Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's What ATV?

I am looking for a new ATV(quadrunner) to replace an old and tired
185cc Honda trike. My land is fairly level and not to swampy. I probably will not do any trail riding. Hauling out deer and firewood logs will be about the extent of my use for it. That being said, I need something that
is at the lower end of the price range; but, sturdy and dependable.
Would appreciate commentary as to prices and brands.

Look for an old 300 TRX. Even the 2WD models were plenty useful for your application.

New or used?

Your ATV usage screams Honda Foreman. I'm a big honda and Yamaha fan. It doesn't sound like you'll need the added stuff the yamaha has, but you'll surly like it.

If used, no question... Honda.

Honda Foreman or Honda Rubicon 500.

Honda Foreman 4x4 or Honda Rancher 4x4.

The Honda 300's were good machines in their day, but the last one made is 16 years old now. I'd want a lot newer than that if I was looking for reliability.

If you don't see yourself truly need 4WD, I'd say a 2WD Honda Rancher or even a Honda Recon (much lighter and easier to snatch around than the Rancher in the thick stuff).

Go Yamaha. Hondas are great but I feel the Yamaha is a little better having had both.

Those old 16-year-old 300s were much better machines than the Ranchers for a good number of years after they were introduced. Might as well buy new then unless you can find a good deal on a lightly-used 5-year old. Either the Recon (Honda) or Ozark (Suzuki)....I think I'd go with the latter for its better disc front brakes and manual shift tranny, but those are personal preferences.

I just sold a '99 Kawi Bayou 300 2x4 that ran great. I'd taken it in some hellacious places. The 2x4 was fine with just me but with much of a load, the 4x4 would have been much better.

The new utv's are getting nice. The narrow models will go most places a full size 4 wheeler will go. My honda rubicon and polaris big boss just sit around now. Way more comfortable if you have a fair amount of years under your belt.

Ain't THAT the truth. We just bought a UTV. It's scary where that thing will go and it's a lot more comfortable.

Still have our 93 Bayou 300 4X4 and has a whopping 2021 miles on it. Other than normal maintenace and a set of tires has been a tough machine. Sold the plow (due to being in the Boise banana belt), so set of tires was basically a wash.

RC, Have started considering a UTV seeing as how it is tougher to throw our legs over the *saddle* on the ATV. Couple of guys I know with the UTVs only gripes have been is the amount of dust rolling in when you are just creeping along. Any thoughts there?

The big dust problem comes from windshields. Take it off. The air will swirl behind one, even a 1/2 sized one, and you'll end up with everything coated inside. Use googles or a helmet face shield instead.

You solve the dust problem by putting a rear net on. It will still let the air through but will stop the dust from coming in the cab.

I have a rear net but it didn't stop the dust until we removed the windshield. We have half doors that might cause at least some of the dust problem but again, removing the windshield took care of that, too.

There's a cure for that dust problem, it's called the Ryde On dust cover. I run a full front window and rear vinyl window on my Rhino and i no longer have dust issues in the cab.

I have a 570 RZR that has a 1/2 front shield and I added a vinyl rear window. I have noticed a big decrease from dust but it didn't stop it all together.

I have sat in a few UTVs, but with my long legs they aren't the most comfortable for me. At least the ones I sat in. I still want the box for hauling so am looking at a Polaris Big Boss 6 wheeler.

I had the same problem...an old 1984 Honda Big Red, so at the tail-end of 2015, I took advantage of the Honda buyer incentives and purchased a nice green 2016 Honda Foreman with the manual tranny. I am very pleased with my choice.