EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

In the market for a big bore 4 wheeler  what are you guys having good luck with? polais 800 or Yamaha grizly 700??? lets hear the good and bad!

Honda  ;D ;D ;D had to say it :D

I have an 08 Grizzly 700...  It has had a hard life but just now had the first problem out of it, and that was the stator burning out... Power steering is nice...

Got a 2012 grizz 700, the pwr steering went out at 7 months, had 15-20 hrs on it. Other than no eps, i used to be able crank it in gear by holding the rear brake lever, but now that stoped workin, i changed to startn it in nutral, but now after it warms up, that stops workin. Over all, beside those 2 quirks, i aint had much complaints.

X2   ;D

well I have an arctic cat 650 it runs like a bat outta hell but everything breaks on it... I was hoping Polaris or Yamaha would make a bullet proof machine but I guess so much of it is electrical these days they all gonna have problems..

Casey you know you cant go wrong with the ol polaris. You know the sh$t we put ours through!

Ya but my dad gum gages quit workin on my ranger the 2nd week I had it cuz it got rained on   now I never know how much gas I have !!   but other than that its been dam good  I know urs has been to hell and back and still goin strong!

I have a 07 grizzly 700 that got more miles than my 95 dodge truck and still strong as ever and would buy another if I have to yamaha is the way to go

I have had them all. Hondas are dependeble. Had a 450 & the frame rusted out. enginge still ran good tho. Got a yamaha 660 & loved it. never had any problem out of it that I did not create myself. A year ago, I got a polaris 800. It is fine so far but I actually like my grizzly better. It turns a whole lot tighter. I dont really think any of the brands are bad. We as hoghunters put them through way more junk then they were designed to go thru. If I was a dealer, I would have hoghunters make a commercial to sale them.lol

who is the cheapest Yamaha dealer in Texas???

I know you didn't mention Honda but they always been good to me. I have a 05 rancher 350 and its only been to the shop once and that's because I let it set up and it got trash in the carburetor. Its been in the mud and woods since then. Heck even my brakes still work. Still runs fine and totes my dogs around;D I know of 3 hondas my family has had that nothing has went out. That being said I'm a Honda fan!

polaris used to be junk...so I will never own one...kawasaki, honda, or yamaha...I have had a suzuki 500 since 2000 and it has had very few problems...

I have a 2000 Polaris 400 4x4.I love it and never been in the shop,guess it depends how you ride them and MAINTANECE is key.


Thanks
Jeremy 82ndABN

I too have been a straight honda guy since i can remember. I own a 94 and a 96 300 fourtrax 4x4 and am on my second 06' rancher 350 4x4 (first 1 got stolen).........both fourtraxs' have been thru hell and back.....i swear they would run off sawdust lol, best 4wheelers ever built bar none, just eish they were bigger.

I just bought a rhino 450, honestly hadnt heard much good or bad about em til after I bought it.......apparently they are pretty tough machines.

Never owned anything but honda 4wheeler wise but ive ridden quite a few yamaha's iver the years and always liked how they rode/drove and handled. Good luck in your search.

I'm on my third polaris. This one is a 97, 4 wheel drive, two stroke and chain drive.....been used pretty good and never gave me any trouble till rats in the barn ate my wires up.  :-[

Thanks for all the input  guess ill flip a coin and go get one lol sounds like both are good machines

Got an 05(I think) bombardier. Can't hardly kill it lol. Just recently started having some trouble with the carb and other than it backfiring pretty loud because of it. And other then not having any kind of turning radius because it's all time 4x4 not a complaint yet

I have frends that are farmers they use ther bikes every day during the  season, put 4 to 6 thousand rough miles a year on them, and all they run is Honda's. They hold up better then all the rest.

Honda! Honda! Honda! Have a 2002 and a 2011 foreman! Best there is ! Jmo!

Honda, my 2 old fourtrax are just as Justin described. I really like the 2 wheel drive better cuz the turning radius is SICK! Small enough to get between trees, light enough to pick up and turn the opposite direction, i've had the back end floating and it still goes.  Up hills i could barely walk, they'll be replaced with Honda's.

What size engine are yall runnin in the hondas.   Hows the power??

I have 2 300's and a 350. The 300's are small but don't under estimate them, they have hauled over 600lbs multiple times and never left me stranded. The 350 is a good bit more roomy and just as reliable.

And as far as overall power, you aint gonna win a drag race on em but i have put 1000's of miles on my 94' and 96' 300's and they have never let me down. They rarely get stuck and when they do you simply get off and walk em out of the hole they are in....great machines.....best wheelers ever made in my opinion

I have a 350 Honda and it does everything I need. I'm 200 lbs plus a 40 lb box 3 60 lb dogs on the back and its 2wd. I go thru the mud and all just fine

I have an one of the first four tax Hondas my dad bought new. Still runs strong then have a 2001 rancher been through immortal heck still going strong. Have a polaris rzr and love it. But all my buddies have Hondas and grizzly 700s and I really like the grizzly. I would say get the grizzly or a Honda .

Which 650 do you have? 
I have a 2004 650 V2 that was treated badly by it's first owner so it has required some TLC when I first bought it and other than routine maintanance, it is a beast and it's my go-to ride.  I had bought a 2005 400 brand new before I got the 650 but when my daughter got old enough to drive one solo, I 'gave' her the 400 and that's when I bought the 650.  The 650 already had 2500 miles on it when I bought it, and it shows by looking at it.  The 400 on the other could almost pass as a demo bike.  The 400 has never had any issues what so ever.
My buddy fell in love with my 400 and went and bought a brand new 2005 500, back in early 2006.  He's a big guy, wanted something bigger and went last year and bought a brand new 700 TBX and he loves it.
My brother has a 2004 500 and he's never had an issue with it that I know you.
We take good care of ours but when we are hunting, we will run them up and over everything in front of us.  If I can push it over, I go over it.  Needless to say, I wouldn't switch to another brand.

And by the way, I sold my Honda to get some money for the Arctic Cat 400.  The Honda was a brute, but it was like driving a Sherman tank, rough riding, hard to turn, no ground clearance, manual shift, full time four wheel drive, and had to have it in neutral to start.  Solid machine, but so are my Arctic Cats, but with all the bells and whistles. 
One super bonus to the Arctic Cats is the rack system that allows you to mount just about anything to the front or rear and remove it or install it, in seconds.  I can go from a dog hauler, to an ag sprayer, to a stock atv in seconds, without tools. 

I just got an 05 honda 350 it's been through hell I'm sure and still runs like a champ. Hard to beat Honda

  I started with a Honda big Red 3 wheeler, then went to a honda 350, then a honda 450. I now have a Yamaha 660 grizzly & just got a really good deal on a Polaris 800. I do like the Hondas & yamahas better but have not had any engine troubles with any of them.
  My problem with all of them is I hunt the marsh & brackish water rusts the frame out quick. We wash these bikes after every hunt, spray them down with diesel, WD-40 & they still rust.
  My only advise is dont buy a bike from a hoghunter who hunts the marsh. ;)

Some people don't know this but if you squeeze the right break handle on the Hondas it will start in any gear!!!

Why won't mine?

It u must have an automatic I would go with Yamaha . But Honda rancher an foreman by far are the most reliable . They aren't the smoothest riding but won't leave u stranded . I've seen hundreds of bikes through the 13 years of working on a hunting lease and growing up in the rice fields myself . Yamaha has been the most reliable auto and Honda is just the best I've seen . Not the automatic Hondas though .

Got excited when I read this and went outside and tried lol

Don't know mine and all my buddies do but I guess all don't mine is a foreman 550 and all thiers are 420s.

Might be cause mine is older

mine is a 2007

My 2012 grizz used to start in gear by applying right foot brake or left hand squeeze, but now it wont do it. It will start in nuetral untill it get operating temp n then it has to b put in park. Any thoughts on cause n cure? Im thinkin it may b the xmsn safety switch crossed out when i nearly drowned it, but i havent tore into yet, same with my eps, probly the assist motor burned out or shorted, gonna look for a fuse block n c if i blew a fuse. The startn in gear though is what i would rather fix, i cant tell a diff in not havin pwr steer, vs havin it.

i know its different but i had a 2002 kawasaki 250 2wd that was great i am over 200 pounds and it hauled me just fine plenty of speed and it was small enough to fit in tight spots the only problems i had with it were carbeurator and 2 hubs in the rearend and the rear end was from flat out ridin it into the ground i didint baby it it was a hunting 4-wheeler so i put it through everything i sold the 4-wheeler in late 2010 and all it needed then was rearend fluid and an oil change but as far as i know its still running

I will never have another Polaris again. I was sponsored by mad dog motor sports to race a v twin Polaris 800 through mud bogs. That thing had so many problems it wasn't even funny. I would end up racing the brute force 750. By far the best bike I've had..

anyone ever use militec 1? it is an oil additive...I use it when I change oil and filter on my 4 wheeler...