What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
10-03-2003, 09:38 AM
#51
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Adirondack Moutains USA Member since sept/02
Posts: 1,639
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
Well there is no sense in getting into a pissing contest, thanks for calling me the fool [:@] I went to this site www.manhonda.com There is a write up in there about the hydromechanical trans. I just skimmed through it, about half way down it said something about manual shifting( the ESP) on the left handle bar. After your post I went back and saw where your could either shift manual or leave it in auto, so excuse the sh** out of me [
] I made a mistake. This is also pretty new tech 2001 I believe is when they came out with it. Before this(hydro-trans) alot of people called the electric shift an automatic, sorry but that is false. Also Polaris does not have 3 forward gears, like I said they work off of a belt clutch system. Honda still has three gears, but with the honda you can still shift 1-2-3, not infinite as you say. I will not edit my last post I am man enough to see or tell when I make a mistake. If you read the article you can see where someone might get the impression that this is still a shift trans. I am sorry if this put your blood pressure up, now lets sit down and I' ll share my crow with you
Why did you edit your post, If your that pi**ed at me then be a man and say what is on your mind. You will not hurt my feelings I am human and I can make mistakes.
] I made a mistake. This is also pretty new tech 2001 I believe is when they came out with it. Before this(hydro-trans) alot of people called the electric shift an automatic, sorry but that is false. Also Polaris does not have 3 forward gears, like I said they work off of a belt clutch system. Honda still has three gears, but with the honda you can still shift 1-2-3, not infinite as you say. I will not edit my last post I am man enough to see or tell when I make a mistake. If you read the article you can see where someone might get the impression that this is still a shift trans. I am sorry if this put your blood pressure up, now lets sit down and I' ll share my crow with you Why did you edit your post, If your that pi**ed at me then be a man and say what is on your mind. You will not hurt my feelings I am human and I can make mistakes.
10-03-2003, 10:59 AM
#52
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: fort mcmurray alberta canada
Posts: 5,667
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
The rincon has three gears but the rubicon has an infinite number of ratios as it is a hydrostatic transmission with no fixed gears.In the automatic mode it uses an infinite number of ratios.In the manual mode it has only five settings however.As I said originally, honda has true automatic transmissions but they can also be overridden manually if desired unlike the belt drives being used.I edited my first message to include the statement about weight as I originally forgot to mention it.
10-05-2003, 03:29 PM
#53
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: uniontown,pa
Posts: 881
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
i' d have to say polaris because , i dumped it ,actually it rolled over on top of me this morning going down an uneven hill , it was my fault i took the top at a wrong angle, any way my point is is that it' s the second time i rolled it and just flipped it back over and off i went . remember always wear a helmet! good thing i had mine on or i' d be in the morgue!
10-05-2003, 08:18 PM
#55
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: fort mcmurray alberta canada
Posts: 5,667
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
Yes those 700lb+ polaris machines are fuel pigs so running out of gas can be a problem.Many honda quads are also assembled in the USA.
10-07-2003, 07:26 PM
#56
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: La-Tex
Posts: 246
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
There' s really not a dimes worth of differance in all of them. I have a Polaris Ranger 4X4 and it does more of what a hunting 4 wheeler should do than most. Saplings and briars, just run them down. Food plot time, hauled eight 40 lb. bags of lime, six 50 lb. bags of fertilizer, four 50 lb. bags of corn, a 27 lb. bag of clover, shovel, rake,hoe two 25 lb. mineral blocks and a 48 qt. cooler in one trip without having to tie anything down. Plus it will sit 3 adults across.
10-07-2003, 09:59 PM
#57
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: fort mcmurray alberta canada
Posts: 5,667
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
The ranger and the similar yamaha product do haul much more than regular atv' s and do seat more passengers.They are much more suited to farming and less extreme terrain than regular atv' s.They are much larger and not as manouverable as a result of their larger size.They also don' t fit between trees as well or travel through deep mud or climb very steep hills as well as a standard atv.They are therefore less suited to hauling moose or elk out of the timber or muskeg or steep mountainous terrain.They have advantages and disadvantages.A person has to consider their intended uses and choose his atv accordingly.
10-08-2003, 10:44 AM
#58
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Saskatchewan Canada
Posts: 6,921
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
I am way late on this topic, but just avoided it. I have both a polaris and honda quad, without a doubt the honda has provided me with less shop visits. However the ride on the honda is way off the polaris. So tid for tats on both sides of the spectrum. I will tell you my 94 sportsman 400 which I have had since new has never had a belt failure or slippage...and yes I do put it through swamps, muskeg and wash out on a yearly basis, so in MHO this point is moot. I will also say it is a heavy beast and when you do get her stuck, better have a winch on board with some suitable trees cuz she ain' t moving to easily. This is where the honda really wins, as it is lighter and more easily removed from gumbo. In pulling they are both pretty equal. Gas and oil consumtion are pretty similar as well, but the honda does a bit better in the gas department(marginally).
Funny on our elk hunt we had 6 different quads of those the one that pulled the best was a 1992 350 big bear, that sucker pulled a bull elk out of some serious steep banks with only a guy on the front rack to keep her down when bumping over logs. Equally said a brand new Honda needed a winch to pull an elk out of similar terrain, cuz it just couldn' t do the work without wanting to come back over. My thought is the old manuals with low gear ratio are the best for the grunt work, but they leave a lot to be desired in the riding department. My honda a 400 foreman couldn' t cut the muster on these 2 elk which really busted my chops but a guys 400 sportsman was equally not up to the task...so either of my bikes would only be good in winch mode[:' (].
I guess my point is they all have their good and bad points. If I had to choose based on reliability I would say Honda, but others may say yammie, kawi or polaris. I think the most reliable bike I ever owned was a Honda Big Red, never did a dimes worth a work, always started and ran great....the down fall it was never a heavy workhorse and balancing was always an issue. Pros and cons to every piece of equipment, just drive, maintain and enjoy...most will do quite well for 90% of the hunting applications and add a winch to the mix you can claw back that other portion somewhat.
. I have both a polaris and honda quad, without a doubt the honda has provided me with less shop visits. However the ride on the honda is way off the polaris. So tid for tats on both sides of the spectrum. I will tell you my 94 sportsman 400 which I have had since new has never had a belt failure or slippage...and yes I do put it through swamps, muskeg and wash out on a yearly basis, so in MHO this point is moot. I will also say it is a heavy beast and when you do get her stuck, better have a winch on board with some suitable trees cuz she ain' t moving to easily. This is where the honda really wins, as it is lighter and more easily removed from gumbo. In pulling they are both pretty equal. Gas and oil consumtion are pretty similar as well, but the honda does a bit better in the gas department(marginally).Funny on our elk hunt we had 6 different quads of those the one that pulled the best was a 1992 350 big bear, that sucker pulled a bull elk out of some serious steep banks with only a guy on the front rack to keep her down when bumping over logs. Equally said a brand new Honda needed a winch to pull an elk out of similar terrain, cuz it just couldn' t do the work without wanting to come back over. My thought is the old manuals with low gear ratio are the best for the grunt work, but they leave a lot to be desired in the riding department. My honda a 400 foreman couldn' t cut the muster on these 2 elk which really busted my chops but a guys 400 sportsman was equally not up to the task...so either of my bikes would only be good in winch mode[:' (].
I guess my point is they all have their good and bad points. If I had to choose based on reliability I would say Honda, but others may say yammie, kawi or polaris. I think the most reliable bike I ever owned was a Honda Big Red, never did a dimes worth a work, always started and ran great....the down fall it was never a heavy workhorse and balancing was always an issue. Pros and cons to every piece of equipment, just drive, maintain and enjoy...most will do quite well for 90% of the hunting applications and add a winch to the mix you can claw back that other portion somewhat.
10-08-2003, 06:44 PM
#60
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: fort mcmurray alberta canada
Posts: 5,667
RE: What is the best ATV on the market? And why?
It was a very common problem on the grizzly as was a problem with broken cv joints.The problem with the cv joints appears to have been corrected but some of the fuel problems do show up now and then in hot weather.
