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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.
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!
400 enough power?(Image removed from quote.)
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.