Howdy dogbrowser-ga,
I have owned my ATV (a 1998 Kawasaki Prairie 400 4x4) a couple of
years, and have been on several rides with a club that is local to me,
and the general
consensus among the experienced riders is that Honda makes the most reliable
ATVs.
A check on Epinions.com supports that viewpoint with lots of 5 star ratings
of Honda's ATV products.
http://www.epinions.com/search/?submitted_form=searchbar&search_string=honda&tax_name=ATVs&dyn_nav=0&dyn_nav_id=&search_vertical=t159521
"Pros: Ergonomics, reliability, durability, drivability, traction and resale
value are excellent!"
"Pros: Off Camber Stability, Reliability, Durability, Price, Ground Clearance"
"Pros: Well built, extremely durable, low center of gravity
Cons: Honestly, none that I can think of."
"Pros: Utility, reliability, stability
Cons: I'll let you know when I find one..."
The newer models of Honda ATVs should be even more reliable, due to their
introduction of the "Hondamatic" transmission to some models of their ATVs.
More on it can be found on the ATV Magazine web site.
http://www.atvnews.com/output.cfm?id=33427
"The Hondamatic, however, is inside a compact and sealed unit. ... It is
quiet, maintenance-free, protected from outside contaminants, resilient
and features authentic engine braking."
This Mississippi Wildlife Forum area shows some other personal opinions
of the Honda ATV line.
http://www.mdwfp.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9260&whichpage=2
"I know numerous ATV owners (probably like most of you) and owned them
myself. From my experience, not published specs, the HONDA will last you
longer and be more reliable in the LONG RUN."
However, buying an ATV is a matter of person preference as well. The
Jacobs' ATV Adventures website has this nice "2005 ATV Buyers Guide."
http://www.jacobsatvadventures.com/buyers_guide/overview_page/guide_pg1.html
"The ATV market has exploded and the choices of machines are huge and it
can be very confusing."
The above web site also has done a survey of ATV users, and here is one
statistic that might interest you.
http://www.jacobsatvadventures.com/equipment_directory/atv_machine_evalu/Group_5/group_5_compare_prt1_pg1.html
"What do you like about your machine the most?
...
Polaris Sportsman 400 owners: 11% - Relability
[Yamaha] Kodiak 450 owners: 7% - Relability
[Honda] Foreman 433 owners: 45% - Relability
..."
If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask.
Search strategy:
Personal experience.
Google search on: "most reliable" ATV
://www.google.com/search?q=%22most+reliable%22+ATV
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher |
