ATV Features & Purposes

[Doc]

I guess we all use our ATVs differently and have bought them for different reasons. So how do you use your ATV, and what are the features that are most important to you in the way you use yours?

 

Power?

handling?

speed/acceleration?

space?

traction?

Side-hill stability?

price?

cargo capacity?

pulling ability?

other?

[grampy]

 All of the above and.....

                                 

                                     Quiet operation.............don't like the loud racing type

                                     

                                     Comfort

 

                                     Durability.....for the money spent is it going to last with normal use and up keep

 

[thphm]

Get one with the amount of power you are going to use it for as My 500 cc with an auto trans has had enough for my uses and was suggested by the salesperson .

Handling , there not a Moto Cross item. Be careful you can Flip them.

Mine is fast enough for me, not in any hurry at 74.It fits in the back of my 6-1/2 ' bed no problem. Wit the IPT tires I use it all year long. Excepi in the 2' + snow with ice under it this past winter. All I have is Hills by me , go up and down them every day with my 100 pound Lab. sitting on the back, you have ti know your limits. Price wise If I were to do it over I would get a UTV. ( they came a long way in the last 10 years ) . I also pull a trailer almost every day filled with firewood or stone for walls , can be 1000 pounds at times..

[Bow Addict]

I own a Polaris Sportsman 500.I use it for plowing my driveway,disking and mowing my food plots,hauling treestands,hauling deer,firewood and the wife. I hope to upgrade to a midsize Ranger side by side soon.

[ants]

Power, a winch and fuel injection are the top 3 for me. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I wouldn't own one without 4x4 and  independent rear suspension. Gun rack. No shifting required. 500 cc or larger. front and rear racks. 2" receiver hitch. aggressive tire tread. winch. 12v power port. continuous foot resting surface and NOT just pegs.

[growalot]

Grampy said it all...I do love the accessory wire harness on the engine and the power dump bed and the lighter for we decided to use that for the sprayer and I just sprayed 3 acres in 2hrs...that is a first time use and refill plus tank/boom cleaning tank....The gator has a lot of features and is a work horse on this rough,rocky hill side terrain. the roof ,hard doors, bucket seats and windshield are wonderful. Though the power steering is the best...man it steers better than my car...

Edited May 5, 2015 by growalot

[HectorBuckBuster]

I have a Polaris Sportman 500 4x4, Kawsaki Bayou 300 4x4, and a Suzuki 500 4x4. I used them all. The Kawaski is under powered for really towing a wagon of firewood out. Now my Polaris and Suzuki will pull a full wagon load with no problems. I have noticed the Polaris will smoke the belt atlittle if the load it heavy, but my Manuel Shift Suzuki no problems at all. My friend has a Artic Cat 700 I think, and that machine is so wide it does not fit through my trails, that my other machines have no problems with.

[growalot]

Suzuki 500...you can't kill them...I think ours is 30+ yrs old now...Dang thing nearly killed me once and chewed off a hunting boot when Mr. B gave me a ride back to camp...nope do not like it

[Doc]

Mine is used for getting me up and down old "killer-hill". I named it that because it claimed a neighbor's life (heart attack).. I have used my earlier versions of ATVs (Suzuki 185, Yamaha 225) for trucking supplies up to the cabin, including the material to build the cabin. I take friends and family up the hill. I use it for hauling some of the deer that I get off the hill. It is also a utility vehicle to use around the property. And last but not least, it handles my snow removal. 

 

Features:

The trails up the hill are old horse trails that were used for logging, so they aren't overly wide. That means that I can't use a side-by-side without some serious trail re-construction. Also, the snow plowing requires a very tight steering radius to allow sideways pushing of snow. There is a power requirement to shove snow, and also a serious need for traction. So I am always looking for something with a short wheelbase, handlebars for nimble maneuverability and some ability to incorporate a little body-language into the handling. But it needs enough guts to handle the power requirements while still delivering as much of that power to the ground as possible with good tires, 4WD and good gearing. Today my Yamaha Kodiak 400 does the job and has been for 11-1/2 years.

[stoneam2006]

Artic cat 500 all time 4wd winch racks and good tires among my top requirements....enough power could always be more....i would love a 4 seat ranger to take the wife and kids around more comfortable but maybe someday.

[dbHunterNY]

sport utilities pretty much.  400cc or larger is sufficient power wise.  storage and weight loading is important.  basically use one more for longer, slower, relaxed rides with friends to some location with a view.  also use it to access a hunting spots based on terrain and distance to within reasonable hiking distance.  access to do some woods maintenance, fixing fences, etc. so 4x4 is a must.

 

i've enjoyed ones good for nothing but tearing it up with raw power, speed, and handling.  racing and more common sport atv's use is limited though to just that though.  seems I do less of that and if I was to do that I'd be much better suited on a bike.  I had a 2-stroke 250cc bored out to a larger displacement actual racing quad for a short period of time.  it was probably the most fun atv i've ridden but was costly to fix, not as useful, and didn't run perfect all the time.  I could most likely beat your wife's mini-van is a drag race while holding the front up in a wheelie though.  man that was a fun atv. lol

[First-light]

I have a King Quad 400 and love it. Enough power to rely handle anything I need and brand new it didn't break the bank. The kids like to ride it around the property. For me it is there to pull a wagon full of fire wood or stone. Use it to pull deer out of the woods. It was very useful when my father inlay was alive, he was handicapped and had a hard time walking. We would drive right up to the hunting blind with him on it. Now that I have a trail mower hooked up to it I can see having power steering would be a plus. My arms and hands are shot after an hour or two making turns. It still looks the way it came out of the showroom 5 years ago. The only thing I would like to add but never gotten around to is those neat carrying racks for the front or back. I get tired of strapping on a milk crate with bungie cords. lol

[Doc]

I see that a lot of the newer ATVs have power steering. That's something that I always thought would be a darn nice feature to have. You guys that have power steering on your ATVs, how do you like it? Any drawbacks?

[jrm]

I see that a lot of the newer ATVs have power steering. That's something that I always thought would be a darn nice feature to have. You guys that have power steering on your ATVs, how do you like it? Any drawbacks?

I originally thought power steering would be a waste of money... at the very least a gimmick. My current ATV (Can-Am Outlander) came with it. I really enjoy it. Can set the assist to low, medium or high. It makes for a much smoother ride.

I also have a Polaris without power assist steering. It isn't necessarily "harder" to drive, just not as smooth as the Can-Am. Hard to explain.

No drawbacks that I can see. Of course, it is one more thing that can break, so that is one potential down-side.

[stoneam2006]

I originally thought power steering would be a waste of money... at the very least a gimmick. My current ATV (Can-Am Outlander) came with it. I really enjoy it. Can set the assist to low, medium or high. It makes for a much smoother ride.

I also have a Polaris without power assist steering. It isn't necessarily "harder" to drive, just not as smooth as the Can-Am. Hard to explain.

No drawbacks that I can see. Of course, it is one more thing that can break, so that is one potential down-side.

Outlander is one of the nicest machines made hands down....ridin a few all great quads...

[WNYBuckHunter]

For working/hunting I took everything on that list into consideration. Most important though, were power (towing/hauling capacity), room for the kids, and after that the handling, speed and traction. Then I added a winch and plow to make it all that much better. Im so glad I went the side by side route instead of a regular wheeler.

 

The only thing I would add is the power steering.

[landtracdeerhunter]

A little Suzuki 250 2 wd is all I need. It will do everything I ask out of it within reason. From spreading grass seed, hauling a small tadem traler full of firewood, maple sap barrel, pull a 8 foot roller, or an ocassional deer in season. Picked it up for a song with 10 hours on it, like 10 years ago. Change the oil in it regularly, keep it lubed in the pinch points, and keep the tires inflated. It will last for a long time.

[ants]

A little Suzuki 250 2 wd is all I need. It will do everything I ask out of it within reason. From spreading grass seed, hauling a small tadem traler full of firewood, maple sap barrel, pull a 8 foot roller, or an ocassional deer in season. Picked it up for a song with 10 hours on it, like 10 years ago. Change the oil in it regularly, keep it lubed in the pinch points, and keep the tires inflated. It will last for a long time.

I used a Suzuki 250 (standard shift) for years. Me and a couple buddies pitched in on it to use at hunting camp. It was a work horse and for 2wd it went through more crap than you would think. As we all got bigger better machines, the 250 got pushed to the side and ended up sitting in the barn for years. A couple years ago the farmer had the engine rebuilt and put 4 new tires on it. He has been using it for hunting and around the farm for 2 years now.  The thing runs like new.