Looking to pick up an 400cc ATV to play with offroad. This will be a toy and as such will see deep water, alot of mud and jumping on a regular basis. I have ridden Hondas and like the new Fourtrax 4x4 with EFI and the fact it is now liquid cooled. At the same time I do enjoy pushing my toys and thought the added articulation of the arctic cat 400 might help while offroading and rockcrawling. Suzuki is on my list as well, but the looks of it just dont do much for me. Any ATV owners here with thoughts on these rides? Im concerned with the artic cats reliability and its ability to handle deeper water. Thanks in advance

 

Do you want automatic transmission? Do you want EFI? Do you want independent suspension?

 

I prefer the ground clearance of IRS, but also have some concerns with the tearing of CV boots and what not. Fuel injection sounds nice on paper but I worry what will happen when those electronics are exposed to water,mud and the elements. It would have to be some sort of auto or electric shift, no way im messing with the foot shifter

 

I personally like the Suzuki King Quad 450. The price is probably more than what you want to spend for a 400cc class four wheeler though. The Honda Rancher AT is a nice choice as well. Very durable and a nice transmission. You will probably just have to look at all of your options in your price range and with the features that you want.

 

The improved yamaha big bear 400. With all new IRS and a front locker. Not to mention it comes stock with 25inch mudlights at a decent price. It is a manual but you can get a 400 auto called the grizzly. I had the old SRA (solid rear axle) big bear and put it through its paces. Now I have a Arctic Cat 500m. The big bear is a tuff machine and easy to work on. But in reality just go out to all the dealerships and test drive some and see which ones you like.

 

The new Rancher is looking to be a nice ride. Has a SRA, but a dependable ride just the same.
Rich

 

Took the words out of my mouth. I still have a 92' Big Bear 350 and it does everything I need it to. In the mud for all stock and non agressize tires it did awesome. The new Big Bear is soppose to be good!

 

Thanks for the help guys! I did what some suggested and went and sat on them all and compared features. The honda apparently has some bugs with the new fuel injection system as well as no winch mounts currently available. The arctic cat 400 auto was a beast! I loved the way it looked and rode. The ground clearance, and winch mount stock were also great selling points. They offered me 3 yrs xtra warranty and 8.9% financing so i signed on the line. The Suzuki is a nice ride, but I just didnt find the looks appealing. I will post up some pics when I take delivery on tues!

 

those 400autos are sweet! but becarefully the air intake on those are poorly placed. So watch out when you go in water. www.arcticchat.com go there and read up lots of good information there.

 

03fx4150 is right about the artic cat and water, but it is a good machine. The Yamaha 450 griz is an excelent choice, go ride them all. It would be hard to find a bad one now days unless you buy cheep offbrand from overseas.

 

the wolverine is a decent quad. only a 350 but it gets the job done I have a Predator and wouldnt trade it for anything... well mabey a 250R