840.gif

[Longknife]

The main reason I was thinking polaris or arctic cat is the independent suspension. It is harder to hang up over logs or very rough ground. I have an uncle that has a polaris and a friend that I hunt with that got an arctic cat last year and they are both nice. My dad has a honda 4x4 for several years now and I have seen a few problems with the rigid rear supsension that I don't like. Although I have hung my ole 3 wheeler over a log or 2 that I had to get off and drag in off of.:D Hey Wahnie, I respectfully decline your challange:p as my girl ain't that fast but she will out manuver any 4 wheeler that I have see in the woods and she doesn't have reverse. Good thing it isn't to heavy or I couldn't drag it around in the right direction or push it back when I misjudge where I'm going.:) My old gal has did a great job for me over the years but she can't work as hard or as safe as a heavier 4 wheeler when it comes to hauling a deer out of the woods. I have flipped it over backwards more than once with all that weight on the back rack while going up hills. I learned from the school of hard knocks as to how steep of a grade that I could just ride up and when I have to just tie the horns low on the back of that 3 wheeler and drag the deer up until it is safe to load him. And even on level ground, she steers like a pig with all that weight over the rear wheels. Anyone that has rode a 3 wheeler knows what I am talking about. It does take experience to drive one that way with shifting your weight to steer it as the front wheel is just about useless.:D I know, why would anyone put up with all this crap with an outdated vehical when you can get a new one that doesn't have all those problems? Well, to me it is just part of the experience and I can remember pre 3 wheeler and having to drag the deer to camp or the truck and I don't miss those days at all. I am just getting lazyer in my old age so I will bend to the will of God and my body and get me one of those fancy 4 wheelers next year. I'm not going to retire the old girl or sell her. Just give it a well deserved rest and I can always bring her back out it if the need arises. Enough rambling and enough said. Longknife

[Grateful]

It's great to see that some people realize the benefit of a 3-wheeler. I have had several 4-wheelers including my current Honda 4x4, but I still also keep my old honda 185 3-wheeler in the back of my shop for novelty I guess. The fact is that there are places a 3-wheeler can go that a four wheeler can't, and vice versa. 3-wheelers are great on rutted roads... you just put the front wheel in a rut, and the back wheels will stay on either side of the rut, so they will keep going when your big bad 4x4 has slipped in the rut and bottomed out. As for brands/models, look out for the new honda rincon 650 4x4. It has put Honda back on top. It will out run any utility bike including the polaris 700 (due to honda design supremacy in trannies). It has independent rear suspension (about time). I was afraid I was going to have to abandon Honda until now. I have owned every major brand sold in the U.S. due to shifts in engineering advances, but as time and money went by, I learned that a simpler Honda is always better than any other brand regardless of displacement or design advances. As a word of advice, and I don't mean to offend anyone, artic cats are junk. They use suzuki motors, which aren't great to begin with, with a chassis even worse than suzuki. Also beware, suzuki king quad frames break like pretzels. I only weigh 180 lbs., and I broke a brand new one, and the new replacement that the dealer gave me. I also know 2 other people that have broken theirs in the same place. Hopefully the new models dont do this. Anyway, back to 3-wheelers, I can show you four wheeler guys some places your locked diff 4x4s with a lift and tires cant go that my little honda will keep on trucking. I must say though that if im actually hunting, Im probably gonna be on the 4x4. Happy hunting!

[Timwoii]

still using the old 300 fourtrax honda. No problems since I bought it. Tim

[slghtr12]

driving a 98 600 grizzley equipped with 2500 warn winch and 27" super swamper vampires for hunting whitetails and a max 4 ,16hp 6 wheeler also winch equipped when hunting our lease for sika deer on marylands eastern shore

[AK NIMROD]

I RECENTLY BOUGHT AN OLD '86 (I THINK) HONDA 200CC 2 WHEEL DRIVE 4 WHEELER IT DOES PRETTY DARN GOOD AND IS ALOT LIGHTER...REMINDS ME OF MY OLD BIG RED 3 WHEELER JUST AN EXTRA WHEEL. ALSO I HAVE A YAMAHA BIG WHEEL( ALSO AN '86, I THINK), 2 WHEELER WITH FAT TIRES. I POSTED A PICTURE OF MY ALASKA SIZE 4 WHEELER IN THE "WHAT DO YOU DRIVE " THREAD,, BUT I HAVE NOT USED THAT IN QUITE A FEW YEARS. MOSTLY BOATING TO PLACES NOW. BUT I MAY HAUL ONE OF THE SMALLER ATV'S ON MY BOAT WITH ME IF I MOOSE AND CARIBOU HUNT THIS YEAR.

[bobd]

a 2003 polaris sportsman 400 no problems to date

[Squealy]

'88 Honda Four-Trax 300 4x4. It's a billy-goat. it will go any where.

[luvhuntin]

Anyone here own or ever use one of the Rokon 2 wheel drive trail bikes. From the pics on the web site and write-ups in some mags, those things look awsome! They can climb a 60% grade, go over 30" logs, and when you come to a stream, just lay it on its side and float it across. The wheels are hollow for carrying extra fuel or water. When empty they make the thing float, since it only weighs 208 lbs. Seems it would be easier to ride on sidehills and not get tipsy like a 4 wheeler. If anyone has one or has used one give me your thoughts on it. I am thinking of getting one, but they only sell them on order, no distributors so you can try them out.

[AK NIMROD]

A FRIEND OF MINE HAS ONE AND HE SWEARS BY IT. IF THE HILL GETS TOO STEEP HE SAYS HE HAS SAT ON THE FRONT RACK AND RODE IT UP THE HILL TO KEEP FROM TIPPING OVER BACKWARDS. I'VE NEVER DRIVEN HIS....PART OF IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU WANT IT FOR 4 WHEELERS WILL CARRY MORE GEAR AND BE MORE STABLE IN NORMAL SITUATIONS. IF YOU LIVE WHERE YOU HAVE SNOW, 4 WHEELERS CAN PLOW SNOW. I THINK 4 WHEELERS ARE MORE VERSITAL(SP) BUT ROKON MIGHT GET YOU INTO DIFFERENT AREAS.

[AK NIMROD]

well how things change. i still have the honda but i have aquired the rokon (1966) i mentioned earlier and have a new rokon on order. another hunting partner has 3 old rokons with a new one on order and he has a spot where he gets in way further than 4 wheelers can get for dall sheep. plus this is light enough i can carry it in my 13 foot jet boat to get it to other hunting areas.

[foster]

Well!
What a delight to see some 3-wheel fans on here.
I always wanted a bike, but being a poor boy, could never afford one.
Then one day i ran into an old guy who had a 185s ('83) in mint shape. He was its only owner, and used it only from Jan. to March each year, and only to drive the couple of miles to his ice fishing shack which you can see from his living room window. The rest of the time it sat in his garage -- never even seen mud, dust or pavement. You could tell he takes good care of his stuff because you could eat off the floor of his garage. He took my $750 and thought he was over-charging me.
I think he undersold himself.
Heck, he only put about 15 tanks worth of gas through the thing in 20 years! Everything on it is stock, still the original tires at about 95% tread.
Bought it in September and I've probably increased the mileage on the thing by 1,000% since then. I ride it almost every weekend and I'm still learning but having a freakin' blast.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/pd9a4faf9c4d81186be8ca5e34c875bb1/f9da7202.jpg
I haven't flipped it backwards -- yet -- nor run over my feet with the rear tires yet, lol, but I'm sure it will happen. Tipped it over a few times, though.
I've put it through some very deep water, no problem. And if the water gets really deep, well, IT FLOATS!
The big fat front tire has a problem in the soft snow. It's hard to push that fat, knobby sucker through soft snow. Turns on a dime, though, so I can go right through the woods -- no trails necessary, although where I live we are blessed with unlimited ATVing trails.
I used to borrow my brother's Honda Foreman often for hunting, so I do know that there will be places I won't be able to follow my 4-wheeled hunting/fishing pals.
But it hasn't happened yet.
And I've already left them behind several times as I take to the deep woods, weaving between the trees.
Cheers

[foster]

Off for a week in the bush.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid75/p00f355e7d43aa0959daa5f07967dbb38/fb58283a.jpg

[AK NIMROD]

WELL I FINALLY GOT MY ROKON. IT IS GOING TO WORK SO GOOD FOR PUTTING IN THE JET BOAT.

[blacktail]

Cool!!:D

nice bike
:D

[AK NIMROD]

WHEELS ARE TANKS THEY HOLD 2.5 GALLONS EACH.
CLIMBS 60 DEGREES. CARRIES 1000LBS AND WILL TOW 3000 SO THEY SAY.
TOP SPEED 35-40 MPH BUT THE ARE REAL WORKHORSES.
I HAVE A SIDECAR ON ORDER.

[DaMadman]

Originally posted by AK NIMROD
WHEELS ARE TANKS THEY HOLD 2.5 GALLONS EACH.
CLIMBS 60 DEGREES. CARRIES 1000LBS AND WILL TOW 3000 SO THEY SAY.
TOP SPEED 35-40 MPH BUT THE ARE REAL WORKHORSES.
I HAVE A SIDECAR ON ORDER.

What does something like that run $$$ wise if you don't mind telling ?

[ghost stalker]

i had a foreman 450es, and sold it last week for a down payment on a mini-van(oh god my life is over). 2 kids and a good woman=a lil more walking for a couple of years, but it still hurts

[AK NIMROD]

THE ROKONS ARE ABOUT $5100 SIDECAR WAS ABOUT $1000 WHEN I BOUGHT MINE.

WENT TO DUSTY'S SITE HE SAYS $5375 FROM THE FACTORY AND $4875 FROM HIM . http://www.bakersfieldrokon.com/ HE IS IN BAKERSFEILD, CALIF. BUT SEEMS I READ HE HAS A PLACE ON THE EAST COAST ALSO. TYPICALLY YOU CAN GET A BETTER DEAL FROM THE DEALERS THAN THE FACTORY THEY HAVE A WEB SITE AS WELL AND THERE IS AT LEAST ONE OTHER REAL GOOD SITE ( MESSAGE BOARD) LOTS OF GREAT INFO AT THAT SITE AS WELL AS DUSTYS. IF INTERESTED CONTACT DUSTY EVEN IF HE IS NOT REAL CLOSE . I HAVE NO INTEREST IN DUSTY'S BUSINESS BUT HAVE DEALT WITH HIM AND HE IS VERY GOOD TO DEAL WITH.
EARLIER I STATED 60 DEGREE AND I THINK THAT WAS WHAT THEY SAID IN THE COMPANY ADVERTISING BUT I GUESS IT IS 60% GRADE.
THEY WEIGH ONLY 200 LBS SO THEY ARE EASIER TO MUSCLE AROUND THAN THE 4 WHEELERS.

PAT

[Rottweiler]

Just traded my 2000 Polaris 335 sportsman in on a 05 sportsman 800 last night. Have only rode it to load onto my trailer at the dealer's. That will change shortly.

[TreeDoc]

Wooooohhhh, Rotty! You bought one of them MONSTERS? :eek: Let us know what it's like! I'm pretty happy with th 400 and 500HO Sportsman but an 800?? Whew...that's gonna be a brute!

[Rottweiler]

I really like it, but I'm still getting learning to be lighter on the throttle. Same size as my old 335 just LOTS more horsepower. I used to run out of power with the 335 but I doubt that will happen with this one. This one almost has too much power. A quick jump on the throttle will bring the front end off the ground. If it wasn't as heavy as it is, it would probably flip without some rider weight on the front end.

Other than horsepower out the wazoo the biggest advantage is the fuel injection system doesn't need to be choked or have to warm up to get full power. When you let go of the key you are ready to go.

I used to get left in the dust by a few riding buddies with machines in the 500 range. That won't be happening anymore. :D

Almost want it to snow just so I can plow with it....On second thought I can wait 'til next winter. I'm ready for 70+degrees for a while

[mmwb]

Here's my beast. First ATV, picked up this spring for $100 from the original owner. I won't hunt off of it as most of the places I hunt are closed to ATV's (not that seems to stop many around here) and when I get an elk down its a call to a friend to get horses, but it is a fun ride and a nice little tractor to have around the place.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/andrewparker/atc3.jpg

[BigBull]

I have a 2003 Suziki Vinson 500 with camo bag on the rack and saddle bags.I love my Suziki Vinson it is one of the best rideing 4-wheelers on the market and Ihave rode them all before i bought my Suziki.

[JT7771]

I've got a 04 1/2 Polaris Sportsman 600 with the 2500 lb Warn Winch, Gun Boot IV and most importantly a trailer hitch ball
"CHROME OF COURSE"... It runs wonderfully, has never let me down. See you on the trail!

[rick savage]

350 yamaha, i can haul hogs out of anything. and it will handle three people

["yote"]

2003 Honda 450 Foreman
2004 "Cat" 500i

P.S. Both have "REAL GEARS" . Non of that "Belt Crap" .

[Contender]

I sold my Kawasaki 400 Bayou last summer after many years of riding. I also own an Arctic Cat 500 Auto and a Yamaha Grizzly 660. Love the Grizzly but not too crazy about the Cat.