Experts can you please evaluate my needs & give your opinion

[Phatboy]

Ok I'll be brutally honest here, I'm 442lbs 6 foot male with a wife thats 320 or so. Were looking to buy a pair of 4x4 ATV's to go trail riding through the Louisiana woods and such. Maybe a mudhole here and there but the majority of our riding will just be trails, old logging roads, etc.

We have a budget of 7k per ATV but don't know which brand or brands we should be looking at. I realize we will probably need something with a 600+ size engine to haul our extra weight around as we are not normal sized riders.

I do not want to buy the wrong brand of 4 wheeler and be plagued with mechanical problems down the road. I was hoping to buy a brand that is known for reliability.

If any of you could recommend 1 or 2 different models for me to consider it would be a huge help. My main concern is reliability, it doesnt have to be the baddest 4x4 on the planet as I don't think we will be abusing them in heavy mud. My second concern is ironically that the seat be comfortable for a larger persons rear end, lol

Thanks in advance

[Roody]

I'm not sure which have the bigger seats, but I can help otherwise.

I'd look for a used Can-Am Outlander 800 and 650. They're reliable and have a lot of power.

Also, look into the Arctic Cat 700s, they're good machines as well and extremely capable.

A major factor is how comfortable you feel on the machine (I've said this a lot today), so you should try to sit on each of the quads you're considering and see how they feel.

I'd stay away from the Suzuki King Quad and Yamaha Grizzly, you probably want more power than those quads offer. Skip the Honda Rincon/Rubicon as well, they're (relatively) powerless. The Kawasaki Brute Force is another good option.

You'll probably want to set aside a little money to invest in heavy duty shocks as well. They'll support you better and make riding more pleasurable for you and your wife.

[Phatboy]

I went and took a look today. Luckily we have a huge dealer in town that has Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Polaris all under one roof.
Man, most of the new 2010's were 9-10k in the size I needed. Their special of the month is a Polaris 800 for $6999. It's brand new 2010 model and comes in Green or blue colors. I sat on it and it is a large ATV with plenty of room.

One thing that concerned me however is that it was All Wheel Drive. Now the salesman told me that Polaris is the only ATV maker that uses a true 4 wheel drive system and that its better than a normal 4x4. I am very skeptical and want to do some research on that, so I might put a post in the polaris forum.
As far as reliability goes, I google searched and saw that the polaris 800 has been out a few years and was voted atv of the year, so I'm thinking it can't be that bad.

If anyone owns one or has any opinion please let me know, but I'm thinking that $6999 for a 2010 model 800 ATV doesn't seem that bad.
There was an Arctic Cat also next to it for $7700 it was a 2010 model and I believe it was a 700. It actually looked like it had more ground clearance and the frame size was about the same.

[Slacker]

I'd suggest looking at some two rider models. Polaris offers the X-2, Cat offers the TRV and the TBX in the same chassis, and Can Am offers there 500 and 800 models in a 2 up. They are somewhat longer and will give you a lot more stability going up and down hills. They will carry a more weight much more comfortably than a one seater. The Polaris AWD system is computer controlled and only engages when the rear tires spin. It is very fast and works well IMO but I have heard buddies complain a little about it when going down hill. If you're comfortable with the technology of it, I think it will work well for your purposes. Polaris makes a nice comfy machine but they have had some reliability issues. The 2010s are all new so hopefully those kinks are worked out. The Cat offers true rider controlled 4 wheel drive, three wheel drive and locker, and the most ground clearance out there. The ergos are not like Polaris but they do have a nice big comfy seat and are sized for big riders. Most of my 6' and taller friends ride them for the room. The suspension has 5 settings and I think the Polaris does too. The most important consideration when selecting a brand is the dealer and the service they provide, get some feed back from others who have wheelers about they're dealer. I can't stress enough the importance on this. A dealer will make or break your ownership experience. Right now is a great time to pick up used wheelers, they are going pretty cheap so I wouldn't count that out. You might look at ATV trader or something to see whats out there. ATV of the year is issued by magazines in most cases. I'm not saying it's how it is but Polaris advertises a lot, I mean a lot with them. If I'm giving out ATV of the year ad dollars may be a consideration, especially if I want to keep them coming. Just a thought. Happy riding and let us know how it turns out for you.

[Roody]

Polaris' AWD system is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing. Personally, I hate it because I want to be able to select when I'm in 4WD or not. Polaris' system does it for you, as Slacker said...when the rear tires slip, it engages 4WD for you.

Otherwise, it's a solid machine. The new Polaris models have come a long way from what they were a few years ago and they're good (some say great) quads.

Definitely take a look into the used quad market as well...look for a Can-Am 800 or 650 if you can, Arctic Cat 700s or a recent Polaris 700/800.