4 wheeler recommendations (hauling firewood and trail riding)

Magicman · September 02, 2015, 12:29:03 PM

Mine is long since MD, but I still like my Polaris 425 Expedition. It's a manual shifter.

petefrom bearswamp · September 02, 2015, 05:01:04 PM

Here we go again.
it is the old argument. Ford? Chevy/GMC? Ram? Toyota?
Now its Honda Polaris Yamaha Suzuki, can am
I think all makes have their place.
When I was working hard I had nothing but Hondas mostly bullet proof except the electronic models.
I now ride trails and bushwack on my polaris 550 sportsman with power steering which rides like a dream.
For work here I now have a Kubota RTV 900 with 3' High racks for firewood.
It doesnt even grunt BUT it was also about 12gs

Raider Bill · September 02, 2015, 05:08:29 PM

I wish mine had power steering. My wrists get to hurting pretty bad after a day riding.
One guy that rides at my place has a Can-am with P/S works great. He's also got a Suzuki with auto trans. That I don't like. Rather I can use the gears myself to be able to downshift and drift around corners.

4x4American · September 02, 2015, 05:58:14 PM

Quote from: msal on September 01, 2015, 08:17:36 AM
A small tractor would be great, but that's WAY out of my budget! :laugh: Hopefully some day. There are probably countless times I could have already used one and we've only owned the house for one year...

I'll be careful heading down hills, luckily it's just uphill to the house for a short span and otherwise mostly flat. Thanks for the tip!

You can find a tractor on craigslist for your budget im sure.

Peter Drouin · September 02, 2015, 06:15:41 PM

Forget the toys get a tractor with a loader.

starmac · September 04, 2015, 04:36:21 AM

I wouldn't discount the older 300s and 350s, both bulletproof and workhorses. Around here you would be awful lucky to find one in good shape with your stated budget as they command a premium. Any of the older 2x2 hondas should fit the bill for your needs, personally I would stay away from belt driven ones.

DDDfarmer · September 06, 2015, 01:44:08 PM

I was in the same boat looking for a good used 4 wheeler. but the price of the good used I looked at a new bike and it wasn't really much more. I put a good deposit down( wasn't needed ) low intrest rate from Honda and now in 3 years( open loan I'm going to pay it sooner) I will own the bike out right. I figured the old Honda bikes here are 30 years old now and still running fine why not? I got the 420 4x4 standard only bell was the winch, no whistles.

I think you should look for a tractor, especially for firewood.

Dixon700 · September 07, 2015, 02:06:46 PM

I don't know if I would want a smaller quad. I feel my grizzly 600 isn't big enough, but it does ok and I only paid $1200 for it. I would lean towards a Honda myself because they are well built quads that take a beating and the ones I've owned in the past never let me down. I would get the biggest quad you can afford. Someday I'll get an 800+ cc quad or sxs. For moving logs though I don't really need to use the quad much having the 580sk.

gspren · September 07, 2015, 03:06:56 PM

Lots of differing opinions here probably dependent a lot on terrain. Even though I have tractors including one with 4wd and a loader the vast majority of my firewood comes from my woods to the wood shed in a little trailer behind a 400 Yamaha. It gets between the trees better in the woods and doesn't tear up the lawn on this end. If I was trying to make money at this I might want to do things much different, I only cut for personal use.

Red Good · September 07, 2015, 05:47:24 PM

I have a big Can Am for everything I need , but lots of customers with Honda s and polaris s . I would suggest a Honda based on the amount of service work we do on every thing else .

msal · September 08, 2015, 09:04:44 AM

Quote from: gspren on September 07, 2015, 03:06:56 PM
Lots of differing opinions here probably dependent a lot on terrain. Even though I have tractors including one with 4wd and a loader the vast majority of my firewood comes from my woods to the wood shed in a little trailer behind a 400 Yamaha. It gets between the trees better in the woods and doesn't tear up the lawn on this end. If I was trying to make money at this I might want to do things much different, I only cut for personal use.

Yeah, I can't imagine getting most places I need to get with a tractor.

You guys have any input regrading lift kits and hauling? Good/bad? Looking into a '02 foreman rubicon with a 2" lift and duro excavator tires. Usually I prefer something to be a close to stock as possible and I would steer clear of something like this. Not sure if this setup would be better for trail riding but worse for hauling...

gspren · September 08, 2015, 07:05:48 PM

My initial thought would be that someone that puts on a lift kit might be harder on the machine although maybe not.

starmac · September 08, 2015, 11:07:50 PM

The lift kit itself is harder on the shafts, just by increaseing the angles. Most guys that install lift kits, do so to run larger more aggressive tires, which also increases stress on everything.
I run 1 in over stock tires on all of mine, no need for lifts and don't try to tear them up either, so far so good. As far as going bigger, my 300 and 350 gets a lot more use than the 650, just easier to get around and will do anything the bigger one will do.

justallan1 · September 09, 2015, 08:44:41 AM

I'd take a good look at ALL of the running gear on anything that someone put a lift kit on. Swing-arm bushings, A-arm bushings, shock mounting brackets, drive-shafts CV joints, wheel bearings, ETC.
You may want to think of where the center of gravity is also. They might have lifted it for trail riding and clearance, but if your planning on putting loads on it or towing a trailer or arch it's going to be a lot easier to set it up-side down with all of the weight up higher.
Just my 2 cents.

msal · September 10, 2015, 09:06:26 AM

I think you guys have scared me away from the foreman with the lift. He also said something about linkage slippage that he's noticed, but hasn't gotten any worse in a long time. Glad he was honest, but I'm probably going to steer clear. The hunt continues! I almost bit on a 98' foreman 450 with low miles, stored indoors (looked new), seat with stirrups, winch. He wanted a little bit too much for it though and we couldn't agree on a price. Oh well.

4x4American · September 10, 2015, 11:27:47 AM

I would say to stay away from anything with a lift kit. Keep looking! I prefer stock units, if there are mods, I assume that it's hada harder life. Unless they just used it as a showoff type rig to put around on.

msal · September 11, 2015, 10:34:51 AM

What do you guys think a '98 foreman 450 in really nice shape is worth? It was stored indoors, looks practically new and has 1400 miles. It also has a winch and 2 up seat with stirrups. It's listed at 2600 and the guy is pretty firm... seems a little high to me. Any big differences between the 98 and early 2000 models, or are they all pretty much the same?

EDIT: Forgot the word 'new'

starmac · September 11, 2015, 01:13:24 PM

I know they bring different prices in different parts of the country, but if it is in the condition you describe, it would be sold in minutes here.
The 450s are not as popular or sought after here as the 300s and older 350s, but it is not at all unusual for clean ones to bump the 3000 dollar mark at any auction.

IndyIan · September 11, 2015, 03:21:01 PM

I've had an 01 Kingquad 300 since new. What sold me over the Honda was the super low range and manually locking front diff. It also has reverse in the 3 ranges too which has been handy at times. In the lowest gear the clutch is fully engaged at a slow walk, so there's no slipping it to get moving, even with a fully loaded trailer behind it. You can pretty much go 3mph anywhere with any load on it until all four tires start spinning.
Its not much of a trail machine with only 4-5" of suspension and 280cc, but for zipping around my property its far faster than the tractor. Its still 600+lb like the bigger cc machines.
There was a factory cooling fan as an option, which should've been standard, but I've put a 12V dash fan in front of the engine which has always kept the oil overheating warning light off. My place is all hills, so the low CG is good too.

msal · September 12, 2015, 09:10:00 AM

Alright guys, on to the next wheeler. I'm looking at a 2000 Foreman 400 (not 450). Any opinions on the 450 vs. the 400?

This one looks to be in pretty good shape, has a big metal basket on the back and a gun rack on the front. Dead battery, but has a pull start. He explained why it hasn't been getting much use which explains the dead battery I guess. I've also asked the seller about including a big garden cart with the wheeler, which I had noticed in the background in one of the pictures.

Mainly asking here to get opinions on the 400 vs the 450. Assuming no surprises (or huge downsides to the 400), I may have found my wheeler 8).

p.s. thanks to everyone for putting up with my 4-wheeler shopping, this forum is super helpful and everyone has been really nice in any of the threads I've started so far.

Dakota · September 12, 2015, 10:37:42 AM

I have a 2000 Honda Forman 400. Had it since it was new. All wheel drive, all the time. What a little work horse. Have never had a problem with anything. Top speed is 45 mph. This is a utility vehicle, make for work. I highly recommend it.

gspren · September 12, 2015, 11:21:17 AM

My one BIL has a 400 and it's moved a bunch of wood, never heard any complaints.

starmac · September 12, 2015, 04:29:10 PM

Honestly it is hard to go wrong with a honda, pretty much all honda utility rigs were quality machines if you even attempted to take care of them. parts are still available for nearly all of them too, plus they hold their resale value better than most, good if you are selling, bad if your buying. lol

I have a newer atric cat 650, that has the locking front dif, which I thought would be a big plus, turns out I seldom ever use it. What I do use anytime I ride it and the older hondas doesn't have is the ability to run in two wheel drive. There is an after market kit for that 400 to add that feature that has very good reviews, but I personally wouldn't add it just to use on the place.

Just Me · September 15, 2015, 07:46:47 AM

I had a Yamaha big bear 350 for a long time and it never broke. Two wheel drive, hauled what I wanted, never got it stuck but was not trying to, it was a tool.

msal · March 14, 2016, 03:14:52 PM

First off, sorry for resurrecting an old thread but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging!

I ended up going with a '99 QuadRunner 250, 2-wheel drive, just this week. A relative gave me a really good deal and it's in excellent shape. I think it will do the job for now, although I certainly won't be skidding any logs with it or anything. I mainly want it for trail riding (well, cutting trails first) and pulling firewood and I think I'll be OK.