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Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:27 pm
by Gumbo
hunda....they been doin it a long time

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:55 pm
by GrizwalD
from a guy who has owned a LOT of fourwheelers and certainly a lot of hondas, if your gonna be going through any water do NOT i repeat DO NOT buy a honda ( unless of course your ready to replace lots of bearings and never have a working set of brakes)..... i tell you one that can take a hell of a beating is the can ams. I have seen them put through absolute hellllll and never break a thing, only down fall is if your gonna get one your gonna spend a bit unless you get like the 400 which is still the most powerful in its class

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:53 pm
by matt.courtney7
GrizwalD wrote:from a guy who has owned a LOT of fourwheelers and certainly a lot of hondas, if your gonna be going through any water do NOT i repeat DO NOT buy a honda ( unless of course your ready to replace lots of bearings and never have a working set of brakes)..... i tell you one that can take a hell of a beating is the can ams. I have seen them put through absolute hellllll and never break a thing, only down fall is if your gonna get one your gonna spend a bit unless you get like the 400 which is still the most powerful in its class



not pickin on anybody griz, just givin my opinion and my experience. i got an 04' 450 foreman ES with over 3000 miles and it has been through two lifetimes of water (and mud) and have yet to replace my first bearing, and my brakes front and back still work fine. the only thing i have had go out on this bike is the shift sensor on the bottom of the motor. ($7 dollar part and about 20 minutes of my own labor). If you want to see a pic of my bike, look up "been through He11" in the dictionary. when i think about all the shat that i've put this bike through, i feel ashamed, and wish that i had taken it easier on the ol gal. but she aint hurt and she just wont give up.

i have had a couple good yamahas two so that would be my next choice.

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:06 pm
by GrizwalD
matt.courtney7 wrote:
GrizwalD wrote:from a guy who has owned a LOT of fourwheelers and certainly a lot of hondas, if your gonna be going through any water do NOT i repeat DO NOT buy a honda ( unless of course your ready to replace lots of bearings and never have a working set of brakes)..... i tell you one that can take a hell of a beating is the can ams. I have seen them put through absolute hellllll and never break a thing, only down fall is if your gonna get one your gonna spend a bit unless you get like the 400 which is still the most powerful in its class



not pickin on anybody griz, just givin my opinion and my experience. i got an 04' 450 foreman ES with over 3000 miles and it has been through two lifetimes of water (and mud) and have yet to replace my first bearing, and my brakes front and back still work fine. the only thing i have had go out on this bike is the shift sensor on the bottom of the motor. ($7 dollar part and about 20 minutes of my own labor). If you want to see a pic of my bike, look up "been through He11" in the dictionary. when i think about all the shat that i've put this bike through, i feel ashamed, and wish that i had taken it easier on the ol gal. but she aint hurt and she just wont give up.

i have had a couple good yamahas two so that would be my next choice.


This would definitely be the first i have seen not have to replace bearings and brakes if you actually put it through what your saying ... but ive owned lots of them and have never had any success with brakes and bearings like that. But to each his own

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:11 pm
by matt.courtney7
GrizwalD wrote:
matt.courtney7 wrote:
GrizwalD wrote:from a guy who has owned a LOT of fourwheelers and certainly a lot of hondas, if your gonna be going through any water do NOT i repeat DO NOT buy a honda ( unless of course your ready to replace lots of bearings and never have a working set of brakes)..... i tell you one that can take a hell of a beating is the can ams. I have seen them put through absolute hellllll and never break a thing, only down fall is if your gonna get one your gonna spend a bit unless you get like the 400 which is still the most powerful in its class



not pickin on anybody griz, just givin my opinion and my experience. i got an 04' 450 foreman ES with over 3000 miles and it has been through two lifetimes of water (and mud) and have yet to replace my first bearing, and my brakes front and back still work fine. the only thing i have had go out on this bike is the shift sensor on the bottom of the motor. ($7 dollar part and about 20 minutes of my own labor). If you want to see a pic of my bike, look up "been through He11" in the dictionary. when i think about all the shat that i've put this bike through, i feel ashamed, and wish that i had taken it easier on the ol gal. but she aint hurt and she just wont give up.

i have had a couple good yamahas two so that would be my next choice.


This would definitely be the first i have seen not have to replace bearings and brakes if you actually put it through what your saying ... but ive owned lots of them and have never had any success with brakes and bearings like that. But to each his own


agreed, guess im a lucky sob then!

bout time to get lucky on somethin! :D

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:11 pm
by huntersmky
I can't keep a set of brakes on mine, and I just had them replaced last year. No bearing trouble yet though, knock on wood
GrizwalD wrote:
matt.courtney7 wrote:
GrizwalD wrote:from a guy who has owned a LOT of fourwheelers and certainly a lot of hondas, if your gonna be going through any water do NOT i repeat DO NOT buy a honda ( unless of course your ready to replace lots of bearings and never have a working set of brakes)..... i tell you one that can take a hell of a beating is the can ams. I have seen them put through absolute hellllll and never break a thing, only down fall is if your gonna get one your gonna spend a bit unless you get like the 400 which is still the most powerful in its class



not pickin on anybody griz, just givin my opinion and my experience. i got an 04' 450 foreman ES with over 3000 miles and it has been through two lifetimes of water (and mud) and have yet to replace my first bearing, and my brakes front and back still work fine. the only thing i have had go out on this bike is the shift sensor on the bottom of the motor. ($7 dollar part and about 20 minutes of my own labor). If you want to see a pic of my bike, look up "been through He11" in the dictionary. when i think about all the shat that i've put this bike through, i feel ashamed, and wish that i had taken it easier on the ol gal. but she aint hurt and she just wont give up.

i have had a couple good yamahas two so that would be my next choice.


This would definitely be the first i have seen not have to replace bearings and brakes if you actually put it through what your saying ... but ive owned lots of them and have never had any success with brakes and bearings like that. But to each his own

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:14 pm
by Faithful Retrievers
Artic Cats are nice. Honda is a real nice bike with a real nice price tag. If you want a honda and your not too far doubt you can beat Brookhaven hondas price. They sale alot more than any other dealer in the tri state area. Me there are too many options out now I would have to ride honda, polaris, suzuki, an artic cat. I got two yamahas, personally not a fan but they have held up.

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:21 pm
by blgros1
Thanks for all the reply's. This is the thing, i've got a 98' 425 polaris that needs just a little work, i've put 30 hours on it and some money in the last 2 months and got it just about where it needs to be. The thing is that that particular bike does not like water at all. Soon as the belt gets wet, your done. And the amount of water that i'm expecting to have to deal with this upcoming season, would prefer not to use the tow rope more than the trottle coming out the fields. Just looking for a litttle more dependability is all. Anyway thanks fellas.

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:26 pm
by grnhed
Honda Foreman 500 4x4.

It has a bigger body, bigger racks, double suspension, extra lights, and better low end power than the Rancher.

I regularly hauled, myself, and 2 other grown men, decoys, guns, etc. with stock tires through flooded fields with water well up over the pegs and never once had any problems or got stuck.

Plus you can get a brand new 2008 for 5K. And its a Honda.

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:27 pm
by grnhed
Just FYI. I was in the exact same position you are right now one year ago. I bought my foreman 500 4x4. I needed a bike that could keep up with me and I went with the foreman.

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:28 pm
by cwink
blgros1 wrote:Thanks for all the reply's. This is the thing, i've got a 98' 425 polaris that needs just a little work, i've put 30 hours on it and some money in the last 2 months and got it just about where it needs to be. The thing is that that particular bike does not like water at all. Soon as the belt gets wet, your done. And the amount of water that i'm expecting to have to deal with this upcoming season, would prefer not to use the tow rope more than the trottle coming out the fields. Just looking for a litttle more dependability is all. Anyway thanks fellas.



The only way to solve the belt slipping it to go with either Honda or with a Manual Tranny.. Not to many companys even make manual trannys anymore. Yamaha has one, and so does Suzuki and Arctic Cat. I think that is about it.... That was my biggest issue when I was looking for a bike. I didn't want one that had the belt drive. To me, one of Honda's biggest cons is its lack of ground clearance.. I think most of them are 6 or 7 inches stock. My Arctic Cat has 12" clearance stock, plus a 2 inch reciever to boot.

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:30 pm
by greenheadman1
Go with a Honda, can't beat them for reliability. I've got an 06' Rubicon and love it. Never had a minutes trouble out of it. Now, to the can am's, got a buddy that's got a 660 Outlander or something like that. That POS has been in the shop more times than I can count. The "computer" fried within the first month, it constantly overheats which has caused the plastic under the seat and surrounding the motor to melt. Alot of little stuff and this guy has never really put it through anything that I would consider bad. The can am dealership where he bought it from is trying to drop the dealership because of all of the problems they have had. They told him that they can't even find a mechanic to work on them. All of that for around $9,500! Needless to say, he got hosed!

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:36 pm
by GrizwalD
greenheadman1 wrote:Go with a Honda, can't beat them for reliability. I've got an 06' Rubicon and love it. Never had a minutes trouble out of it. Now, to the can am's, got a buddy that's got a 660 Outlander or something like that. That POS has been in the shop more times than I can count. The "computer" fried within the first month, it constantly overheats which has caused the plastic under the seat and surrounding the motor to melt. Alot of little stuff and this guy has never really put it through anything that I would consider bad. The can am dealership where he bought it from is trying to drop the dealership because of all of the problems they have had. They told him that they can't even find a mechanic to work on them. All of that for around $9,500! Needless to say, he got hosed!


There are gonna be lemons in every brand you buy i dont care what it is but i have alot of buddies i ride with that have can ams and they give them absolute he!! not to mention they are sitting on 30 inch tires lifted and all that and have only seen very minor problems

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:37 pm
by GrizwalD
either way this subject has been beat into the ground in jsut about every forum on the internet... best thing to do is figure out what you want on a bike, find the bikes that have those option, go drive each one of them and pick the one you like

Re: New Four wheeler????

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:40 pm
by MSDawg870
I got an 08 420 Rancher last year, no complaints so far. It was less than 5k out the door at Big Delta.

A buddy of mine that works on ATVs, rides a Yamaha and told me he sees by far more Polaris bikes in his shop than any other. I think Yamaha is supposed to have a better suspension than a Honda but then you have belt slippage issues. You're kinda trading out a pro for a con when taking one over the other.