A few more ATV Questions

So I have a few more ATV Questions.

What is normally the life expectancy of an engine on these things? I mean obviously thing eventually wear out just like a car. What would you consider way to high.

I have seen some that were in around the 1000 - 5000 km. I did see a Suzuki Quad 400 appeared to be in great condition but it had 15000 km's on it. Car's can quite easily go to 300,000.

From what I gather The fourtrax and Big bear are probaly the best for my needs. Most seem to say stay away from Polaris especially the much older ones, but what about the Suzuki Quad, how are they?

as ive said in many many posts on here... i cant recomend the suzuki quadrunners/kingquads enough... toughest machines you could ask for... my old quadrunner 250 had 10000 miles (miles not kms) when i sold it, and i put it through hell and back on the farm, my new king quad is currently at about 4000 miles, no issues...

as with anything proper maintenance is the key, but generally, i expect a atv, to go 10-20000 kms (suzuki/hondas)...

Mileage isn't a safe guide on an atv. You never know at what RPM those miles were logged. That being said my 400 big bear had 18000 km on it when I sold it. I always keep on top of oil changes and I think it was around 12000 that I changed the rings.

The older Suzuki bikes were great. The king quad although small and squat by todays standards was the king of the woods for many years. I know little to nothing about the newer suzies as they never struck my fancy.

other thing to consider is like a car, how was it driven... was it used and abused on a farm for 10000 miles, or was it driven on dirt roads, for 15000 kms....

check all your wheel bearings, u joints etc for play... bent tubes on the framework...

my old quadrunner was one heck of a machine... the old owner, rolled it down a steep hill at his camp, it cartwheeled, down the hill, and into the lake, so he fixed the plastic up as best he could, he then drowned it again in a deep mud hole behind his camp... that was when he decided to sell it to me, so i got it for a good deal, with only about 1500 miles on it, was an american fella from florida... i used it for hunting, and for farm work and dragging logs, drowned it twice myself in the bush, everytime she started back up and got me home lol new bike ive bin a bit easier on, but have already had the tires faceing the sky once already, luckily i was driving slowly, but had a gun in one hand, and got a root on a hill side haha so what im saying is... dont buy a bike off me haha

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Originally Posted by oaknut

Mileage isn't a safe guide on an atv. You never know at what RPM those miles were logged. That being said my 400 big bear had 18000 km on it when I sold it. I always keep on top of oil changes and I think it was around 12000 that I changed the rings.

The older Suzuki bikes were great. The king quad although small and squat by todays standards was the king of the woods for many years. I know little to nothing about the newer suzies as they never struck my fancy.

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still tough and good machines, just limited by a belt, old bikes being gear driven, would only be limited by traction... with that said, ive only had my belt slip once, and thats because i was trying to help pull a truck out of a mud hole, have pulled round bales of hay with it no probs...

We have 2 Yamaha 450's at work, one over 10,000km the other just under10k. Neither burn oil or have anything but "cosmetic" issues, little pieces of plastic missing. Last weekend we a fun trip in Haliburton on the trails, 1 Suzuki, 1 Yamaha, 6 Polaris. Saturday morning, the Suzuki, Yamaha and one brand new Polaris started, the other 4 were dead like cement. Another older Polaris with tracks showed up later, and after 2km the engine grenaded.

All depends on the maintenance that was done over the life of the atv. If the air filter was kept clean, oil changed regularly and wasn't beat on too bad then 10,000km isn't all that much. My dad's old 1989 Suzuki 250 quadrunner has over 10,000km on it. 4 boys grew up on that bike and I seen it go through hell and back again and it still runs fine.

GW . Is it really worth your time and cash to buy used bud ?. Buy new. I'll sell you a 2008 BB that has always been highly maintained because it could save my life some day . Funny thing is even with almost 5 k on it I would not sell it to you for what I would want . WHY ? Because I SAID SO DUMMY . buy NEW just not a POPO . Want my 400 BB " ? I'll just buy a newer one with what I take for me to part with it so don't be a dummy , bud .

TD

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Originally Posted by 400bigbear

GW . Is it really worth your time and cash to buy used bud ?. Buy new. I'll sell you a 2008 BB that has always been highly maintained because it could save my life some day . Funny thing is even with almost 5 k on it I would not sell it to you for what I would want . WHY ? Because I SAID SO DUMMY . buy NEW just not a POPO . Want my 400 BB " ? I'll just buy a newer one with what I take for me to part with it so don't be a dummy , bud .

TD

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he does make a good point (about time he, was due) thats the only reason i bought my new bike, was i was worried about being stranded in the bush with a old broken down bike, though it never left me stranded in the 12 years i owned it, i still worried about it, especially traveling with the wife with me...

plus once you feal how a new bike feals to a old one, you will never ride the trails with a old one again... buddies wife hates me, cause i let him use my bike this fall when his old big bear broke down, now he wants a new bike lol

GW

there is a green 2002 Honda rubicon with a Detroit locker front differential, if you ever see it for sale don't buy it. It's my old machine and has issues deep inside the hondamatic transmission ...

if if you want a work horse with pulling power get something with a single rear axle, if not a independent rear suspension gives a nicer ride

No can't afford to go new. To many other spending priorities as well. I don't mind used they can be made reliable if you put some effort into it.

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Originally Posted by 400bigbear

GW . Is it really worth your time and cash to buy used bud ?. Buy new. I'll sell you a 2008 BB that has always been highly maintained because it could save my life some day . Funny thing is even with almost 5 k on it I would not sell it to you for what I would want . WHY ? Because I SAID SO DUMMY . buy NEW just not a POPO . Want my 400 BB " ? I'll just buy a newer one with what I take for me to part with it so don't be a dummy , bud .

TD

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What did it cost you to replace the rings or did you do it yourself?

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Originally Posted by oaknut

Mileage isn't a safe guide on an atv. You never know at what RPM those miles were logged. That being said my 400 big bear had 18000 km on it when I sold it. I always keep on top of oil changes and I think it was around 12000 that I changed the rings.

The older Suzuki bikes were great. The king quad although small and squat by todays standards was the king of the woods for many years. I know little to nothing about the newer suzies as they never struck my fancy.

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I realize mileage isn't the everything. But even with great care engines do wear out. I was just wondering what the limits seem to be. The Quad 400 I see for sale the fella told me it has 15000 km's and that did seem a tad high he was asking 1400. Most the older machines I have seen have an average of 5000 or less (assuming the mileage is accurate).

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

What did it cost you to replace the rings or did you do it yourself?

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I did the rings myself. I think it cost me $80 all in. I was even able to leave the engine in the bike to do the work.

Dad had his 660 grizz rebuilt when it hit 9600 km or so and it cost him $2600 but these are a far more complex beast.

I bought my ATV with something like 1000 km on it, so if you are patient, you will be able to find the right deal.

If you do buy something with high mileage and you want to do some work on the engine, there is a great course offered by Algonquin College (Woodroffe Campus) http://www.algonquincollege.com/ccol...small-engines/. I took the course a few years ago. It is offered at night, I think once or twice a week, and it runs for a few months. During the course, you bring in a small engine and work on it under the supervision of the instructor and some technicians, using their shop tools. You do simple things like rebuild the carburettor, but you also do more complex tasks like change the head gasket, change the rings (if you want), check bearings, polish the cylinder etc. Depending on how fast you are, there may also be time at the end to work on other parts of the ATV. The advantages of taking the course is that you are forced to set aside some time every week to work on the machine, and you have the instructor's expertise available for all the repairs you want to do.

My brother's has over 25,000 miles on it. All trail riding through Quebec. As mentioned, the number of miles is irrelevant, compared to were they hard miles, or easy miles.

i have a 04 arctic cat 400 that has just over 7000 miles and is still working good

This is a good idea, although I am pretty good at repairing stuff it might be nice to learn it the easy way rather.

Thanks everyone your input is much welcomed as always.

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Originally Posted by rf2

I bought my ATV with something like 1000 km on it, so if you are patient, you will be able to find the right deal.

If you do buy something with high mileage and you want to do some work on the engine, there is a great course offered by Algonquin College (Woodroffe Campus) http://www.algonquincollege.com/ccol...small-engines/. I took the course a few years ago. It is offered at night, I think once or twice a week, and it runs for a few months. During the course, you bring in a small engine and work on it under the supervision of the instructor and some technicians, using their shop tools. You do simple things like rebuild the carburettor, but you also do more complex tasks like change the head gasket, change the rings (if you want), check bearings, polish the cylinder etc. Depending on how fast you are, there may also be time at the end to work on other parts of the ATV. The advantages of taking the course is that you are forced to set aside some time every week to work on the machine, and you have the instructor's expertise available for all the repairs you want to do.

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I've got an '05 honda 500 foreman ES right now with over 10 000km on it. Bought it last year from my father in law. A few cosmetic issues and I had to change the tie rod ends so far that's it. My buddy has a slightly newer king quad 450-500? No complaints about it. I also have an '06 Chinese quad with about 3500km, that is finished. Parts bike only.

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Originally Posted by rockandbrush

i have a 04 arctic cat 400 that has just over 7000 miles and is still working good

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How many miles of that is on the trailer behind the truck...:fish:

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

I realize mileage isn't the everything. But even with great care engines do wear out. I was just wondering what the limits seem to be. The Quad 400 I see for sale the fella told me it has 15000 km's and that did seem a tad high he was asking 1400. Most the older machines I have seen have an average of 5000 or less (assuming the mileage is accurate).

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how much were th other machines with 5000K on them? personally i shy away from a bike with that many kms on it... but for $1400 id say its still a good deal, if it looks well maintained... with any bike check to make sure the 4X4 works...

Most people seem to be asking a starting price for the Honda's and Yamaha's years 1988 - 1996 around 2000.00. with between 2000 - 5000 km's. Currently there is a Quad 400 for 1500.00 but it has 16000 km. I havent seen it, he say's it run's nice and no smoke. But 16000 just seems a bit high in mileage. From my research bikes when properly maintain might last upwards of 20 -25 K, So the Quad is more then half way through.

Bike age itself doesn't bother me. Ball joints, tie rods I can replace that stuff. Don't really want to do an engine job.

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Originally Posted by fishy steve

how much were th other machines with 5000K on them? personally i shy away from a bike with that many kms on it... but for $1400 id say its still a good deal, if it looks well maintained... with any bike check to make sure the 4X4 works...

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This is the Quad but it has 16000

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-atv/ottawa/91...4x4/1046063459

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

This is the Quad but it has 16000

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-atv/ottawa/91...4x4/1046063459

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buy it buy it now! those are the toughest bikes you can get, the superlow and diff lock feature make it a true workhorse, same bike as my old one, only its the 300 i had the 250... to be honest, if you dont buy it, i will be offering him as grand and will be down your way this weekend lol i see alot of them on kijiji for like $3000

So you wouldn't be concerned with 16 thousand km's on it? OK I will set up to go check it on Thursday night after work. It's also a 1991.

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Originally Posted by fishy steve

buy it buy it now! those are the toughest bikes you can get, the superlow and diff lock feature make it a true workhorse, same bike as my old one, only its the 300 i had the 250... to be honest, if you dont buy it, i will be offering him as grand and will be down your way this weekend lol i see alot of them on kijiji for like $3000

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

This is the Quad but it has 16000

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-atv/ottawa/91...4x4/1046063459

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I had the same bike but it was a 1993. It was bullet proof. No problem pulling a moose out of the bush with it. The torque is unbelievable. Very comfortable independent suspension as well.

Only negative is that due to gearing you are constantly shifting so not a good trail riding machine trying to keep up with your buddies. They will leave you in the dust. Great as a work horse and around the farm.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...Suzuki0001.jpg

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

So you wouldn't be concerned with 16 thousand km's on it? OK I will set up to go check it on Thursday night after work. It's also a 1991.

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well i sold mine with 10000 miles on it, which should work out to around 16000 kms... only reason i sold it is it basically sat there for 2 years doing nothing after i bought my newer bike, i had planned to keep as just a workhorse, but the new suzi stepped up to the plate just fine, it needed a bit of work that i wasnt going to sink the money into... (bearings/ujoints/battery, carb cleaning) so i sold it for $1500 actually lol and it wasnt in as good of a shape as that one looks to be... she lived a hard life, but always asked for more...

only real issue with them that i know of, and just about everybody that owned one has said it, is the brakes dont last... luckily you can stop her pretty fast by downshifting... just keep distance between other bikes haha

I bought my 1998 King quad 300 in 2006 for $3300. It only had 600km on it....


Any king quad 300 less than $2000 and less than 10k km is a decent deal.



I know my bike the netrual light switch is screwed, Green light wont come on when in Neutral. Suppostly very common on these bikes, But it is a PITA to change, its right above the motor underneith all the junk below the seat.

Great work/hunting bikes though, I woudln't want to do any long distance tours though, Not the greatest suspension for that, And you would get left behind all the new bikes.

That bike has some good features for a workhorse. The tires look pretty worn (new ITP mudlites have very deep treads), but still usable. I would be concerned with the high mileage and would expect to have to do some fairly signiifcant work on it, which will end up adding to the total cost of the bike. But overall, it seems like a decent deal - really, you can't expect to find a good quality ATV for less than that.

EDIT: It also doesn't have a winch, which I consider indispensable if you will be riding alone, so you should factor in spending at least a couple hundred for a winch, the mounting plate and roller fairlead.

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

So you wouldn't be concerned with 16 thousand km's on it? OK I will set up to go check it on Thursday night after work. It's also a 1991.

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Oh I realize that at that price and age it could need ball joints or something. I expect when I do find one that I will need to carefully examine it before taking it out.

I olan to mostly use it as a workhorse moving equipment hunting and fishing.

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Originally Posted by rf2

That bike has some good features for a workhorse. The tires look pretty worn (new ITP mudlites have very deep treads), but still usable. I would be concerned with the high mileage and would expect to have to do some fairly signiifcant work on it, which will end up adding to the total cost of the bike. But overall, it seems like a decent deal - really, you can't expect to find a good quality ATV for less than that.

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Hopefully it won't need transmission/differential or major engine work. Like many have said, it will really depend on how it was used and maintained. If you know any ATV or even auto mechanics, it would be good to bring one along when you go to see it. If it all checks out though, that bike looks like a good deal. The differential lock and super low are excellent features.

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Originally Posted by rf2

That bike has some good features for a workhorse. The tires look pretty worn (new ITP mudlites have very deep treads), but still usable. I would be concerned with the high mileage and would expect to have to do some fairly signiifcant work on it, which will end up adding to the total cost of the bike. But overall, it seems like a decent deal - really, you can't expect to find a good quality ATV for less than that.

EDIT: It also doesn't have a winch, which I consider indispensable if you will be riding alone, so you should factor in spending at least a couple hundred for a winch, the mounting plate and roller fairlead.

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yes if planning on putting a winch on it, when i bought the mounting bracket for mine it was a $150, but that was going back 12 years or so ago... bought a crappy tire winch for $50 which lasted as long as i had the bike, only had to put a new switch on it...

If you go look at it, Take it for a test drive. Put it in super low, difflok, low and 4x4, high and 4x4. Just make sure everything works.


I checked the front diff fluid on mine before i bought it, It was so milky and low I'm surprised it didn't blow. Still works fine though after i drained it and refilled with 80w90 gear oil .

I had an old 1989 Honda TRX 300 4x4. I put tons of mileage on it, no idea how many as it didn't have an odometer. I bought it used, beat the crap out of it for years, did regular oil and filter changes, and any other scheduled maintenance. This summer I sold it to a friend and it's still going! They made a great product that lasted. Regular maintenance is the issue i believe.

What is this and who makes it?? jainshi mountain lion

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

What is this and who makes it?? jainshi mountain lion

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http://www.midwestmv.com/quads/NWMlion400_specs.html


http://www.atvcanada.ca/showthread.p...-Mountain-Lion

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

What is this and who makes it?? jainshi mountain lion

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I wouldn't even touch it. Nothing but problems in the long run with hard to find parts. Stick with the big name atvs .

So turns out there is no ownership for the bike, so I told the fella if he owns it we can go down to the vehicle registration and get a new one which I would pay for he said he didn't have time for that. So that's a deal breaker something I will stay away from.

So the search continues.

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

So turns out there is no ownership for the bike, so I told the fella if he owns it we can go down to the vehicle registration and get a new one which I would pay for he said he didn't have time for that. So that's a deal breaker something I will stay away from.

So the search continues.

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sounds like he doesn't want to sell too bad OR ...... hiding some info from you. Good idea to walk away.

Does anyone run an hour meter on their machine? (can be had real cheap - like $10 shipped to your door on ebay) I'd be curious to know what kind of TIME some of these machines are racking up in conjunction with mileage.

Wahoo makes a good point. A lot can be determined by the hour meter. I believe I have about 280 hours on mine and roughly 4500kms.

Most of the newer machines have built in hour meters in the speedo head, speedo, odo, trip meter and hour meter.

Here's something you might want to consider (the Honda). See if he will go lower with the price:
http://www.usedottawa.com/classified...w-Cab_24184278

Looks like a decent deal.

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

What is this and who makes it?? jainshi mountain lion

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Chinese bike. Stay away. It will be near impossible to get parts after about five years. Trust me on this one. You WILL need spare parts. They don't last.

I'd have burnt those out by now. My little Honda 350 fourtrax has well over 35,000 km on it and so far, no motor job.
(Knocks self on wooden head)

Greatwhite, doe the Jianshes still come with straight axle and carbs?

If so, they could be a great machine for you. It's older tech... but it's essentially older Japanese tech, at Chinese prices. It's something you could maintain and fix much of yourself, if you ever run into issues.

Lots of people are happy with the various chinese brands atvs and utvs. They're made in the same factories, by the same workers that most of the big brands are. They're just older tech and (sometimes) lesser materials.

In many ways it's exactly the same as choosing to buy GM or Chev.

A buddy is a Nissan mechanic. He moonlights as a small engine mechanic for a guy who sells all sorts of Jianshe/Linhai/Jiangsu/Haowu machines. He claims their assembly leaves much to be desired - he has to go over them with a fine-toothed comb adjusting settings and tightening too many nuts and bolts - but that once they've been inspected, tightened and tuned, they work quite well.

I've been very hesitant for years... but he's wearing me down to purchase a Linhai Bighorn 28 instead of waiting to find a good, affordable, used big brand utv.

If you're going to buy off-brand though, you have to buy it from either one of the Parts Stores chains, or from a reputable dealer of big brands. There are literally 50+ chinese off-brands. Who knows which ones are "good" and which ones are truly terrible, right?

I bought, well, my wife bought for me, a brand new Loncin Baja 250 in 2006. It was doing good for the first 5 years or so. After that, the tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, etc. were worn out and needing replacement. I went through two CDI boxes for the ignition. When the rear brake drum split at the spline where it slips over the axle, it took me a year of phone calls and internet searches before finding one.
The black rubber boots around axles, between carb and intake as well as hoses started cracking after the first year. I replaced all the hoses with vinyl. I couldn't keep Chinese brake pads on it. Once I went to Yamaha parts, I could rely on the brakes.

Two years ago, when the plastic of the starter button broke, I found that the part was not available ANYWHERE. I ended up jumpering it.

Buy what you want, but when you can't find replacement parts, you will question the wisdom of your choice. I had a 20 year old Honda motorcycle when I was younger. The local dealer didn't stock parts, but I could get them. Sometimes it took a month or so, because they were shipped out from Japan, but I was able to get every part I needed.