The Best ATV 4x4 by Far

The best ATV 4x4 by far goes into semi retirement, gone home to do the odd local stalking job and to pull a flail mower around some paddocks and a Skeet range.

Replaced by another quad I bought some 5 years or so ago, a poor buy at the time, which resulted in a strip down, replaced bushes, bearings and a lot of work tidying it up. Should have spent more but ended up doing much more in time 🙄

It’s been mowing paddocks for the last few years, no fenders, stripped down to the frame, so I’ve had some use out of it. More powerful than the Kawasaki, but nowhere near as well made. If I tried taking it where I took the green machine, creating rides through head height brambles etc, all that would have been left would have been a frame 😂

It’s nearly a 100kg lighter than the Kawasaki and therefore much easier to turnover on the downland I stalk, so I know I’ll need to be a little more reserved as to where I go.
I did realise after I bought it that to get deer onto the front would have been more difficult due to height, so I designed my own lift to help with the bigger animals. There’s been too many occasions over the last few years I’ve cussed myself for not finishing the lift I started 4 years ago when trying to get stags into the Saki.

So last weekend was a first time out and so determined was I to get a photo or video of the lift in action, I had an epic 2.5 hour stalk after viewing a group of around 25 sika out grazing midday. After maybe an hour and half I managed to get within 50 yds of the group in thick conifers and moved 4 or 5 times in the next hour before getting a shot, resulting in 2 neck shot hinds and the opportunity to try the lift. Moved them to the rack with ease and will save humping, getting covered in blood and avoiding ticks in the future 👍

The rack doubles up as a shooting rest with a temporary piece of padding whilst out on vermin after dark. The rear rack has a rifle holder with 3 sets of detachable holders for 4 different rifles to finish it off 👍
 

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Such a great tool for shooting couldn’t be without mine now

Never thought I’d hear anyone say green is better than red? The brakes are better on the quacka discs all round? Always let the Honda down.
 
Such a great tool for shooting couldn’t be without mine now

Never thought I’d hear anyone say green is better than red? The brakes are better on the quacka discs all round? Always let the Honda down.
The green one is industrial build whilst the red one is lightweight and yes, the green has discs all around whilst the drums on the red........ well, would you buy a car with drums all around? Some say the Honda's rear brakes are not supposed to work, this does at the moment :-|

The Honda is much quieter and the engine more refined of course and I hope it'll remain reliable and helpful. I did notice whilst cleaning off the Saki yesterday that the aluminum diffs must be good grade as they look as good as new. I prefer double rear shockers and springs but not sure if that'll affect it's stability. Btw, one of the reasons the Kawasaki is in such good nick after being well used, is a powerwash every few outings and a quick spray with WD40, springs, diffs, engine and plastics 👍
 

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My Honda foreman is a great bit of kit. I've a front and back mounted winch. I bought a small Swedish made trailer that has been some of the best spent money for a long time. Great for feeding the ducks and have loaded 5 boar in it without problem.
The Honda just needs a service and new tyres before the start of next season.
 

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I’ve had several Hondas, and what I can say about them is they beat anything out there if you abuse them. Yes, they are cold blooded and the rear brakes are garbage, but really beat one up and it’s a quick fix and back in business.

I had a farm with a small creek running through it, we lived on the front side, kept cattle on the back. The creek often came up from its knee deep norm, to sometimes chest deep. Routinely ran across the creek at levels of water deeper than I should have. Flooded it, dragged it out, drained oil and gas, filled with fresh and off we go. Did that level of abuse repeatedly. Also,let the teen son ride as much as he wanted. After a while I decided the TR250 wasn’t cutting it so added a foreman. Treated it the same way with same results.

Moved twice, took them both with me and continued to abuse.

Eventually sold them, still running, only because I had a longer move to a new place with no need for them.
 
How are you loading them into that rack, front mounted quad winch, or does the basket hinge and fold forward?
Considered for a short while about utilising a winch but think anything up to fallow buck size, it's not necessary. Made to lift the larger sika stags or even hinds easily, without getting blood and guts or even ticks on your clothing. The issue with the heavier animals is that they do not have decent handles and are a floppy deadweight, often bloody and sometimes muddy. Animals can be lifted before gralloch and then taken to a more suitable location to do so.

The rack sits a foot off ground level, and if parked wisely, less than that. So it's easy to either lift or drag the heavier animals onto a rack at this height. The locking hinges hold the rack in position and once on, the animals weight is approximately halved allowing an easy lift onto the rack using the front of the rack as a barbell. With the animal initially put onto the rack legs inwards, when lifted, it flips them onto the rack legs outwards, so no loose feet trying to steer your quad :eek:

A bungee as normal to hold one animal whilst the rack itself seems to hold 2 in place without any bungees. Anyway, designed to make things easier and to keep your stalking clothes clean and it seems to work perfect. Of course it can be used to lift any weight on the front rack, bales, feed bags etc, but the other intended use is to second as a shooting rest whilst doing some nocturnal vermin control from the quad. We'll see how that works out end of this week should the weather be ok 👍
 
Didn't get around to any nocturnal activity on the weekend, sleet and fog put paid to that, so it'll have to be next time. Really pleased with the lift though, a couple of prickets and a couple of hinds onto the rack wit ease, without getting ticks or blood near me :)
 

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Liking the front rack extension - did you fabricate it yourself, is it a commercially available item or is it something you have repurposed please?
 
Liking the front rack extension - did you fabricate it yourself, is it a commercially available item or is it something you have repurposed please?
Designed it a few years ago, fabricated it to 95% completion soon afterwards and other things got in the way, so only got to finish it, powder coat and fit a month or so ago. Cussed myself for the last 3 years for not getting it finished earlier, messing about with the larger and bloodier animals when handling them myself :rolleyes:
 
Designed it a few years ago, fabricated it to 95% completion soon afterwards and other things got in the way, so only got to finish it, powder coat and fit a month or so ago. Cussed myself for the last 3 years for not getting it finished earlier, messing about with the larger and bloodier animals when handling them myself :rolleyes:
Pity - I’d like to give something like that a go as I’m getting older and carcasses heavier. I think you are on to a winner there 👏
 
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