atv shoping used

Why are there so many Polaris' for sale and so few Hondas? You can come up with the answer to that one.
You don't need great big mud tires. They're rough riding for one and totally unnecessary for camp use.
My Honda 350 does everything I ask of it. Its used for bear baiting, bringing in firewood, hunting and work around camp. And it has way over 30 thou kms on it.
4 wheel independent suspension gives you a nice comfortable ride. The bigger you go the easier to get stuck and the harder to get unstuck. Go ahead, try to lift a 500 cc quad out of a mud hole.
Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha are the machines to look at. The others I would stay away from.

I have a 02 sportsman 400, would buy another been very good to me.

sawbill those are the ones I have narrowed down for looking at.

Anything in the 350-500cc range will serve you fine. A 500 MAY be overkill, depending on what you actually end up doing with it. I have seen a 420 honda pull a 425 Polaris six wheeler, a 12' aluminum boat on a trailer, 9.9 outboard, other gear and three adults up a steep hill until the lost traction. Of the hill was paved, he would have made it. As a result, we dropped the trailer and two adults, pulled the Polaris up, went back for the boat, hooked everything back up and made it back to base.

The Polaris was out of commission because the main drive chain snapped. Something to consider if looking at an older machine. I believe the newer ones are shaft drive.

You will want to put a winch on if what you buy doesn't have one, especially with a new rider, they will probably not have the skills and experience to pick the easier route much of the time.

i have an '05 Honda 500 that I bought from my father in law. It has 10000km on it now and no sign of slowing down. My buddy has a 450? Suzuki about the same age. Again, good machine. Stay away from the Chinese bikes AT ALL COSTS. Don't even consider them. My wife bought me my first quad brand new in '06. $3000 from CTC. Warranty was 90 days. It has been a repair nightmare. I finally got rid of it 2 weeks ago. I spent from early September '13 to late September '14 looking for a brake drum and the design was such that without the drum, the back wheel could not be attached. I replaced the drum and then it wouldn't start. You get what you pay for and it is not much on those bikes.

Honda, yamaha, suzuki are all good, proven designs. Polaris and Cats for casual users. Cannot speak for CanAm.

For work and hunting I am all about Hondas with the Yamaha a close second ,but for play I have a 650 Baja.bombaardier,love that thing but no reverse only two wheel drive ton of fun. , dutch

As others said Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki. In your price range stick with an air cooled, geared transmission, solid rear axle. Less things to worry about. Look for abuse on a machine, leaks, cracks on frame/paint bent pieces. Part of the hassle is driving around looking at these machines since you don't want to buy something over the phone, and photos don't show everything. My workhorse is a 2000 Honda foreman 450es. My trail riding machine is a 2005 suzuki King quad.

Thank you for all the good info guys, its good to get from actual users. As well as to be able to narrow the choices down. It makes looking for the right one so much easier.

When it comes to atvs, I'm a fan of all things Japanese. My experience and observations lead me to believe they are superior in durability and reliability. Just my opinion, which is what you were asking for.

Loads of various advice, as a former director and trail builder for 2 ATV clubs I saw them all. Every bike from Japanese and Chinese builds to Canadian made. Considering you are using it so little, pull or kick start is a must, winch is a must. I won't mention what brand I towed the most, but I will say this, nothing over a 500cc is needed, every brand has it's flaws and every brand if you are a rookie can potentially kill you. Take a course from a local club if you have one nearby, all dealers know where to find one. Never drive without a helmet.Savage308

I have a Polaris sportsman 700 2003. It's a good bike and is good to me. I think in the future it.will start to get expensive although I have religiously maintained, lubed, and cleaned it. I run premium gas and seafoam as it only runs a few times a month.

The biggest downside for me is it doesn't have lube nipple installed. I had to tap them in to make life easy.

Overall the bike is far to big. I make all my trails wider. I never realize it's power potential except for maybe pulling wood on occasion. My wife won't drive it on the trails as it can be hard for her. It's like a Honda civic in the bush.

My next bike will be under 500. I would like Yamaha or Honda but I will see where funds are.

A mechanic told me if you can maintain and repair your own bike don't hesitate on Polaris. If you can't go HO or yammy.