About ATVs

[RjMaan]

Wow, impressive topic and Let me shed some light in it. Well, generally speaking, ATV also known as "quad bikes" consist up of four wheel drive and I can be used for riding on both rough surfaces and road, even it is helpful in desert as well. 

Generally, there are two types of ATV's;

1. Sports ATV
2. Utility ATV

People tends to buy them depending on their preference. Normally, Sports ATVs have ergonomically perfect body and have powerful engine. Utility ATV are little bit bulky and may not have attractive styling but they have good weight carrying capacity and they are equipped with all accessories that one need during adventure riding in mountainous regions or when pulling heavy loads in farm. There are a lot of brands manufacturing ATVs and one can found the list of Top Ten Best Quad Bike Brands here. 

[Gwbarm]

Interesting top 10 list, Polaris has really come a long way to get to number 2. Around here nobody wants them and when you do see them for sale they are selling for really cheap, not sure why, they are nice. 

[DarkRider]

I've owned quite a few brand ATVs. I've only purchased used and never got one brand new.

• Yamaha
• Honda
• Suzuki
• Kawasaki
• Polaris

I have to say my top favorite has been Yamaha. They're well designed, well made. I'm going to make a list detailing my experiences with each. Keep in mind sometimes you just have bad luck, which I recognize.

Make	Model	Year	Sport/Utility	Condition when purchased	The Good	The Bad	Additional Comments
Yamaha	Warrior	2002	Sport	Excellent	Plenty fast for the woods, reliable, electric start, simple, no real electronics to worry about, has headlight	Not great for rough terrain, Getting to reverse is a pain	Never really had any issues
Yamaha	Warrior	1999	Sport	Excellent	Same as above	Same as above	Same as above
Honda	Rancher 350EX	2002	Utility	Excellent	Ultra reliable, nice digital display, it’s a HONDA	A wire in the back is prone to being pulled out by brush in the woods, causing reverse to stop working. Easy enough to reconnect. Electronic shifting can be prone to issues if the angle sensor has problems. Full time 4WD and no option to switch to 2WD.
Yamaha	Wolverine 450	2009	Sport 4x4	Practically New	Push button 4WD, light, reliable tried and true Yamaha engine, Ultramatic transmission has Park gear (one of my favorite things)	Very little storage, easy to tip over, plastics have very little reinforcement and are prone to stress marks, wasn’t really as much fun in the “sport” department. The 450 didn’t seem as powerful as you’d think.
Polaris	Scrambler	2001	Sport 4x4	Fair	AWD at the flip of a switch, powerful and fun	AWD hubs seemed to always stop working, kind of a pain to work on, each hub needs a special fluid which can be prone to leaks. Hubs seemed like they were made of cheap metal. Replaced rear hubs twice with brand new ones and they wore out VERY fast (possibly underlying issue?). Chain drive in the back and AWD hubs in the front means you have more to go wrong and more to worry about.
Yamaha	Grizzly 660	2005	Utility	Good (with baggage)	All of the reliability and advantages of Yamaha motors and the Ultramatic transmission, plenty of power, well designed push button diff lock that doesn’t let you engage until 4WD is engaged	I had problems with mine that I think are all to blame on the previous owner. I’m certain I’d probably have nearly no issues to report had it not been for that. However, the physical size is to be noted. If your trails frequently require squeezing between trees and narrow areas, you may find yourself constantly looking for alternative routes with this one.
Polaris	Sportsman 500 HO	2000	Utility	Below average	AWD at the flip of a switch, powerful and fun	Cam shafts are prone to wear, had to replace with a steel one. The plastic racks and bumpers are prone to breakage and expensive to replace, had similar AWD issues as the Scrambler.	In defense of Polaris, I definitely bought both of these from abusive owners and never had a chance to own one that was respected. This could certainly be the reason I was seeing more issues than normal
Kawasaki	Brute Force 750	2005	Utility	Good	Tons of power, easy access diff lock (just pull the lever), good ground clearance, slightly more narrow than a Grizzly	Lot of common quirks: Bus connector goes bad, stopping battery charging. Two cylinders means more complicated to work on. Carb is more complex to work. Air/fuel mixture screw is difficult to access, adding coolant requires ripping off the front rack and plastics, common KEBC issue throws 2wd/4wd code, limp mode is a pain to disable, prone to starting issues and log cranking, guzzles gas, by design, the 4WD sometimes requires you to roll a fair bit to engage it. If you are already stuck and in 2WD, you either need to tow or winch out, otherwise you’re going to slam it into 4wd trying to get it to engage. If this happens with Yamaha, for example, if 4wd doesn’t engage, you can very gently tap the throttle to allow everything to sync and 4wd will engage.
Suzuki	King Quad 300	1994	Utility	Good (for the year)	Lots of drivetrain/gear options (2WD/4WD/Diff lock, High/Low/Super Low, 5 speed semi automatic), reliable, small enough to fit lots of places yet a tank that can overcome quite a bit, quite a nice storage compartment right behind the seat, not as many electronics as a newer quad and less to go wrong.	This is probably an unfair ding, but having a foot shifter can occasionally be a disadvantage if you get caught up on a rock in gear, and the engine shuts off. It’s not as simple as turning it back on and continuing on. Newer quads with the shifter up top avoids this. The idle screw is a pain to get to (at least on mine) as you have to reach all the way in from the other side, there’s barely room for your hands, and you can burn your hands if you’re trying to get a proper idle adjustment while the engine is warm.	Only had this one for a very short amount of time, so anything can change. But these seem to have good reputations.

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by DarkRider

[Gwbarm]

Great user info here appreciate it