Tell me about ATVs please!

[alpha6164]

Just got back from a three day trip to San Jose, Costa Rica with two of my buddies It was too short. One of the awesome activities we did was ATVing on a train 7500ft mountain. What a fucking rush. The drive itself was about 1hr up the mountain in this rock/dirt trail and then on top of the mountain there were seven ATVs parked for us. After a quick run down we were on it. It was pretty awesome sliding and drifting around the corners and looking down 7000 ft down the cliff. Even though i had never been on an ATV i felt immediately comfortable. I think the experience with sliding around in cars and go karts definitely played part.

Needless to say now we want ATVs But i dont know shit about them. I am assuming we would be looking at four strokes, 2 whee drive. Main purpose is going to be having fun and fucking around. I wont be hauling shit, so i dont think i need a 4x4 version. Definitely will be buying used. Are Hondas and Yamahas still the most reliable? Any certain model year i should look for or stay away from? All inputs appreciated.

[yamichi]

Alpha- I know the feeling. I went quadding for the first time on my summer sausage trip and HOLY LIVING SHIT. Loves it!
http://www.supraforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=149
That's a whole forum for quads/ATVs so you'll have some enthusiasts there to get good info from.
Names to look for (as far as I know, I'm a noob too though) are Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, and KTM. Pics of said adventure?

[#1SomeGuy]

Even though you aren't hauling shit, get a 4x4...you will end up in mud and crossing rivers that you'll thank god you got the 4x4 for. They are usually switchable, so for fishtail goodness you can pop it into 4x2 and have fun...when the shit gets muddy you go into 4x4 and can have a blast, and when you want to crawl up a ridiculous crazy ass omfg impossible shit, you go into 4x4 with locked diffs and low gear range and you walk up it like you would not believe. I had a king quad the first time I ever rode an ATV on my own and I was boggled what the thing could go over (had an experienced rider with me to show me the ropes and keep me from killing myself)

[richardfrank]

Even though you aren't hauling shit, get a 4x4...you will end up in mud and crossing rivers that you'll thank god you got the 4x4 for. They are usually switchable, so for fishtail goodness you can pop it into 4x2 and have fun...when the shit gets muddy you go into 4x4 and can have a blast, and when you want to crawl up a ridiculous crazy ass omfg impossible shit, you go into 4x4 with locked diffs and low gear range and you walk up it like you would not believe. I had a king quad the first time I ever rode an ATV on my own and I was boggled what the thing could go over (had an experienced rider with me to show me the ropes and keep me from killing myself)

Second this, my dad has a cabin in West Virginia and the trails cross rivers and deeply rutted mud. His 4X4 was running circles around the 4X2 model. Plus, crawling up a loose rock hill, I was sliding left and right while he was dead straight going up.

[Toyota Terrorist]

Alpha, look into Can Am 800's. They have gobs of power, good looks and are selectable 4x4 and "drift" with the best of them. Plus from a stand still nailing the throttle will result in dragging the rear rack 100% of the time. What good is a ATV if it won't yank the tires on command.

http://www.can-am.brp.com/en-CA/mode...y-features.htm

[PaKmaN]

Banshies(sp) are the civics of ATV's.

[Toyota Terrorist]

Banshies(sp) are the civics of ATV's.

Banshee's

2 stroke and not very forgiving for a novice. I know he's a doctor but he can't fix himself if he's unconcious.

[OvenRude]

Banshee's

2 stroke and not very forgiving for a novice. I know he's a doctor but he can't fix himself if he's unconcious.

I've ridden on ATV's a few times, but by no measure "experienced" and when I rode on a friends I felt the hand of death on my shoulder haha.

[alpha6164]

Well i am not going to be competing or trying to win x-games trophies. I just wanna have some fun. Hell the ATVs we used on the trip were 4-stroke 250cc hondas , no clutch but with 5gears and they hauled ass in my opinion. They also handled the rough terrain and steep inclines we were doing without any problem.

I most likely will be buying 2 of same or somethings similar for a 2nd person to ride. The other person may be less experienced and i dont want to injure them or myself so something that is not a death trap would be better

[MadMonkey]

Could have sworn we had a Quads section around here...

[1quick6]

Polaris Outlaw which has the very well proven KTM RFS dirtbike drivetrain, and maybe something smaller like a Sportsman 400 to let friends ride. The Outlaw has a conventional transmission with hydraulic clutch, but the Sportsman is nice because it has an automatic pvt transmission no clutch or shifting required.

[yamichi]

Alpha- Here's what I was told:
I got to ride a Yamaha Raptor 250 up the mountains on the Cougar Reservoir in central OR. Pics are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/yamichi/SummerSausage2009
I loved it. Enough power (I weigh about 250) to get me airborne and scare the shit out of me in corners. I also got to spend a little time on a kawasaki KFX 400 (repranded Suzuki LTZ 400) and it was incredibly forgiving. It let me do just about anything and I didn't die. We went over logs, over rocks, through rivers, etc... no trouble and they were all RWD quads. Was pretty awesome.

[#1SomeGuy]

Well i am not going to be competing or trying to win x-games trophies. I just wanna have some fun. Hell the ATVs we used on the trip were 4-stroke 250cc hondas , no clutch but with 5gears and they hauled ass in my opinion. They also handled the rough terrain and steep inclines we were doing without any problem.

I most likely will be buying 2 of same or somethings similar for a 2nd person to ride. The other person may be less experienced and i dont want to injure them or myself so something that is not a death trap would be better

Even still, 4x4 is great to have. I was climbing some loose rocky hills and sliding all over the place and spinning like crazy, so much trouble...popped into 4 wheel and it climbed up no problem. You will regret not getting 4x4 in the long run...buy once, cry once. I have some pictures of the stuff we were on, I'll post them up tonight.

[JoeC]

I personally would be looking at someone that would be reliabe, and Easy to use. Most bikes you need to jet in for different elevations unless it is fuel injected.

The bikes I would be looking at in your case:

2009 Wolverine 450 Auto. 4X4 (can be switched to 2x4 at any time)

Unless you want to shift your bike with a clutch, then.. I would look into:

raptor 700
yfz 450R EFI
can am DS450 EFI
suzuki QuadRacer R450 EFI

I wouldnt start out with a little pussy bike :P You will regret it once you get a hang of riding.

[FastLaneHaines]

Get a kfx400 or ltz400, they are awesome stock. They can hang with the big boys when piped/jetted, but best of all has reverse which some sport atvs lack. If you want faster yfz450 or trx450. Shoot, a raptor 700 is gorgeous but they are newer so not much to find used. If you have any questions let me know, I'm from the boonies and have driven almost all atvs.
Raptor 700
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/1011447...r_2008_ATV.jpg
Suzuki lt-z400
http://www.centre-sports.com/centre/.../LTZ400ZK8.jpg

[PM-Performance]

i am in the same boat. My new gr rides ATV's and has a nice Suzuki. Im very tempted to buy one now to go riding. Gives me a good excuse now.

[yamichi]

Random tidbit.
Right now is an awesome time for buying a quad. People's toy budgets are tight so sales are low. My friend got his KFX 400 for like 2600 brand new.

[JoeC]

Do NOT get a raptor 660, they are pos compared to the 700 raptor. all new frame, suspension, motor, fuel injected, reverse, etc. I love mine. I have the "big 3" mods on it (dual exhaust, power commander III, trinity intake/filter) and I make about 55rwhp and 50 ftlbs of torque and its PLENTY fast for me.

[tt300zx]

raced quads for years. Miss em to death.

If you want a fun reliable all around bike look for a honda 400ex.

Want something to haul ass on look into the new 450's the yfz or the honda 450's also heard suzuki is pretty damn good now as well

raptors are love hate to most people. for me their to tall and just felt weird for a performance bike.

[PM-Performance]

also heard suzuki is pretty damn good now as well

.

So Suzuki isnt to the ATV world as to what it is to the Sport bike world?
Just weird to me seeing someone say Suzuki is pretty good now. lol.

My friend had a banshee that was fucking nasty. I saw a Yamaha I think it was on Ebay that was claiming to be heavily modded and run with this dudes friends vette to 100mph. That deff caught my eye. lol

[NDBoost]

rode a 2WD 300cc quad over the weekend.. top speed of 55mph and it was completely road legal!

Now its got me itching for something of similar size...

[zachsb3]

www.highlifter.com

[supra8795]

Ive always owned yamaha's so i would say get a yamaha. I own a 01 660 raptor now and love it to death well untill my accident. Oh and there is a picture of mine in the quad thread.

[SpeedJunkie]

raced quads for years. Miss em to death.

If you want a fun reliable all around bike look for a honda 400ex.

Want something to haul ass on look into the new 450's the yfz or the honda 450's also heard suzuki is pretty damn good now as well

raptors are love hate to most people. for me their to tall and just felt weird for a performance bike.

+1
400ex is the De Facto standard for an all around good quad
add a few mods (pipe/jet kit/timing key) and the only thing you'll worry about is filling it with gas.

good ATV site --> http://www.exriders.com/vbb/

[30PSIBLK]

I've had a YFZ450 since 2004 and I love every minute im on it. Its one of the fastest 4 stroke atv's out of the box. weighs only 350lbs dry weight.