Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hey.! Tell me about 4X4 Quads

We like the Hondas we use .

I have an 07 700 Grizzly. I like it but I had to do the stator upgrade for reliability. This is only for the first two years of production. I had an 04 Grizzly 660 and it is a beast. I got the 07 because it has EFI. One time I had to use my wife's blow dryer to heat the 660's carb in cold weather to get it started. The belt drive is nice but if you get the belt wet it will slip. I don't ford water or go through deep mud holes.

Your profile says "Alaska" but doesn't say where so perhaps my statement won't apply due to remoteness.

The 1st thing I'd look for regarding what you're looking for in a "hard-use" machine would be which dealer had the best service dept.

I like my big CanAM , and I do beat hell out of it on a daily basis, moving and checking cattle and fences , hauling mineral and salt , .......The big Yamahas are my second choice , and I still have my 660 grizzly for a backup


reliability has been mostly a tossup IME , and Ive never run anything but 10% ethanol in either one......no problems with the gas

That's a pretty impressive track record right there.

I'm thinking about getting one down the road, too.

This is the answer for an ATV.

Mornin, I don't think this is a problem any more but some of the older used models were not true 4x4! They were at best 3 wheel drive. I believe they all have front diff lock now. I haven't driven a new power steering model but at my age now I'd be looking at that, & the fuel injection!!!! Seat position can be pretty important also.. smaller size is also quite handy. Bill out. 👣🐾🇨🇦

Honda Atvs arent what they used to be, they have quite a few problems with them. Ive owned pretty much all of them, honda Rincon was the biggest piece of [bleep] out of them all. my last was a polaris 570, good machine with a great ride and plenty of grunt, that said, fit and finish is sub par compared to yamahas or can ams. If i wanted bullet proof, I would look at a 700 grizzly or if you want to tow more, the 700 kodiak My mom and step dad has one of each. That damn kodiak is a nimble little machine, that turns on a dime and has lots of power, but it lacks the independent suspension of the grizz. They are IMO the top of refinement in the atv world, great hard working machines that are built right

I bought a Polaris 500 Sportsman in 2000 and it was a work horse. I used it for hunting/retrieving moose, skidding firewood, pushing snow in NW Ontario. Started great even at -30. I sold it about two weeks ago for $3,700, in great shape. Regular maintenance was all it got. Great machine!

yamaha/honda IMO


I do know the bigger Hondas have a reputation for blowing out the transmission and its costly to replace. I see a handful of the rincon on craigslist that are going cheap because they have a transmission issue.How serious a concern that is I don't know. I like the Rancher/Foreman line of Hondas.

Not to sidetrack a thread, but decades ago I sort of kept up with dirt bikes. The "big 4" Japanese bikes seemed to dominate that market back then, but I find it interesting that in ATV threads on here, Honda and Yamaha always come up, but not Suzuki or Kawasaki. I thought maybe they don't make one, but I just checked, and they do. Interesting.

[quote=aalf]
Last year I sold my 1988 Honda Foreman I had bought brand new:





I am,rebuilding 2 of those right now

Sam wouldn't comment otherwise

I have 2 Yamahas, 2 Hondas, and a Polaris. If I were buying one today it would probably be a Yamaha or Honda. I would not buy one without EFI or power steering.

What features do you want? What purpose?

I have a Rancher and a Yamaha Kodiak.
I shopped for quite awhile looking for efi, all wheel disc breaks, an engine break and a couple other features I don’t remember before settling in the Kodiak in 2016.
The Kawasaki nor Suzuki had comparable features, and wife did not like feel of Polaris.
The Yamaha Grizzly checked the boxes but they discontinued the 550 and I didn’t need 700.
I plow every year with the Rancher and it starts at minus I shouldn’t be outside.
The Kodiak has electric steering which my wife loves and I kinda wish Rancher had during trail rides. I have pulled and hauled elk with the Honda. We use the Kodiak for trail riding.
My Honda dealer is a 4 minute ride and has been good to work with. I bought a receiver hitch for the Rancher and they installed it for free, which was a pleasant experience. Would have been easy to do my self but saved me a garage floor sweeping.
I walk past the Talon each time I go to the Honda shop and have expensive thoughts.
If you can avoid the bigger is better and my bike is better than your bike games, focus on features and get what you want, you can be pretty happy without buying into the hype.

those are the machines that gave honda their fame in the atv world IMO. Id buy one of those before id let someone give me a honda made after 2000. Ive got a 1986 quadrunner 250 that has never had any maintinence and was completely thrashed by me and my older brother for 15 years, then spent another 10-12 years on the farm as a community flogging post. I started it last year after it had been sitting for years just to see if it would. fresh battery fresh gas and it popped off.

Another vote for Honda. Bought this 2001 Foreman 450 used back in 03 and it's been virtually trouble free for 17 years. Set of tires, new battery and oil changes is about all I've done to it. Next one I get will have independent suspension and power steering..gotta rassle it on rough logging trails.

One thing I learned is if it's going to sit for any length of time I shut off the fuel and run the carb dry. Crappy gas additives out here varnish up a carb if left in too long.

Honda rancher
Pro:reliable and light enough if you get stuck you could easily get out. Foot shift and auto models available, Power steering
Con:not quite as much power as the foreman

Honda Foreman
Pro:reliable and a workhorse of a bike. Foot shift and auto models available, the auto trans models are really smooth shifting and the start and stop is really smooth also, Power steering
Con: not as much power as a grizzly

Yamaha Grizzly
Pro: Reliable, very powerful, power steering smooth ride and comfortable, power steering
Con: runs lean from the factory, jerky start and stop. Not nearly as smooth as the auto Hondas

I currently have the 700 grizzly and would make you a good deal on it if you were closer, sold a very nice honda rubicon to get it, big regret. I do have a 2004 honda foreman rubicon that I keep for the wife and kids to ride and me to hunt on occasionally. I have had the polaris ranger and really liked it but it was a lot of machine to use in the woods off the trails and roads. I am in the process of selling the grizzly to go back to the honda rubicon. Nothing wrong with the grizzly but I prefer the honda, just my 2

I bought a Honda foreman 450 in 2004, The machine has four thousand miles on the speedo. Plug and oil changes plus a couple sets of tires the only maintenance it has required. Plows snow and goes retriving game when needed. I would buy another honda! My brother had a couple polaris machines in the time I've had mine. They didn't hold up well in comparison!