What size of 4-wheeler do you guys all recommend?

[Fish-icer]

In the market for a new 4-wheeler and wondering size I should go with.

[staggerin]

Almost any size will do. Ground clearance and chains are your best friend

[Fish-icer]

400 enough power?

[Fish-icer]

or 500?

[Fisherman 1]

See that nice blue Yamaha, grab it.  Very reliable compared to that other green coloured baby poop.

[BIGCREW]

Buy the best one you can afford,I don't care for Polaris quads I seen to many stranded due to the belt that they run,I'm a Honda guy myself but its a personal preference on what you want and any quad beats walking and draging your gear behind you,heck I have heard of guys using lawn tractors whatever works good luck on whatever you get

[bb400guy]

See that nice blue Yamaha, grab it.  Very reliable compared to that other green coloured baby poop.

I couldn't have said it better.  Big Bears are perfect for utility work, it's what they were made for.  Geared extra low and a semi-auto - that 400 will out pull larger cc belt ATVs.

I have had a few Big Bears over the years, currently got a 2008 and an old school 1997 Kodiak.  Excellent ATV unless you're a speed freak, as they are slower due to the low gearing. 

[Browngold11]

I have a 93 Yamaha 350 big bear it's certainly not going to break any speed records but it has never left me stranded

[teamlund]

My last atv was a 700 and just 2 weeks ago I traded in for a 750. Definatly don't need that much power but once you have it you wont want less. A 400 will be fine. I would also opt for the yam over the Polaris. I prefer Kawasaki but not a darn thing wrong with a yammie!

[52isntbigenough]

400 is plenty. I run a 570 with tracks and hit around 30. It's no race, you just wanna be able to get out there. If there's no winch, look at adding one of those as a first mod. Like the other guys said, chains be your friend.

[Woodsman]

400-500 range should be plenty.
I just bought a 450 with windshield, heated hand grips, winch & rear chains.
This winter will be it's test.

[Fish-icer]

Thanks guys for the feedback.  We have 2 snowmobiles so when the snow gets bad we have that covered.  Just looking at adding a dependable 4-wheeler for when there isnt much snow.

[800stealth]

I couldn't have said it better.  Big Bears are perfect for utility work, it's what they were made for.  Geared extra low and a semi-auto - that 400 will out pull larger cc belt ATVs.
 

I'd bet dollars to pesos on that... My Sportsman 800 and it's belt have no problem moving my equipment trailer with my mini-hoe on it (9000 pounds) around my property... I'm not saying the Big Bear with it's low gearing isn't a good little workhorse but saying a quad with 22 horsepower that weighs 400 pounds will outpull a big bore with 50-60-70+ horsepower weighing 700-800 pounds just because it's belt driven isn't realistic.

[bb400guy]

That's not what I meant.  I don't want to turn this into a "my ATV is better than your ATV" thing, but what I was saying was Big Bears do more that other larger cc'd belt drive ATVs and are more reliable (in general) because of how they're designed.  They have less cc/HP yes, but they're designed with lower gearing combined with a shorter stroke travel - this means greater low-mid range power/cc of engine size and the engine is working way less hard - RPM's are low (this is what also make this ATV slower as the engine/gearing just isn't designed for top speed cruising). Most belt driven ATV's engine rpms are always considerably higher simply due to the nature of the belt. I've pulled over 2,500lbs+ of alum. boats/gear/guys, trailer of wood etc down bush trails and swamps - never a problem with power.  The fact that I barely have my thumb on the throttle and the engine is just puttering along means less fuel consumption/heat/wear/noise.

As far as an 800 Polaris being long-term reliable?  Um, I've always heard Big Bear = Bulletproof, this ATV's engine has been around 25+years and many are still running strong.  I never heard that about a 800 Polaris, but I have heard too much power for the drive system to handle = broken parts.  Do you think their big bore twins will be running 25+ years?  This is true for a lot of the newer large cc ATV as big power simple causes more wear/maintenance/failures.       

The comparison of any ATV pulling 9,000 lbs anything on a trailer in a asphalt yard is really a bad one - he's ice fishing.  I doubt either ATV would pull 2,000lbs on ice or thru deep snow.  If all the OP wants is a very good, capable, reliable "less to go wrong" ATV then he should get the Big Bear (just check it over before buying it to make sure it wasn't swamped/in good shape - a bad owner will kill any ATV).


Helpful tip:  do make sure you have/get a winch.  But also go out and buy a heavy rated real ice screw, the mountain climber type.  If you ever get stuck you'll notice there is nothing to winch to/from out on the ice.  Drill the screw into the ice as far as it will go in, then winch from it.  There, I just save ur ass a lot of trouble!     

[maxmartens]

For ice fishing and even the hardcore trail riding i do i have an artic cat 400 and that thing is unstoppable and easy to ride. My dad has a 700 and that thing ia a bear to ride on small trails to heave i would go with a 400 or 500 cc and you should be happy.

[800stealth]

That's not what I meant.  I don't want to turn this into a "my ATV is better than your ATV" thing, but what I was saying was Big Bears do more that other larger cc'd belt drive ATVs and are more reliable (in general) because of how they're designed.  They have less cc/HP yes, but they're designed with lower gearing combined with a shorter stroke travel - this means greater low-mid range power/cc of engine size and the engine is working way less hard - RPM's are low (this is what also make this ATV slower as the engine/gearing just isn't designed for top speed cruising). Most belt driven ATV's engine rpms are always considerably higher simply due to the nature of the belt. I've pulled over 2,500lbs+ of alum. boats/gear/guys, trailer of wood etc down bush trails and swamps - never a problem with power.  The fact that I barely have my thumb on the throttle and the engine is just puttering along means less fuel consumption/heat/wear/noise.

As far as an 800 Polaris being long-term reliable?  Um, I've always heard Big Bear = Bulletproof, this ATV's engine has been around 25+years and many are still running strong.  I never heard that about a 800 Polaris, but I have heard too much power for the drive system to handle = broken parts.  Do you think their big bore twins will be running 25+ years?  This is true for a lot of the newer large cc ATV as big power simple causes more wear/maintenance/failures.       

The comparison of any ATV pulling 9,000 lbs anything on a trailer in a asphalt yard is really a bad one - he's ice fishing.  I doubt either ATV would pull 2,000lbs on ice or thru deep snow.  If all the OP wants is a very good, capable, reliable "less to go wrong" ATV then he should get the Big Bear (just check it over before buying it to make sure it wasn't swamped/in good shape - a bad owner will kill any ATV).


Helpful tip:  do make sure you have/get a winch.  But also go out and buy a heavy rated real ice screw, the mountain climber type.  If you ever get stuck you'll notice there is nothing to winch to/from out on the ice.  Drill the screw into the ice as far as it will go in, then winch from it.  There, I just save ur ass a lot of trouble!     

Not looking for a peeing match either (A Sportsman 800 is small compared to whats out now) ,I'll agree with most of what you said, now that you've explained what you actually mean. No doubt big power means more wear and tear and less reliability but the op asked how big should I go and you said a 400 with steep gears will out pull the big bores because they're belt drive, which simply isn't true and not helpful to his question... Your second response however is something he can use in his research.

[Akinlake]

Since 2002 I have had a 400 AC... 5 speed foot shift 4X4... it has done everything any of the other machines in our group can do, sips gas compared to the 700+ machines, and insurance costs are a lot less. If you plan to put tracks on a machine, then go bigger than 400cc. Thanks

[mickmickl]

I own a sportsman 500, but I would suggest a yammi. Polaris is fine but a little heavy. I have not had any issues with the sportsman but for ice fishing I would go with a small to medium sized yammi for weight.

[4Buck]

I own a 2005 450 Yamaha Kodiak, same thing as the Grizzly. It does have the locking differential and that makes a huge difference. The only way I would want a bigger one would be if I wanted tracks. I have never run chains on the back but thinking about it.

[tundra redneck]

Im looking at a 06 Kawasaki brute force 750 v twin POWER, with locking diff

[Craig M]

I own a Can-Am Outlander Max 400 2up and it's done the job for me nicely for the past few years.  I only been stuck with it once but that totally my fault and I expected to get stuck.  In all fairness, most if not all ATV's would have gotten stuck with what I did and I'm not going to explain but it did involved me saying "Hey, watch this!".  I just wanted to push the machine to see what was too much.  In retrospect, I think my test was flawed a bit.

[Fisherman 1]

Anything around the 500cc is just fine.  I've got the Yamaha 550 and much rather have that than the 650 Outlanders we have at work. 

[lurchw00t]

So my 1000 might be a bit of overkill?   

[Fisherman 1]

1000cc, as I see it, yes a waste of power.  Most manufacturers try to outdo the other, mostly by adding extra power rather than reliability. 

[tomertim]

I have an old 97 Kawasaki Bayou 300 4x4 that does the trick.

The only time I ever had a problem with it was when I had a cow elk in a trailer hooked on the back pulling it up a hill. 

[northernnyice]

Same with sleds... As the CC's go up... Your reliability factor goes down.. Of course if you buy new you need not worry about that. But in the long run. For a work/play I would say a 5-600cc... If you are a performance junky and like to ride and go fast.. Perhaps mod your machine. Getcha an 850 or 1000 outlander.

[mjk67]

Just from some casual riding, I'd think the 400-500cc area would be the sweet spot for ice fishing.

Don't forget to research Suzuki Quads...

[Gills-only]

400 enough power?

(Image removed from quote.)

                       More than enough, like stated ground clearance is key.  Don't matter if you have 500 hp, if you don't have the ground clearance and chains or something similar, the engine size don't come into play that often!

[iceman260]

I have 2001 honda 450es use it icefishing and plowing a private rd. 15 years of use never been in shop. I change oil and filter every year also lube cables. It needs 2cnd new battery this year, been very dependable machine.

[Oldbear]

I own a 2005 450 Yamaha Kodiak, same thing as the Grizzly. It does have the locking differential and that makes a huge difference. The only way I would want a bigger one would be if I wanted tracks. I have never run chains on the back but thinking about it.

Same year & same model here.  Have chains but rarely use them.  The  locking differential has saved the day a couple times and had the rpm reverse  limiter bypassed.  Winch up front so if you do get hung up drill a hole with your auger and stick a 2x4 with the cable thru the hole. With the high and low gears its an ox for pulling.  Its the right size from my experience.