Which Quad?

[1960Nick]

Looking at upgrading my existing Yamaha Kodiak Quad & have the following on the short list all would need to be able to be agricultural road registered, quiet & economical. Does anyone have any experience or the following bought new recently or know of any issues with any of them?

Polaris sportsman 570
Can Am outlander
Yamaha Grizzly 700 or Kodiak 700
Suzuki King Quad

Feel free to recomend others that are easily available in the UK

 

[valtratom]

Hondas are the best and most reliable in my experience

 

[Bugsy]

The Yam , Suzuki , and a Honda are what your after , all the rest are soft . Depends how rough the ground is .

 

[VSS]

The Yam , Suzuki , and a Honda are what your after , all the rest are soft . Depends how rough the ground is .

You have clearly never used a CanAm!

 

[Bugsy]

No your right but after 30 years working and restoring Yamaha's , Suzuki, and Honda's and the fact that my lad works for a main ATV dealer in Scotland that has given up dealing with CanAm's because they are to soft gives you an idea why I say ' depends how rough the ground is'.

 

[MagicLantern]

I've had a Polaris 500 for 10 years and I was about to go Sportsman 570 but I'm tempted to switch to the Canam 450 Pro or 570.

I was impressed by the Canam, they are well worth considering but like you, I've still not decided.

 

[countrryboy]

To be honest I doubt it will make any difference, really all much of a muchness now.
Esp if only for hobby stalking so not being abused everyday.

If ur buying relatively new or new might depend more on local dealer and how good his service/warranty back up is.
But again not as important if u can afford to be without ur quad for a few days/week compared to someone needing it everyday

 

[Klenchblaize]

I’m sold on the Kawasaki 750 Brute Force:
K

 

[valtratom]

if You want the most cost effective rugged and reliable get a Honda fourtrac 420 or 500 whatever number they’re on now , we run the 420s and they have hard lives on dairy farms and they hardly ever let us down , we’ve tried others , tried a big fancy Yamaha automatic thing and it fell to pieces in short order and went back to the hondas, if you want to spend more than necessary then go to a can am or arctic cat etc

 

[Cut+Squirt]

I had the same quandary as you at the beginning of the year. I work in some seriously inaccessible areas and need to get equipment in and out at the start and finish of shifts.

I looked at all the main offerings and after test riding many of them I opted for a new Can-Am Outlander 570 with power steering. I done a deal with the supplier to upgrade the tyres and fit a 3500lb winch with dyneema rope which has rendered the machine pretty much unstoppable.

The v-twin cylinder is smooth and has limitless torque across the rev range and
unlike other quad bikes it has the ability to properly lock up the differentials front and rear.

Admittedly I had reservations about the CanAm auto locking front diff but I use it daily now and it's a revelation. No stopping or even slowing down, it just locks up off and on automatically when required.

It has been completely reliable since I bought it, the only complaint I have is that the boot / storage box at the rear is terrible for condensation so anything stored in there inevitably gets wet.

Was maybe asking a bit much of it here but this gives and idea of the types of terrain I'm using it in daily.
Great machine and has never missed a beat, recommended.

 

[Alex L]

Any Well maintained one!

 

[slack chamber]

Can am all day long you will not regret buying one

 

[Bugsy]

I had the same quandary as you at the beginning of the year. I work in some seriously inaccessible areas and need to get equipment in and out at the start and finish of shifts.

I looked at all the main offerings and after test riding many of them I opted for a new Can-Am Outlander 570 with power steering. I done a deal with the supplier to upgrade the tyres and fit a 3500lb winch with dyneema rope which has rendered the machine pretty much unstoppable.

The v-twin cylinder is smooth and has limitless torque across the rev range and
unlike other quad bikes it has the ability to properly lock up the differentials front and rear.

Admittedly I had reservations about the CanAm auto locking front diff but I use it daily now and it's a revelation. No stopping or even slowing down, it just locks up off and on automatically when required.

It has been completely reliable since I bought it, the only complaint I have is that the boot / storage box at the rear is terrible for condensation so anything stored in there inevitably gets wet.

Was maybe asking a bit much of it here but this gives and idea of the types of terrain I'm using it in daily.
Great machine and has never missed a beat, recommended.

View attachment 182174

It's well down and no easy to get that out, lot of the boys up here are buying tracks for there Honda's to get them through bits like what your in , we had a few soupy bits like that to but we all carried ground anchors which did help and got me out of some really tight holes , but with a trailer on your sunk.

 

[Bugsy]

Cadex- just out of curiosity what weight is your CanAm ? . One thing I do miss is the diff lock , had plenty of the old LT King quads and it was amazing where they would go with a set of oversized tyres , restored the chassis on one last year from back to front and sold it to a guy for dragging firewood out of his wood and he was amazed how versatile it was and it was light enough that when he did get in a tight spot he jumped off and could lift the front .Some bikes are getting to big and heavy which can be good sometimes for traction but when there stuck there a nightmare .

 

[Klenchblaize]

Cadex- just out of curiosity what weight is your CanAm ? . One thing I do miss is the diff lock , had plenty of the old LT King quads and it was amazing where they would go with a set of oversized tyres , restored the chassis on one last year from back to front and sold it to a guy for dragging firewood out of his wood and he was amazed how versatile it was and it was light enough that when he did get in a tight spot he jumped off and could lift the front .Some bikes are getting to big and heavy which can be good sometimes for traction but when there stuck there a nightmare .

Mount a nice winch

K

 

[Farmer_J]

After having Hondas all my life we tried a can am 570 outlander, then it was good bye Honda. Seriously good bit of kit, and effortless power steering. Also came with a performance key for when you really want to get to your highseat fast

 

[J.kerslake]

After having a Suzuki king quad 500, I wouldn’t have another one! Only other quad I’ve had experience with is Honda and I’d have one over the Suzuki any day!

 

[jb7x57]

Depending on your ground but I’ve used them all on high ground and wet ground except the can am Polaris will cover the ground a lot better than all the others Honda will not even complete with them on bad uneven ground pulled the shepherd on his 500 Honda out many times in bad weather on the hill in winter

 

[Cut+Squirt]

Cadex- just out of curiosity what weight is your CanAm ? . One thing I do miss is the diff lock , had plenty of the old LT King quads and it was amazing where they would go with a set of oversized tyres , restored the chassis on one last year from back to front and sold it to a guy for dragging firewood out of his wood and he was amazed how versatile it was and it was light enough that when he did get in a tight spot he jumped off and could lift the front .Some bikes are getting to big and heavy which can be good sometimes for traction but when there stuck there a nightmare .

I'm afraid I don't know the exact weight of it but it's a big heavy machine and when it does get stuck I can't look near lifting or pushing it out.

I carry a ground anchor with me all the time. It's original purpose is for anchoring down a large marquee, but is perfect for screwing down into the earth and hooking the winch up to.
Identical to this, and which incidentally is the perfect diameter to fit inside a tree protection tube making it much easier to transport

 

[jb7x57]

Good idea the anchor where did you find that