Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's what's the best four wheeler for the money

My RZR did sit a bit lower than I liked. I bought it used and the tires were getting worn so when I replaced them, I changed the 25's to 26's plus that 2" lift. That got me nearly 3" more. This country is very rocky and some roads are nothing but rocks. I have no problems at all now. It'll go over them as well as any ATV I've seen.

I have a 2003 Honda Rancher, never had anything done to it until this year - new breaks. My dealer said the only reason they see them for service is break replacement. He said their service department would go broke if thats all Honda ever sold

I do think they've got the worst brakes in the business. I've got an older Bombardier (now Can-Am) atv and the brakes on it are still TIGHT after 15 or so years.

That's because they are Brembo brakes, best in the business.

Why don't you like the foreman?

I'm probably going to dump the Can-Am soon. I just can't warm up to it, or trust it. Yamaha and Honda are what I'm going to be looking at.

I have a 2000 Foreman that is nearly bullet proof. So my 14 year old son uses that.

That's because you haven't used it. Your use is EXACTLY where the PS shines. Not long trail rides. Slow technical rocky/roots/rutted trails and farm work is where that shines and was designed for.

Try it. You'll never have one without again.

Power steering seems kind of wimpy to me for a wheeler, but I suppose it depends on one's upper body strength and what they are riding over. I do remember nearly dislocating my thumbs on my old K-5 Blazer without power steering when I hit a tree stump and the stump did the steering. Sweetness and I are in a balance class here and one of the exercises was to push sideways against each others outstretched arms while facing one another. I was amazed at how little upper body strength she had. If we used our wheelers more, I'd probably look at it too.

You haven't used it.

Honda Suzuki

I have a 2001 Honda Rancher 4x4. I bought it used in 2005. Its been pretty much bullet proof. I plow with it, drag logs and pull a trailer with it. Only thing I have done to it is replace the tires and battery as needed.

Please tell me you've thrown in an oil change?

A group of us ride ATV's in the Arizona desert all winter every year. Some of the guys are in their 15th season riding out here. I have been fortunate enough to ride here for 5 winters. We see all kinds of machines. Lots of Polaris and Can Ams and fewer Hondas and Yamahas for some reason. However there are definitely more problems and more dissatisfaction per capita with the Polaris (especially) and Can Am machines than with the Yamahas and Hondas.

I own 3 Yamaha Grizzly 700 EPS machines. They are, by far, the most comfortable quads to ride, with very ergonomic control placement, good seats and extremely nice suspension. The Yamahas and Hondas seem to be tied for first place in reliability. The 2015 Grizzly 700 EPS that I ride out here is just turning over 10,000 miles, all of it on the rough trails out here, and it has needed nothing more than routine maintenance and a set of tires now and then. My buddy has a 2017 Honda Rincon that has needed boots on the rear axle already but is otherwise solid. It is definitely not as comfortable as the Grizzly, though.

The guys with Polaris quads and side by sides seem to be having lots of suspension, transmission and axle problems and the guys with Can Ams seem to have more than their share of electrical glitches. One good thing about the Can Am quads in our group is that they are 2-up machines and have longer wheelbases than our Hondas and Yamahas. This makes them a bit more stable on some of the steeper, rougher trails.

Personally, from what I have seen in thousands of miles of riding out here, I would consider Honda and Yamaha tied for first place, and everything else tied for last.

I have Honda, Kawasaki and Polaris in 4 wheelers. Honda by far the best. Switched back to a New Mule from Ranger in Side by side.

Honda Foreman I had an 05 Foreman that I used in the oilfield tending wells, when the company got me a Polaris Ranger it had 23,000 miles on it and still Ran strong. Only major issue was replacing 3rd gear. Other than that brakes, wheel bearings, and a few axle boots.The other well tender had 18,000 on his. Best in the business. Polaris Rangers are junk, could not keep wheel bearings and Aarm bushings in them.Changed them about every 2 months.Go with Honda

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Polaris works for me

Suzuki KQ

I'll go out on a limb and say that in due time the small compact side x side's that are well built and in the same $$$$ as some ATV's will start to outsell them. The more I ride my Honda Pioneer 500 the more I don't miss my Rancher or my Big Bear 400. Of course I'm older than most and not looking for speed or something that I can drive out in the lake to go fishing with. --
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Problem with that is they don't make a small compact sxs for utility use, the Yamaha Rhino fit that bill to a T but they no longer build them. I've got one and it is a work horse and does everything I ask of it.

Or 2??