Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum ATV Horsepower

Rocket, if I was you I'd pass on the polaris. You'll be way happier with a Honda I think. I know I am and all the folks I hunt with are to. I've had several different brands thru the years and my Foreman has held up the longest of any of them. I have the ES model and love not having to shift gears while wearing big boots. Anything Honda makes thats 4 wheel dig will suit your needs.

If you get an automatic make sure it has a good engine braking system.

Idk what kinda $$$ you want to spend. Look at Southern Honda you will be surprised what you can get a new one for. I was going to buy a used wheeler one time. You never know what you're gettin with a used wheeler and most ppl want as much as you can get a new one for. I ended up buying a Foreman 500 off the show room for about a grand more than ones with 1000 miles on them.

I wouldnt get the polaris either rocket, Honda is the way to go. Ive loved just about every one ive rode. I like 300 4x4 the best, 400 are great, But i like to be able to throw em around a little when you get in a jam.

Ill break you in rite, get one when you can and bring it over.

Yes Honda is the way to go, I wouldn't own anything else. Just me but I wouldn't buy a polaris and also try stay away from belt driven ATVs.

Both those bikes I would take over a Honda. I part out ATVs on the side and have owned and been through 100's of bikes. The old 300 Hondas had great motors and made a great name for Honda and they're still riding that glory until this day. You can tell this by the posts on this message most are about a 300 Honda which they quit making in 2000. When the average person thinks reliability they think Honda because of those bikes. I'm not saying that Hondas are bad I just don't feel like there new bikes have anything to offer over the other name brands other than good resale. I would take a new Polaris and Yamaha over a Honda hands down.

good points on the smaller wheeler having lower center of gravity. Come to think of it a guy that hunts with us has an old Honda 300 4x4 and it does great. He's probably close to if not over 200 lbs.

I'll second Souther Honda in Chattanooga. I spent far less on a new one than I ever would have guessed. I got the Rancher ES with power steering, which was at no additional cost but has actually been pretty nice.

Go with a Honda. Polaris are nice and look good but they also are known to have issues. I also would stay away from an auto in the mnt.

Lower HP 4X4 with high and low range for hillbilly land.

And the old 300 Hondas are the best wheelers ever made.

If new make sure to get a fuel injected model, they are not as finicky about stagnant fuel and run very well!
I have a Yamaha 550 Grizzly that has been the best I have had over the 30 years.
A good rack system is something to look at, some of those out there have limited space.

If you buy used, buy from someone that you think you can trust, a kid that mud rides all the time can destroy one in a year. A mature hunter that used it for normal trail riding, utility or hunting is much more likely to service the 4 wheeler.

Good Luck!

Since you asked about "CC's" and didnt understand how ATVs are rated its cubic centimeters. Cars are referred to in liters, EX 2.2, 4.0, 5.0, 5.7L, etc. Translated a 5.7L 350 cubic inch Chevy V-8 is 5700 CC's.


Motorcycles, atvs, snow mobiles, etc... are rated in CC's due to the fact they are lower volume motors and it makes more sense to say 400 or 1000 cc's rather than .4 or 1 liters.

As stated anything 300cc's and up should do the job you are requiring. Even say a 250cc 4x4 would but most wheelers that are 4x4 are going to be 300 and up. Get you a fuel injected 4x4 420 rancher and be done with it. I love my old 300 Honda but it sure is nice on a cold morning when I hop on Josh's FI rancher and it starts right up ready to rock and roll.


You can look up the horsepower for each model but its really not important and varies greatly. Some 1000'cc motorcycle engines are only 30-40HP while others are 100HP+ depending on the application.

I like the independent rear suspension on my Polaris, it can go anywhere I'm willing to and it's a LOT smoother ride than the straight axle machines. I've never replaced a belt & it runs like new after 12 years, but I do lube & change fluids regular, plus I keep it fairly clean. I've replaced brakes, torn boots and a thermostat switch is the only repairs & I did them myself pretty easily.

The belt concerns are way over stated. If you figure all atv except Honda and some Suzuki models use belts, they must have something figured out. I rode a Polaris 600 for about 2000 miles over the course of three years. No belt problems at all. All these guys brag on thier Polaris Rangers and Rhinos. Those are belt driven machines. I can understand if you have never been on a belt driven machine how you would be hesitant, but they are good machines and they do awsome in the mountains. They are always in the sweet spot of the rpm range.

Belts run things alot more powerful than an atv these days. No worse than the wear on a chain/sprocket IMO.

The only time I ever saw anyone Have trouble with The belt on The Polaris down here was when he got in to much water and it started to slip he also stopped and shut off which inturn flooded him out with water. We were using the shaft drive Yamaha's If they flooded out in the water we would just tip them up drain the water out of carb and keep on going. Other than that The belt drives do great.

Had the Rhino with a Belt drive and that thing was a Freakin BEAST never would slip so they do have them perfected or they would be going back with the shafts instead of getting away from them.

Just throwing this out there for those considering a new ATV for hunting. A lot of the hunters I know myself included, are switching over to Geo Trackers 4WD. You can pick them up for around $2500 in good shape. Slap a winch on the front, BF Goodrich All Terrain tires, rack on back, tow bar on front. Great gas mileage, will go most places, you can drive it on any WMA, warm and dry going to and from your stand. You can drive it back and forth to wherever you hunt. I sold my Yamaha Big Bear 400 and that's what we are hunting out of now, and it hasn't once chased me down a mountain.

NADA is on the higher end of the price spectrum. He's not doing you any favors. I would look at 350cc and up. Sure a smaller engine will still get the job done but sometimes you need a little more power to get the momentum going. Like has already been said, sometimes you can't just crawl up a hill for lack of traction.

ive been using a honda 250.
upsides to small atv are:
1. You can easily lift front or back end by hand (very useful)
2. being narrow you can drive between trees to pick up deer
3. easier to lift a buck on.
4. low cg's
5. safer if it flips on you

Downs sides to small atv.
1. motors are made cheaper (no external oil filter)
2. you can't go as fast up hill.
3. ruts are more difficult. lower ground clearance

if your looking at an atv for fun a big one is better, but for hauling deer I prefer a smaller one, If you dont believe me try driving a big heavy atv through the woods at night to pick up a deer. being able to move it by hand is useful.

Take some wheels and tires off a Foreman and put on that Recon and get you some more clearance.

Go all out and get you a Yamaha Grizzly 700 with power steering. I had smaller one but once I upgraded, I'd never be able to go back. And it only weighs 7 lbs more than the 400cc that I had

Where we hunt in some places you can't just crawl up a hill cause you'll flip backwards if you do. I tried going up a road CD climbed on our place when he was cutting our timber that scared me so bad I was literally shaking when I finally managed to find a place to stop and turn around without killing myself. These type inclines you literally have to put it in 2nd and go about as fast as you can just so you don't flip.