What Brand And Why??

[tattooedcat]

ok guys and gals i wanna do a little poll so to speak, here it is, i wanna know what brands of bikes did everyone look at when buying or more so the last 2 that were in the running before the purchase, and why you chose 1 over the other and was it a good choice, the good and bad right down to the dealer, i just wanna see what the overall opinions are, and what bike is best for what conditions, and please no bashing just want opinions// of course i'm cat all the way thats all i've owned and now that i have a awesome dealer at CRIKSIDE i'm very happy all the way around, but he does carry suzi too so may be up for that next time around just cause of the dealer :cheers:

[tandr2]

only looked at yamaha's...though I think the customer service at Supreme sucks...I prob wouldn't buy from them again.

[Honda king]

Looking into used polaris, thought about another honda but they are to expensive so my next bike is going to be a polaris, as for polaris dealers, my parents bought theres from morden motorsports in morden and i guess they have been an alright dealer.

[punch]

i am a die hard cat fan in sleds & quads. i like the looks and the power. they have good clearance, and i think one of the stongest built frames....JMO....and if i was going to jump ship i am pretty sure i would go with a brute.. love the looks and they seem to have a lot of power also..:cheers:

[mailman]

It's between Cat and polaris for me. I like the fact that they are both built a stone's throw from us, and generally built for the kind of stuff we ride in, not desert or dunes or whatever. The deciding factor for me is the fact that I am friends with a poo dealer, am friends with guys who know them inside and out, and have an awesome connection for parts and accessories.

[The Chef]

Suzuki garage here, I used to be Honda chef but I disliked the brakes. (Love there reliability)I read lots of articles and tests in the dirt wheel before going this way. Vinsonator will also have an opinion on this. Also like Yammy

[TOOTHPICK]

Honda, as Honda Chef (aka The Chef) said, "(Love there reliability)"!

[bud29.5]

Went with Polaris from Electrical connection in Rolla, ND. Was also looking at Honda but decided on Polaris because of ride and all the neighbours have Polaris and love them.

[Grtwhthntr]

Love my Honda's they have taken lots of abuse and served me well. Quite capable bike but too many extras you have to buy to get them to that point. Will likely stick with my foreman another year and then buy a brute, good power, good brakes, and come with a locker.

[Wolf]

Cat... liked the looks, size, features, and the package/price.

Oh .. and the Yami dealer pissed me off so I took my money next door.

[Vinsonater]

suzuki, jmo, stick with what you know,

[Critter]

When I started looking for a quad 2 years ago it was between Kawi,Can-am,and Yammy.I thoughjt the Can-am was ugly and overpriced and the service was apparently a nightmare.Now I know it is a great bike cuz a buddy has one.The grizz had just come out and it was 11,600,no winch with only 6 month warrenty.So I ended up at Main Motorsports and I have'nt looked back,bang for buck the Brute was a good choice,2 year warrenty that you can actually use.But the service was the clincher,these guys know their stuff and know how to make a costomer happy.Would I buy another one?Who knows,if the grizz was a 800 I would probably jump ship!!!!!

[Ilovetoys]

CAT and Suzuki and what I wanted to do and add it came down to the price of the bike so the KIng won this year. As for Dealers I would never change from Ckikside best dealer in Manitoba and customer service. Next project will be the Prowler I think waiting for the 950 to come out in it

[rancher350]

Well Honda is okay i guess it does lack GC,locker,True 4x4 but if you like to spend money you can get it to the point to where it's a decent mud bike but i deffently wont be buying anouther honda it will be a BF 650i or Grizz 660!!

[LeCaptain]

For me it will be either a Polaris or Yami.

[Limey]

looked at yammi and honda. Liked the honda but decided to go with cat. loved the look, clearance, torque and overall size. Price was right, with a free winch and 2 yrs warranty. Saved almost $1000 buying from the wpg dealer on dugald. But wish i could've bought at crikside($1000 is $1000), better people in stein. The cats been good to me, would buy it again, or suzi next time.

[Palssonater]

Well I guess I was between Polaris and Honda when I bought. But all my friends were so Polaris crazy, I had to be different.

Went with Honda and haven't been sorry since. Best thing I did for my Honda was the DGL, which was pricey, but in my mind is the best front end you can get. Polaris is damn simliar though.

Bought a Yamaha Kodiak last year. Nice machine, but would never buy another one. Probably looking at a Kawi Brute in the next couple years.

[tagalong01]

I knew I was buying used so I checked with all the local dealers to see what they had in the category I had set for myself. Quickely narrowed down to the Rubi I bought and a Vinson. Rubi was in better shape and already had the Mudlites and rear storage box on it.

I don't have any real brand loyalties having had most Japanese brands over the years on 2 wheels plus Polaris and Cat snowmobiles.

[fuelinjected]

Between myself and my dad, in the last few years we have road sportsman 700 to rincon 650 to rubicon 500 grizz 660 and now grizz 700. my favorite bike is definately the new grizz 700, I cant say it has a much power as the brutes but it is a great ride with absolutely no effort required. :clap:

[joedirt]

i was really lookin at a motobishi 500,seemed like a good quad, my buddy started sellen them a couple years ago before they got big,there wasnt many around so i was worried about parts.i drove one and it was nice,seemed awfully big. tried a grizzly aswell and was still the same size,i ended going with a 06 kodiak because of the size and where i use it,mostly small trails and tight places, its been a good quad,does everything i need and havent had any problems:cheers:
i also have an 03 arctic cat(FOR SALE) which is a good machine,to me its what you are using it for,not who makes it,im not brand specific,if a dealer is good to me he will get my business

[Toban]

Went with Suzuki. Was gonna go Cat but a friend has a KQ that's been absolutely bullet proof for him and I really couldn't get past that. Plus, I've always loved the look of them.
Dealer (Formula Suzuki) was chosen because the Manager is a long time friend/boss of both my wife and brother in law so I knew I'd be treated well.

[x4332]

I looked at everything but yamaha.
Was at the Honda dealer in steinbach and the owner ignored me when I looking around (I was jumping around on the machine like a monkey right in the showroom and no response from him).

Looked at polaris's but did not like the reliability issues my bud was having, and I dont like the front plastic rack. Really liked the price cause my uncle works their, but even a low price tag doesnt make up for the lack of riding.

Test drove a brute and it blew my mind, but out of my $$$ range.

Strolled on over to Cat and drove one home the same day. Really like the feel of the big bike, just feels sturdy and strong.

[BRP Fan]

I have always been a huge fan of Bomb products right back to when my wife and I were sled heads and we both had our own machines, and they always served us well. When we decided to get into quadding we knew we wanted a 2 up quad, not a SxS. Although we did test drive a couple of SxS but just to big for our trails. So we test drove the Cat and Popo 2 upers, and there was no contest in our eyes! Plus the Awesome service we had recieved from the Enns Bros Group, we bought a new Cam-Am Outlander Max and have not been sorry for one minute!!!!!!!

[Nick]

I bought my first quad last year. I borrowed my buddies 400 honda a few times and liked the way it ran but I wanted independent suspension but Honda`s are way too much $. I looked at Polaris but was not happy with the design or clearence so I bought a used cat. I love the ride and power and great clearence next time it will be a cat again probably a 700 efi.

[x4332]

oops, I forgot about bomb, never tried those as I dont like the sleds I figured I would be biased and not give the machine's a chance.

[mrhook]

Well i had it narrowed down to a Polaris or a Arctic cat, liked both machines cause I'm a big guy and I need a big bike! Yammis, hondas were all too small and no ground clearance, when I looked in Wpg sport and liesure there was a 700 AC behind a 700 Grizz and the cat was at least 9" taller than the Grizz. Told the sales man thats not a good way to sell gRizzleys!! lol I had a Suzuki 250 quadrunner before and always bottomed out, so I definatley wanted ground clearance. I like the looks and features of the Cats plus my buddy had one and nevwer a problem so I went with my 500. And I definatley wanted auto and supposedly AC are better than Polaris, as well read lots of negative reviews on polaris so I choose the cat,Glad I did, Although next one will be a 700efi for me! :cheers:

[mongrol]

Quads are like women, you tend to luv the one you've got. As long as they've got good ground clearance, great ride, and easy to start, I like 'em all. OH come on now, you know I mean the Quads!

(maybe not the smartest thing I've ever said)

[BDP]

I was looking @ Suzuki King Quads (mainly used), because I had read reviews both in ATV magazines, as well as on line, which made it sound like a great buy, especially because I though the fuel injection would be great.

I ended up buying a used Brute Force 750, and the bottom line is the price / timing was right. Found it on Ebay with 21 minutes to go, and landed it for $4500 with only 600 miles.. Guy lived in Grand Forks too.. it was too good to pass up.

Bottom line for me, is it could have been a Suzuki, Yamaha or Kawi & would have bought it.

My in-laws bought a couple 2006 Polaris Sportsman 450's new, back in '06. They were new to powersports, so it was all up to me. I took them right to Headingley Sport Shop, as I have a great relationship with a few of them, and enjoy dealing with them for sales. They sell Kawasaki & Polaris, and I was uneducated on pretty much all ATV's at the time (more of a dirtbike guy then). Once we were in the door, we looked @ the models & prices. Kawi had a big gap from 360cc (too little) to 650cc(too much $$), so they were out. The Sportsman 450 fit the budget & was big enough, so it was a done deal.

As for the dealership experience, I really do like Ken, Craig & Jill, but it is dissapointing that after buying 3 machines from them within a year & a half, that you don't get treated any better when buying parts / accessories. MSRP across the board.

[JohnDeereMan]

Wow lots of Cat guys on here. I rode a brute and really liked it, also a bomb 800 and a sportsman 800, the grizz 700 wasnt out at the time so didnt concider yami. It was a tough choice but went with the Cat because of..... you guessed it, the dealer Crikeside.

[TOOTHPICK]

Quads are like women, you tend to luv the one you've got. As long as they've got good ground clearance, great ride, and easy to start, I like 'em all. OH come on now, you know I mean the Quads!

(maybe not the smartest thing I've ever said)

LMAO! All the guys knew you were talking about the quad. The gals on here, well I don't know. Still LMAO!

[x4332]

My bro just bought a used 05 500 from Crikside today, bottom line was price and he said that he really liked the attitude put towards him.

Another thumbs up for Crikside.

[3Wheeler]

I went with Kawasaki the options (wet brakes and on the fly diff lock) and the price were part of it but the two biggest reasons were power and watching my two friends with kvf 700's hammer through deep water and corner at crazy high speeds in the tight trails. it sold me.

[Gunny]

I've owned three Honda's & they were all good bikes. Then I got me a Suzuki Quad Sport. Great bike. I later took out the 230 motor & did a custom install & put in a Honda 250R motor. Now that was fun !!!!

I then got an 86 Yamaha Moto 4 & an 87 Banshee. I still have both the Moto 4 & the Banshee by the way.

So, when I went look'in for a 4X4 machine I just stayed with what had treated me well & bought my Grizzly 660. Love the bike. Just wish I could ride it more .... dang, wish I could ride some other thing more too !!! ... Ok, gett'in back on track ....

My one brother has Polaris & the other has Cam-Am ... so we can give each other crap all day long when we go rid'in .... kinda makes it fun. But they have been good bikes for them too.

As far as dealers .... I buy the bike & I never go back. Not crazy about their high prices & I don't trust someone I don't know wrench'in on my stuff.

Later ...
:rocker:

[Loudelectronics]

I Have driven lots of brands, rode with lots of brands, the only ones that dont seem to breakdown on the trail are Honda and Yamaha. They always seem to get you home, maybe with a limp but they will get you home. I grew up with Honda's and Yamaha's, I know them quite well. I stick with yamaha, because they give you more for your dollar. You get disc brakes, locker, lo range, IRS, now EPS, great reliability. I am not easy on my machines. But I do not have to spend much money on keeping them together (besides CV boots). I love the tranny as I dont have to worry about belt issues (the one reason I will not switch to anything else), the respond well to mods and have decent power. So basically I can ride my yamaha they way I want, it is is not going to give me any gripe. I can pull people out in reverse with out burning a belt, I can drive around in hi range no matter how fast I am going. I can select drive modes, not have the machine select for me. To top it off my dealer is second to none. Literally.

[Loudelectronics]

ok guys and gals i wanna do a little poll so to speak, here it is, i wanna know what brands of bikes did everyone look at when buying or more so the last 2 that were in the running before the purchase, and why you chose 1 over the other and was it a good choice, the good and bad right down to the dealer, i just wanna see what the overall opinions are, and what bike is best for what conditions, and please no bashing just want opinions// of course i'm cat all the way thats all i've owned and now that i have a awesome dealer at CRIKSIDE i'm very happy all the way around, but he does carry suzi too so may be up for that next time around just cause of the dealer :cheers:

Dealer is so important. My dealer resides in a town of 2500 people. This past year he was presented with the #1 dealer in north america award for customer service. I can buy yamaha's anywhere, will even pay more for the service. But he always makes it right, he is closest to me, send him alot of business and in return sells me machines for cost. Its good to have good repore with dealers. When it comes with warranty work, they are the ones that have to go through the headaches of getting the manufacuterer to sign off on it.

[BRP Fan]

Dealer is so important. My dealer resides in a town of 2500 people. This past year he was presented with the #1 dealer in north america award for customer service. I can buy yamaha's anywhere, will even pay more for the service. But he always makes it right, he is closest to me, send him alot of business and in return sells me machines for cost. Its good to have good repore with dealers. When it comes with warranty work, they are the ones that have to go through the headaches of getting the manufacuterer to sign off on it.

You got that right Loud!!! A dealer that looks after you is VERY important and that's another big reason I bought what I did.

[TRX 500]

I had a 500 foreman with 26 mud lites and went every where anyone else did or further, then my wife decided to ride and bought a 680 and it was okay no low gear just really sucked everything else was good, had a few minor troubles was very leary about buying a belt drive but now that i have my can am i can't see anything else in the for seeable future,have 1 complaint the intake and exhaust on the cvt too LOW but snorks took care of that, power awesome, ride and comfort very good, excellent on fuel......did i mention the power, low range.... love the bike, 1 front output shaft seal leak, AWESOME DEALER GIMLI SNOWMOBILE the best deale i have ever dealt with so far, dealy with 2 seperate honda dealers and they were okay, just okay that's it!!!! Never looked at polaris just cause all the troubles i hear and see with my bro in law and his buddies with polaris, cat's just never seen them to be that good when i ride with em, not a bunch of power nice looking though, as for the rest never looked at all.

[cat-can-do]

Well for us at the farm it doesn't matter what brand as long as it can do the work! Our first bike was bought in 1993 honda fortrax which has been and still is indestructible for us with only 4 oil changes since 1993 it starts and runs like a dream. It's never let us down. For us what matters is the fact of buying a working ATV that will do the job without having to put mods on. In 2002 we decided to buy another atv. This process took awhile due to getting informed and testing a few neighbours and friend bikes on our farm. Well we were very shocked on all bike performance. Our neighbours 2002 poo 700 HO well handled very poor in cattle ruts and our Honda out pulled it. Kawi 650 from a friend did not have enough clearance and burning belts. We then got to try a 2002 AC 400 and WOW pulls a 250 bushel creep feeder without a problem and 30ft heavy cattle panels. This was the most impressive we have tried. In 2005 we bought a package deal (alot of John deere from ENNS) and they threw in an outlander 400. Well that was the biggest disaster we have ever had. Blew over a dozen axle to which warranty covered and ran like a bag of s**t from day one. No power poor handling and poor reliability. We just recently traded it on an 2006 AC 500. (no regrets). We would love to go back to Honda but to much money.

[RZRush]

I have owned 3 Honda's (years ago) and I am now a Polaris guy. No one can question Honda's reliabilty...Blew the engine in one of mine 3 months in to an oil pump malfunction, but that was a lemon...Honda too price and not really up with the times. Never had any major problems with my polaris's, Ive seen problems with other guys, but Im still happy. Until my latest bike I have delt with Fast Line Sports in Arborg. I have never gotten customer service like that before. That guy will go out of his way for you any day, any time. Its a little out of the way for most but well worth the drive.

[QUADNUT]

Honda was the worst bang for the buck compared to other quads, polaris ride great, but not a fan of the 4wd system and their weight. Arctic Cat has awesome looks, clearance and good powertrain, but a little heavy and not as "refined". Suzuki fit the bill for me with great Bang for your buck with all their features. Have proven very reliable for me, easy to maintain, great dealer service thru LUKES. May not be a spectacular performer in one area, but they have been excellent all round quads and i plan to add a third one to my garage in the near future

[Mac102004]

It was between Honda and Arctic Cat for me, decided to stick with what I knew and bought the Rincon. Hopefully going for take 2 this year, going AC this time I think.