Best ATV for kids

[Jim]

I know my boats but am an ATV novice. Believe it or not my wife actually wants an ATV as much as the kids. I have been looking at the Polaris 90 and the Honda 90. I like the Polaris for its auto transmission but have heard poor reports on its ride versus the Honda. Any suggestions would be most helpful. I am also looking for a larger toy for myself. I have looked at the Honda Foreman 400 and the Polaris Sportsman 400. I plan to look at the Yamahas tommorrow. Help!!

[Brian]

i would have to say the honda for the kids because they are the original ATV and have many years of expeirence and for yourself check out the Kawasaki 650 it has a v-twin and lockin differintial. Or get the foreman it is built to last

[John Wayne]

I have a Honda Rancher 350 4x4. It does better than most of the bigger bikes. I ride with 3 polaris 500 and one polaris 750 and the Rancher does as good or somethimes better than the bigger polaris. We ride in a lot of deep water and thats were the Honda kicks butt. The reason being that the belt on the polaris starts to slip when wet. The Hondas are 100% shaft driven and never had a problem. Even in water above the fenders. I love my Honda and would not even consider owning another brand.

[Paperboy]

I don't know where the last post is coming from on the belt slipping issue???? The Polaris is SEALED and water tight as of their 2001 models and the "belt" is like that of a snowmobile with a LIFETIME warranty. We have ridden my 400 Sportsman through water up to 34 inches deep with NO trouble.

The Polaris will out pull the Hondas and outlast them hands down!

You spoke of shifting ease on the Polaris. You are absolutely correct! The Honda is a pain to get into reverse. Way too many things to be done to achieve a simple transmission shift. The Polaris is just a shift of the handle with ZERO buttons to push to engage the trans.

The two ATV's have their good points and bad. The Polaris seems to have alot less bad points. The ride of the Polaris ATV is like a Rolls Royce compared to the Honda.

Remember one thing on the larger Polaris models...they do require you to take care of the lubing and oil changing on a regular basis. The little ones are AWESOME for the kids.

I wouldn't trade my Polaris Sportsman for anything! I love it!! She's a BEAST!

[John Wayne]

Don't get me wrong Polaris makes a good bike, but I have seen a 2002 polis sportsman 500 get its belt wet, the problem was fixed in less than 5 minutes by reving it up to dry it. I also seen a 2001 Polaris sportsman 500 get drowned and its belt also got wet had to dry it the same way. The 100% sealed belt does leak.

John Wayne

[john]

paperboy,

while you make some valid points regarding your Polaris, I think you baised opinion is getting in the way of the facts. True, the Polaris is a beast and at 700lbs for a SP500 it is extreme overkill and way, way to heavy for a 4 wheeler. Other than that I couldn't disagree with you more, yes the belts do slip when they get wet - and they do get wet! Mechanically the Polaris is always near the bottom of list when it comes to reliability and warranty issues, this is improving but still no where near where Honda, Yamaha and Kawi are. I do think from a mudding perspective, the sp500 will just about out mud anything - it does have true 4 wheel drive. Some of the other bikes out there operate on a limited slip front diff., just remember every system has it's pro's and cons.

[rock2me]

I personally, would stay away from any belt drive for the reasons mentioned. I also would stay away from Polaris because evey person that I talk to has said they require more service and tinkering.

I want to just get on and ride. Change the fluids when necessary (getting wet) and go. Which one to get? I still can't make up my mind either. I was going to get a Cat last year but had to pull out do to slow cash flow.

For the most part I think they all are comparable.

Good Luck

[Greg Walters]

I don't know about the smaller Hondas and can't comment on other brands but I do know that both my father-in-law and brother-in-law have the older model Big Red 3-wheeler Hondas. I own a Honda 300 (two-wheel drive). All have been very used and abused! I still have red clay stained t-shirts to attest to the treatments I put mine through. As for belts slipping, with the shaft drive you don't have to worry. My Honda doesn't have a problem in water even when I take her swimming. Just make sure your kids ride responsibly. My 9 year old took a dive from my father-in-laws Big Red two weeks ago. Chipped off 1/3 of one of his front teeth and cracked and arm bone. He was allowed to ride alone - but not by his parents. I guess I won't be forking out any cash for a Father's Day present for my in-law this week!

Greg

[Steve KS]

I own a 2000 Sportsman 500 and a 1999 Sportsman 335. Both of these bikes have been flawless since i bought them. My family uses them almost daily for play. I have never had a belt slip problem. I have been in a lot of water but normally 10-18 inches of water is about all the casual rider will have to worry about. So I wouldn't let "possible" belt slippage affect your decision. The advantages of fully automatic tranny with true four wheel drive coupled with four wheel independent suspention sold me. Just go ride a Honda and a Polaris sportsman over the same rough ground and let your back decide. Or better yet let your wife's back decide.

[Mk]

I have a Polaris and a Yamaha. The Polaris has the best ride and easier operation by far and the Yamaha has the better reliability and less maintenance. I like them both and use them for different purposes. If I had to choose one, it would probably be the Yamaha for the better reliability reason. Used to have a Suzuki. Had good luck with it but needed something bigger and got the Yamaha.

[WalleyeOne]

Yes polaris's belts do "slip", and yes they do require more maintanance than a honda. Have run both machines on the farm and learned that the polaris would not take the abuse that the honda would. Changed fluids and maintained by the book on both ATV's. The honda was the most reliable in all area's.