Quad Bike

[KraftyPg]

Ok so I'm too buggered to do my own research right now so people give me some suggestions or recommendations.

We need a quad bike for the farms, all farms are hilly with holes all over the place (most are not big enough to loose a quad in) but often too steep and rough for a tractor. We will probably want to tow with it but are not overly worried about the weight limits because it will be used in conjunction with a tractor just getting to areas the tractor can't. Not worried about fuel type and 50-80cc is probably more than enough and we'd prefer independent suspension but not 100% sure which models have it yet.

We've got the Polaris guy bringing out a Ranger for us to play with on Friday but initial thoughts are that they'd want to be something special given the cost, but a free trial is nothing to argue with.

So has anyone got any suggestions of other quad bike or the like that have independent suspension and even remotely comparable to a Polaris on paper?

 

[d22dave]

Can,t compare only ever had polaris

 

[scottybobcat]

Yamahe big bear or grizzly are a pissa of a quad.4wd with reverse and heaps of power

 

[BravoBrad]

If you plan on towing on uneven ground, make sure it drives both rear wheels or has a rear lock.

I had an old Suzuki, and I used to out tow a mate on his honda with twice the engine regulaly, simply because mine was old school turn both wheels. and his didn't. And that was on reasonably flat ground (but 1 tonne+ loads, which they are NOT designed to tow)

Note - I am not recommending you tow 1 tonne+ loads. Use great caution when towing with a quad.

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Added - we had no weight on the tow bar, just drag or push weight - We also were towning in reverse, (tow point on front of quad)
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[kempseyken]

In my opinion you can't go past a Honda , Ive had a 450 fourtrax on my farm for nearly ten years and not spent a scent on it except for servicing and batteries and used to tow a 5 mt boat in and out of my dam with it when working on the trailer. Tows a 6x4 box trailer full of wood easy , just about gets used every day. The new models would be great as you can turn 4x4 off/on, my one you cant gets a bit hard to turn sometimes but a great machine none the less. Would buy another one tomorrow.

 

[WoodyD40]

yeah, the only experience i've had is that i've ridden a mates honda a couple of times, and it had the the 4x4 option switch.

Given that you'r likely to get it bogged from time to time the 4x4 option on the honda is probably the only thing likely to stop it from getting bogged regularly. Otherwise you may need to get your Navara dirty pulling the quad bike out.

 

[Dave]

Get a Yamaha Raptor.

Was riding one over the weekend.

Shit they have some go.

 

[LLadnar]

^lol @ dave, Raptors nice quad but hardly a farm quad.
I have a Yamaha Big Bear 250cc, us it for hunting and work on uncles farm. Semi auto is really cool when crawling over rocks and rough terrain. My uncles got 3 quads a 400cc, 350cc and a 250cc, we've found that the 250's the best out of them, even thou the others have more power, there size and weight are a bit of a down fall for them, the 250 is easier to maneuver, pop over rock and if you get bogged or stuck you can just drag it or lift it out. also if you do over balance the 250 and it feels like it going too tip over, you can pull/push it back where you cant with the heavier quads.

 

[KraftyPg]

Thanks guys.

Polaris rep canceled tomorrow but is dropping the Ranger off on Monday and leaving it with us for the week to see how we like it...suppose giving them $7K to fix the tractor back in February has given us some perks with the rep but so far no other rep or shop is offering the same test drive so at the moment Polaris is in front. The free mower with the Polaris at the moment is a little bit of a bonus too.

 

[d22dave]

We have the sportsman 400 at work, Has the 4x4 and 2x4 mode on a switch and makes a difference to the turning circle, Its only a couple of months old but the one it replaced was 9 year old and maintenance wise from memory i did a ball joint each side and i put a kit through the carby about 4 years ago and replaced the drive belt a few times, But to be fair it had done 1600 hrs and we drag 2 inch poly in hundred meter lengths x6 lengths at a time and it gets a workout shifting cows,

 

[KraftyPg]

Initially we are looking at running out barb on a single or dual spinner, we use a quad spinner on the back of the trailer but the country is too rough at the moment and a small mod to most quad bikes will save us a shit load of walking.

If the Sales rep from Polaris is as nice and generous as the rep from Warratah was yesterday we will nearly sign on the line when he delivers it, damn that was good service yesterday.

 

[d22dave]

The 400 sportsman is the smallest engine in that range so it has the rear rack carrying capacity to handle a 70 liter spray unit which we used on the old bike

 

[KraftyPg]

But to be fair it had done 1600 hrs and we drag 2 inch poly in hundred meter lengths x6 lengths at a time and it gets a workout shifting cows,

We've currently got the plumber and irrigator on site running a shitload of pipes around the place to feed water troughs etc and I am sick of pulling the guy out of the mud. This arvo I had to travel 6ks on the road in the Kubota at 30kph just to get to the bottom of the property to pull this prick out.

I spend 20 odd minutes on the road, spend 5 mins opening and closing all the gates of the bottom farm to keep the goats from escaping while I'm busy, cross the creek and arrive in the bottom paddock with the front wheels of the tractor sinking at the first gate. I take the long way around the paddock, get to the ditch witch, hook on the chain only to have him tell me he wants me to tow him all the way to the end of his run while he digs the ditch. Half way there the silly prick realises I can't get the tractor and him exactly where he wants so he unhooks the chain drives 20 meters and gets friggen bogged again. I pulled him out again and then he goes and gets bogged in his own bloody trench

In the end I get him on solid ground, tell him to F'off and either wait till it's dry or dig it by hand, he wasn't overly happy with that and carried on about wasting his time because I drove 6ks on the road to get 250m to the bottom paddock rather than follow his tracks down the hill.

When I left the farm at 7pm he was once again bogged up to the axles half way up the hill he reckoned was sturdy enough for 4 tonnes of tractor to come down. Even our Bulldozer bloke wont attempt to cut our track down this hill until we've had a month without rain and this dick thinks I'm driving a tractor down the slope. No idea if he found a way to get the ditch witch out tonight but if not I'm sure it will be an interesting morning when we get there tomorrow

 

[KraftyPg]

The 400 sportsman is the smallest engine in that range so it has the rear rack carrying capacity to handle a 70 liter spray unit which we used on the old bike

We are getting a Ranger 800 XP for a test drive, stands to reason the guy wants to try and sell us something near the top but we probably wont end up going that high if we purchase something.

The Sportsman's might be closer to what we end up with but there is no fun starting at the bottom when looking with what the dealer thinks is an open cheque book

Weight wise we'd probably get the quad spinner on most bikes because from memory each roll of barb is only about 25kgs and the spinner is barely 100kgs but it's width might make stability an issue.

 

[KraftyPg]

How does the sportsman handle going across uneven slopes?

The solid rear axle in the tractor often means that going on the sides of hills where you're already hanging on by one butt check becomes even scarier as one side drops further away. I realise it's hard to give a definitive answer without really being able to see the slopes in question but does the Sportsman rock and roll much on the sides of hills?

 

[d22dave]

How does the sportsman handle going across uneven slopes?

The solid rear axle in the tractor often means that going on the sides of hills where you're already hanging on by one butt check becomes even scarier as one side drops further away. I realise it's hard to give a definitive answer without really being able to see the slopes in question but does the Sportsman rock and roll much on the sides of hills?

That is hard to comment on, around here i feel comfortable on most slopes but i really havn,t given it a workout

 

[bullwinkle]

Krafty, my brother in law sells the Polaris range, as well as a heap of other farm equipment. He owns and manages the business which operates from a little town south of Ballarat. Polaris have flown him overseas a few times as a reward for good sales. Let me know if you have no luck with the local dealer - he covers a huge territory, up into New South and the Riverina etc. so you're ptobably not too far away.

 

[KraftyPg]

We aren't knocking back the Ranger for a week and we haven't made a decision yet but the Yamaha Grizzly 550 isn't looking bad right now either. The Yammie dealer as yet hasn't offered us an on farm test but we haven't given up either.

Most of the slopes we expect the bike to work across would be 40-60 degrees because the tractor in most cases will drive across 45 degree slopes with limited butt check discomfort.

 

[KraftyPg]

Ok ta Bullwinklle will keep it in mind, so far the Polaris guy here hasn't been too bad offering us a week to play with it for nothing but we do plan on a bit more testing and comparing before we jump on any purchase.

 

[CDY90]

Hey mate, I'd steer away from the new honda quads, the old hondas were bulletproof but the more recent ones with fuel injection are a pile of shit. I worked at the Honda dealer in town for over a year and majority of customers with the 420s had nothing but problems. I'd go for one of the new Yamaha Grizzly 550s, smooth to ride, plenty of grunt and reliable bike. Polaris sportsman 400/500 are a great bike to and fairly cheap compared to Yamaha. Polaris Hawkeye 300/400 are a reasonable quad but they are made to a price and more for hobby farmers.