My immediate family has been riding Hondas since the 185 three wheelers dad and one uncle bought in about 1982 or so. They upgraded to 250SX three wheelers in 1985. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if those two 250SXs had over 30k apiece on them before they were parked for good. Dad gave his away in 2007 and the guy continued to ride it checking cows and fixing fence for at least 5 more years.
Grandad tried a Kawasaki and an uncle tried a Suzuki, both briefly since neither would start reliably in the cold.
Everyone went to Hondas by about 1994 or so and have had literally zero breakdowns. Nothing but oil, batteries, and tires. 6 Recons, 1 200 FourTrax, and 5 Ranchers.
One uncle and 4 cousins are Polaris guys. The new rigs from Polaris are way better than the old 80’s and 90’s models they all had. But they’re still junk in comparison to the Hondas.
We have one Bombardier Traxter we all split the cost of a $100 raffle ticket for and won. It’s a stump puller with full time 4x4, locked diffs, and a winch. But it’s always been hard starting and rides like a freight wagon. I have to pull the rear cover off to replace the starter clutch currently but haven’t made the time. It’s been a decent machine but I wouldn’t dream of buying another.
If I don’t end up buying a Pioneer 500 I will probably buy a manual shift solid axle 2wd Rancher in the next couple years. I think people overestimate the capability of a lightweight 2wd machine. There’s only been one place in the areas we frequent in CO that the Bombardier or my Cousin’s 800 Polaris would go that I couldn’t get on a 250 Recon. And no places they could get that I couldn’t on a 2wd Rancher. I’ve also hauled out half a bull elk or a whole buck muley on a Recon multiple times including last fall.
Last edited by TheKid; 10/13/19.
