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Buying a quad / 4-wheeler

7K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  NorthernMama 
#1 ·
I am going shopping. Does anyone have any tips or experiences to share?

Our quad will be used exclusively in the bush. No road travel. Even the bush trails are rough. The terrain is bare rock, swamp and beaver ponds, mud, and topsoil. A fair amount of bush debris on the ground - fallen trees, broken branches, a few rocks. Primary purpose will be to haul a trailer to load our firewood into. Secondary purpose will be clearing out riding trails at the same time. MDH will build the trailer. We have the axle in the yard already.

I haven't looked at any machines at all yet. What I know so far is that I need to specify that I want a utility quad, 4x4, and MDH says 500cc is probably about right.

Whether new or used will depend on pricing. But if it will be used, it will not be very used.
 
#2 ·
Whatever you get make sure it has power steering or it as least easy to steer.

My boss had a 4-wheeler that didn't have power steering that thing was a bear to turn even going fast down a gravel road was a pita. He sold that one and now has one with power steering ahhhhh yes lovely!
 
#3 ·
I have always loved the Polaris brand. They are nice, ride well, and work great in any terrain. My parents have a Polaris 500 with a winch and they only do off-road riding. This machine has kept up to the Grizzles 750 with 2 people and a cooler on the Polaris. Once I have enough money this is what I'm going to get. Spend the extra money for a winch, it is very handy for if you get stuck, pulling trees, or towing! Make sure you get the power steering as mentioned before and if you get an electric key start, have the pull cord as a back up!
 
#4 ·
We bought a Honda quad awhile back - runs nice but hard to start when the weather gets cold. I use it for chores and little odd jobs where getting out the big tractor would be overkill. We bought new (wished it could have been used because of dollars) because we had heard such bad stories (which I believe to be true) of how most quads are treated in that they driven hard and, apparently this is what's hardest on them, run through water bodies like sloughs. And most certainly yes to power steering and electric start; I assume all quads have a reverse in them which is pretty much a necessity if you're storing it inside or getting into tricky places.
 
#5 ·
We have 2 Polaris 4Wheelers. One is 8 years old or so. In great condition. That one is a 650/700 I think.

Our other one is a orange 850. Awesome. Power steering.

For sure get power steering. You'll thank it later.

Hard working equiptment. We use ours for everything.
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#7 ·
I can't say for sure about mileage on ours - although the gas tank is not very big, it can go quite some time between fills. Our running time, I would guess, is say 5-6 hours a week and we don't have to fill it up every week. I suspect that if it is being used on rough terrain, etc., fuel usage would be noticed.
 
#9 ·
I would personally buy new if you can save up and afford it because some people use them to spray pesticides, or ride them hard, or try and repair the machine by themselves and it will break down later.

With buying new you have a warranted, sometimes you can get the place to through in some specials, like free helmets or repairs in the first year(in case it rolls, or something like that.

Here is my recommnded list of must haves in a 4 wheeler:
-power steering
-EFI(Electronic Fuel Injection)-Makes for starting them easier especially after sitting for a long while or in the winter
-at least 500 cc(enough power to get you up hills/and towing/or for working with)
-winch!!!!!

as far as mileage I'm not sure...some ATVs have a gauge where you can check that and being used they may not tell you the exact mileage but how many hours they have ridden and what kind of terrain it has been in. Also, some questions to ask this seller before purchasing:
-are you the first owner/only owner to use this ATV?(some atvs need broken in a certain way like: not going over a certain amount of RPM for so many miles then, keeping the RPM above a certain number for a while for so many miles)
-has anything been fixed on it?who did the repairs?
-any modifications done too it?(any sort of boost for speed can mean that they have ran the heck out of it for long periods of time, could cause overheating and other bad things)
-the year!
-then ask if you can have a mechanic who specializes in 4 wheeler to go over it and check it out? if they say no, stay away! this is a way you can see what kind of repairs it will need in the future or if something is bad on it now that needs fixed right away and so you can tell if it is cheaper in the long run to buy new.
-some 4wheeler/motorcycle dealerships will have used ones already gone through by a mechanic and you can ask them questions that should be asked when buying used.
 
#10 ·
.

I have a friend with 2 artic cats, I think they are 12 years old at least and both run well, only time he had to repair one was when a tree jumped in front of him

Another friend had 3 artic cats and kept them 5-6 years till he traded them in for jets skis, never a repair needed.

Here is a link about how to find used prices if that is what you are interested in and they have other info on new.

Used ATV Prices. Free Sources for the Latest Four Wheeler Prices.

I cannot begin to count how many people I know that have a Kawasaki Mule or the equivalent, we had an no name brand which tore up about once a year...lol.. but was cheap and easy to fix, these things are great for farm work, carrying bales of hay in the mud and snow and for towing trailers, dragging the arena, etc.

Muleâ„¢


.
 
#11 ·
On our older 4Wheeler, We have approximately 800 miles on it. This one is made of work.

Our new one (orange one), probably 300 miles. We ride this one alot as we have a Razor we ride up on trails in Baldwin, MI. This 4Wheeler is made for speed.
 

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#12 ·
My Polaris 500 Sportsman 4 x 4 is 13 yrs old and does everything I need it to do. I'm not interested in the sport of hill climbing or high speed riding. It handles the bush trails quite nicely, hauls a single set of harrows. Since mine isn't equipped with a windshield I find 15 mph plenty fast on the trails or on the gravel road, especially in cool weather. Lots of time you'll wind up riding much slower. When this machine needs replacing I won't be looking for a big honkin 700 cc as it just way more expense for nothing. My Polaris is strong arm steering but as long as it's moving a little it's easy to steer, especially backwards, it'll turn real easy.
 
#13 ·
MDH and I are discussing the cc required. There is no way our machine will ever hit 20 mph. Seems like so many of the machines are almost dual purpose, being suitable for the bush, but also lots of displacement for roads and trails. My machine will never see a road. And barely a trail. The only easy terrain will be the pasture when I harrow it. I need power and low speed so do I really need to pay $ for hundreds of cc that I will never use?

Has anyone heard about the new Yamaha Grizzly 350? Dirt cheap, but apparently has power to haul half a ton. No power steering unfortunately though.
 
#14 ·
I bought the Honda Fourtrax 420. Manual tranny and manual steering. Its just fine for us. As I thought, top speed so far is 15km\hr! I'll try to post a PIC from my phone and you'll see why we're slow. If I get the pic to load, its on one if our better, smoother, clearer trails.
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#16 ·
I couldn't get the pic to load from my phone, but here it is. And the trail looks so nice and smooth in the picture, of course :? The trailer is one that we had sitting around, with a couple modifications. It works OK for what we do, but it is just about impossible to turn around in the bush. As I figured it would be.

I brought in a load of wood yesterday. It's a far cry from using a skidder, making your trails as you go and bringing in all the firewood in a couple of days, but it gets the job done. I think it's a cute little machine.
Land vehicle All-terrain vehicle Vehicle Automotive tire Tire
 
#17 ·
Nice.

I am glad we have ours - it's so practical.

We splashed out on a little ATV trailer recently that has proven well worth the monetary outlay. It's a flat bed trailer, slats in the sides to put in 2x4 boards to make walls (if you want) with wide tires on and is very maneuverable. I see you're from Ontario so I suspect there is probably a Princess Auto Store around you some place - that's where we got it from. I'd recommend you have a look at that.
 
#18 ·
Thanks, Chevaux. Yes we have a Princess Auto in town but every quad trailer we have looked at is just too lightweight and I would destroy it in a season or less. Teeny tiny axle, teeny tiny tires, flimsy tongue and hitch; just too Barbie for our purposes. I for sure need the big tires - the regular little tires they put on those trailers just won't cut it in our bush trails. Although, I'm not convinced we need truck tires but they are free and can easily be replaced for free. We have an overabundance of tires around here. :)

That all said, this trailer is, IMO, still in a trial stage. MDH says its OK. I'm still not sure. MDH says that because its so long it'll be easier for us to haul out a bunch of 8' length small limbs easily for cutting at the house in a rack all at once, rather than in the bush one at a time. But the length is certainly one of my complaints when manipulating it in the bush. We'll see what happens with it.
 
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