Mark;
I hope that this finds you and yours doing well this fine Sunday morning.
With the understanding that I have yet to purchase my own first quad, but I work with and live around several experienced quad drivers I'd offer the following.
Do your research first on the fuel consumption of various models if you plan to ride it for longer distances or times. Even within the same motor size class there appears to be a considerable difference in fuel consumption.
Some of the models nowadays have electronic assisted steering and the riders over the age of 35 seem to really, really appreciate that.
While you are a large framed man, because of your health issues you may indeed have more fun than you'd hoped for trying to man handle some of the 700cc or larger units if they get stuck or off track in any way. A quick check of the dry weight specs will be time well spent I'd suspect.
How you intend to transport the quad will also have a bearing on the overall size and weight of the unit you'll want. From hearing the folks at work talk, loading an 800cc 4x4 onto the back of a pickup with a 6" lift and 35" rubber isn't always as easy as it looks.
Either a tilting trailer or a low trailer with ramps seems to be a safer way to go, though admittedly the resulting stories aren't nearly as fun to listen to.
Lastly they pay attention to a strong local dealer and competent mechanic staff when making the final decision. The rationale there seems to be they'd rather be in the mountains quading than driving a couple hours to the nearest dealer who can work on their rig.
Hopefully that all made some sense and will give you a bit of a foundation for your research. Good luck whichever way you decide Mark and all the best to you and yours in the upcoming week.
Regards,
Dwayne
