Recommend a first ATV

[JamesN1830]

I'm wanting to get my first ATV.

Must be able to have the lady on the back with a cooler to goto the pool or neighborhood parties.
Must be able to do some decent trail work.
It won't be raced, but will have to be a bit speedy.

Thanks.

[HotSoup]

I would say 400ex but it wont pass the cooler stipulation.

[Northof49]

Polaris 500 sportsman has been around forever....reliable, cheap, rides smooth, can't really go wrong. If you want a true 2-up, I know BRP and Polaris make them....not sure about the others. They're all good and really don't break shit until you get to the 700/800's and start beating on them. Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, BRP, Polaris....can't go too wrong. Just stay away from the Chinese shit.

[gocartone]

Budget? 2WD or 4WD? How fast is speedy? Options really change depending on what you want and how much you are looking to spend. I'd stay away from Polaris, but Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Arctic Cat, and BRP are all good brands.

[JamesN1830]

I'd like to stay under $5k since this is a first one. If I hate the thing I would like to be able to get most of my money back out of it.
4wd
speedy is relative. I have no idea how fast they go, so how about something thats middle of the road.

I've seen some artic cats for sale locally. How many miles and hours is considered high?

[gocartone]

I'd aim for a Grizzly 700 with the power steering and EFI, a bunch of people I go riding with have them and love them. Here's one in your area-
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/mcy/2522452440.html

For miles, I would aim for something with under 1000/100hr if you are spending $5k. I would look for anything from the top brands in the 700ish class. Honda makes the slowest and least sporty out of all of them, but it's a good work horse. The Grizzly, Brute Force, King Quad, and Outlander/Renegade are all good all around quads.

I would stay away from any that have big lift kits on them or signs of serious mudding/beating; but you shouldn't have a problem finding something that's like brand new as the quad market is a buyers market right now.

[SPOOLN30]

I like the Sportsman 500. Good smooth ride, good power and you can ride two people. The new Sportsmans are 560s I think and have power steering and a decent braking system. Just went last week and did some trail riding and going 30-40 mph through whatever was ahead the Sportsman did it job well.

[kyle's89quest]

Brute Force 750. One of the best all around Utility ATV's out. perfect for trail riding and is super super fast. The new can ams are great too. But they are pretty pricey.

[Supra607]

My family and I have a Honda Foreman Rubicon (i think maybe 06 or 07) but its a pretty good 4 wheeler. 499cc, 2wd/4wd, hondamatic transmission, power steering, many accessories that can be bought for it, and can go about 55-60 in the fields. Ours has a winch on the front and we also have a plow for the winter time but we've had no problems with it in acceptation to replacing the battery.

[motodoc]

for what you want, i would get a used polaris. obviously you DO NOT want a racing quad. i know around my area, you can find used 4wd fourwheelers with some mods for around 5k all day long. i just saw an '09 polaris sportsman for 5k....im assuming you could probably pick it up for around 4-4500.