Looking for a used quad

hey all,
I might bite the bullet and buy a used quad for hauling wood on my property and a bit of trail riding with the kids.

Any tips on what brand? I equate honda to best engine by reputation not by actual knowledge. Also what CCs should I be looking for? What are some general tips on buying a used quad?

Thanks.

 

We bought a used Honda Rancher 420 in 2015. I broke down and decided to get one because we were building a run-in shelter out on the back pasture and I was tired of going back and forth every time i forgot my tape measure or the level! I was thinking at the time I didn't need much but wanted the reliability of a Honda so went with a smaller model. I do have buyers remorse somewhat though. I wish I would have at least gotten a 4WD version and gone with a bigger engine. It does pull an amazing load though, even with the smaller CCs. My advice would be at least 500CC, 4WD and make sure it hasn't been driven into the ground (or a pond) like a lot of them on the used market have!

 

Used quad market is a fickle thing - there are abused machines and then sometimes folks looking to unload a payment of an impulse purchase.

Honda Foreman 500 selectable 4x4 is what I have and bought used(low hr) for a song - old reliable
Wouldn't pass on a Rancher of the early-mid-2000's vintage either more than capable of pulling a trailer
Older Yamaha big bear's are fairly bullet proof as well just may not find selectable 4x4 .

cc's really won't equate to any pulling power these machines are limited by weight and traction
I'd stay away from any fancy stuff - power steering(for women/kids trail riding), auto shift(same trail riding),

Stay away from anything with a snorkel, lift kit or upon closer inspection mud packed in the engine cooling fins

 

There's a lot of good ones out there.

The big question is how much do you want to spend?

Definitely get 4wd of you are using it for firewood use. Your kids, how old and or responsible are they?

Some designs are simple and bulletproof. Some are great ideas with OK to great execution.

My 300cc simple and stone reliable full time 4wd Kawasaki bayou can out haul many of these big fancy ATVs. I've got a newer 500cc water cooled selectable 4wd CVT auto IRS quad and it's great, but sometimes simpler is better.

 

I want to spend 3-4 grand (USD). Willing to stretch if it's a really nice machine. But generally want to keep it low.

My kids are 5 & 8 so would be passengers Short rides, nothing crazy.

Thanks for the advice. Just saw an ad for one with a snorkel...passed.

 

Agree go with a 4wd I have a Honda foreman (older one) and love it I put a lot of wood on it and it handles fine I also use it for plowing it is a tough machine


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Honda gets a lot of respect, but any of the Japanese quads are pretty good (Kawasaki, Yamaha, & Suzuki). The only issue with Honda is it's such a conservative company that there technology is often 5 years behind the other manufacturers. I guess this helps with reliability but looking at spec sheets they always seem behind the others in terms of power and options. As far as Polaris, 15 years ago I wouldn't have touched one but people who I've talked to in the last 5 years seem happy with them. When I used to race dirt bike hare scramble a lot of the guys in the 4x4 quad class used Can-Am, so I don't know how reliable they are but they seem very capable.

Personally I'd stay in the 400-500 cc range for trail riding. I've driven a couple Yamaha Grizzly 660's and 700's, and while they're awesome for pushing snow or pulling a large load (I've seen one drag a 4x4 extended cab Ford Ranger up a steep muddy hill it couldn't get up on it's own) they're too large for my style of trail riding. If you just want something to run around wide trails with the kids though a larger quad may be fine.

 

Grizzlys are the best trail/work machine there is.
The 700s are more refined than the older carb 660s but can't go wrong with any grizzly.
They pretty much were the first to build a big utility/trail and perfected it.

I was recently looking g at quads thought I'd give honduh a shot. Their resale is really low.....Wonder why?......
You can buy a new rancher for the cost of a nice 10 year old grizzly....
Then I realized after riding a few older foreman's and newer ranchers how lacking they are.

 

Yamaha Rhino. (edit: didn't see purchase limit. Hard to find a Rhino for that money) I had a quad for about 10 years, then got a side by side. Not as "fun" as a quad, but much, much more useful for me.

Good advice above^^ I consider any of the Japanese pre-2000 stuff to be pretty tanklike in the utility segment. They don't have gizmos and massive HP, but usually won't let you down and don't ask for much.

 

I don't doubt they are nice machines the thing that steered me away from them was the belt driven transmission.
It wasn't so much the reliability (as they seem to last fairly long) it was more engine braking needs in my hilly terrain.

Secondarily they are kind of top heavy machines.

This is true but they also aren't out there competing in the big cc top heavy rollover market - they learned their lesson on Trike lawsuits in the 80's

 

You should have no problem finding a good decent hour/km machine in that price range you just have to narrow down what you want.
I looked for several months found a machine with ~20hrs/100mi that I guy bought on credit to upgrade his weekend hobby with buddies - they all grew up started having kids and decided to get rid of loan.

I'm kind of surprised at the price on leftover 2016's $5800 2016 Honda® FourTrax® Foreman® 4x4 Stock: | Bama Powersports

 

If you're looking for a mule, a Honda foreman with a gear on gear transmission is hard to beat. They are slow and underpowered and rough riding compared to some of the other brands, but they just work...every time.

 

I hate to bad mouth Polaris since I own a Victory motorcycle that they make and it is as reliable as a rock. The Razor quads have been the subject of a couple of recent recalls because they were catching on fire, Polaris calls it a temperature issue. When my crotch is on fire I just can't dumb it down quite that far.

 

We've had our 05 sportsman 500 HO since new in, 04. It's been a great quad. All that's ever had to be replaced is a starter motor beyond oil changes and fill ups with gas, and a battery.

Some brands are great with belt drive CVT transmissions. Polaris are one of the few, because they have so much experience with CVT trannies.


They've recently had a couple of recalls, but Polaris takes care of it's customers. I'd rather have a company fix any deficiency they have and be proactive about it than how many of the auto companies handle issues like this.

If you want a real mule for work and play, and want a used side by side, you can buy an actual mule, Kawasaki mule for 3-4k USD.

 

I have to give a thumbs up to a Polaris. I've got a Sportsman 500 HO. It's not 4x4 but AWD and shifts power to the wheel(s) that need it.
This thing goes into, and more importantly, gets out of, anywhere.
I bought it used for about 5k with 115 hrs on it, in 2011. Except for a battery and oil changes, I've had nothing to deal with.
It is a machine.

 

I was typing while Horkn was posting. I'll add one more thought, I looked at Polaris because a buddy of mine has a Ranger, the side by side, and that too goes into and out of anything. So if your in that market, I would suggest you consider that too as an option

 

They all make pretty good quads. I am partial to hondas. You cant kill the things, even when you try to.

 

Look into Yamaha clutching, backshift.
They have pretty much the best CVT clutches as well.

Any utility/mud atv is or feels "top heavy" a grizzly can keep up with alot of sport quads where it will fit.
Saying top heavy is a silly statement....

They are closing victory...
Polaris builds dumpy quads/utvs etc.
They only build a decent sled.


For 3-4 k id buy two 50-80cc quads for the kids then something like a Suzuki Eiger.
Basic trail riding can be done on a golf cart! Don't need anything expensive.

 

It's a 4x4. It's an on demand system.

Now my bayou is 4x4 as well, but always in 4wd. Just low or high range, no 2wd setting like you can put the polaris 4wd quads in.