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I'm doing a 1st season elk hunt that took the better part of two decades to draw. I had been planning on scouting three days before season, so I planned on being at camp evening of the 12th. The place I've been seeing elk is 20 miles into where I park from the trail head. Latst Friday my old 07 Sportman 500 took a dump on me after my last scouting trip, and I can't get it out of the shop in time to have it running for my hunt.

I would rather rent and have a call out to the local rental place in my hunt area to see if an ATV is available for my dates. It'll run me $2100 to rent for the duration of my hunt and scout days if there is a machine available. It is over $4000 if I have to rent the cheapest SXS for the same dates.

So I spent the weekend looking at new and used ATVs. I've not found many on the used market, and the ones I didn't think were scams had already been sold. I'm also not finding much available new in a price I'm willing to spend. So far my best used option is an 07 Yamaha Grizzly 450 with 56 hrs and under 700 miles, it's over priced by about $1000 that's why it's still available I'm wanting to hear back from the owner. The new that are in stock and I can pick up same day are a Yamaha Kodiak 450 EPS $7000 or Polaris Sportsman 570 for $7500.

My wife has given the okay either way I go, and I'm able to write off the purchase as a farm expense.


There are bigger machines available for more money, and I could spend as much as $10K, . I'd prefer to buy a used one a couple years old, but options are very limited in the used market. I load these mainly in a truck bed (6.5' short bed) and rarely trailer since my smallest trailer is a 16' stock trailer. I also like the how nimble the smaller machines are compared to the 700cc and larger ATV options I've ridden. I'm willing to give up payload capacity for better handling off road and being able to close the tailgate.

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There is a short supply of ATV's (and other things) right now. Used ones are selling fast and above book. New ones are being sold before they arrive, little wiggle on price.

Good time to rent if possible so you don't get stuck with one that you "had" to purchase if it isn't what you want or would have purchased otherwise.

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You could buy the Yamaha and use it for the trip. You could then turn around and sell it post trip as a nearly new machine and I bet you would lose less than the $2100 rental fee. What you would likely do is fall in love with the Yamaha and sell the Polaris once it gets out of the shop.

Take the used sale price and add in the $2100 rental fee. That’s what you have to throw at a new machine without being out of pocket. I’m betting the couple thousand extra it would cost you to ‘trade up’ would be worth it, especially if you use the machine a lot when farming. Downtime is costly too.

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What K1500 said


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Yep. Buy the Yamaha, write off what you can, and sell the 14yr old Polaris when fixed.


Now with even more aplomb
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I've been wanting to upgrade to a Honda Foreman Rubicon, and almost bought one last year. My Sportsman has been a great machine, but I think I've ridden the wheels off for the last time. I'm not sure it'll be worth fixing this time around.

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The new Polaris 570's are everywhere around here, but a new Yamaha anything, especially an EPS model, is nonexistent. That should tell you something.


My other auto is a .45

The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
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This place is great, I was pointed in the direction of a rental company in Denver. I was able to rent a 2020 Kodiak 700 for $1K for the hunt. Takes a lot of pressure off trying to find the right new machine. Probably order up the Honda I've been wanting.

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Great thread thanks taylorce 1 it's info I need. Mb


" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
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BUY ONE! Remember, Honda/Yamaha, the ONLY choices for ATV!

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Sounds like you can rent one for your hunt which is great and would give you a real chance to see how well you'd like the Yamaha. I just traded in my 2019 Rancher for a 2022 King Quad. Was going to keep the Honda but I got more for it than I paid 2 years ago? Stupid, but all I can say is Let's Go Brandon! First time I didn't loose money on something. Already spent what I made on bacon. You might check out Aaron Kelle on Youtube, he does some good videos ridding his 750 King Quad on trails in Idaho and talks about hunting and fishing a little too.


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I've been kind of looking forward to a report on how the rented Kodiak worked on the western hunt from the op Taylorce1. Not that the old Kawasaki or Polaris ATV's haven't done the job, a new Kodiak might be doing it better.


My other auto is a .45

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The hunt went well, the Yamaha ran great. I don't think I want a 700, it's just a big machine to be jumping in and out of the back of my pickup all the time. It wasn't anywhere near as nimble and responsive as my 500. I'm very happy it had power steering as after riding on trails all day I think you'd be pretty sore. It did have a much nicer ride than my 16 year old bike.

My main uses for an ATV is checking cattle, herding cattle, checking cattle water, repairing barbed wire fence, and running down the occasional coyote. I really don't have a good reason to buy something bigger than a 550 as I have a tractor to do all my ground maintenance work and large project builds.

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Thanks for that write up Taylorce1, I'm glad that your hunt went well. I think that you and me would be better served with the Kodiak 450 instead of the 700. I jumped on one a couple weeks back at the dealership and I was surprised at how soft the suspension was. That one didn't have the power steering and probably the reason that it was still there. I went to one of the kid's birthday party and the host was in a cast with a broken arm and thumb from riding a 700 with the fellas and it tried to leave without him and it found a tree. I did that too much of a good thing on dirt bikes back in my youth and never again. We had more fun with the smaller displacement ones.


My other auto is a .45

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Definitely buy.


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