Suzki or Yamaha

Folks,

I've been hunting for most of my life, and now that I'm 56 yrs old the hiking in is getting hard.  I have been riding street and dirt machines since I was 16.  I'm planning on buying a new ATV 4x4 in the 450 to 550 range.  I have not kept up with who is making the better machine for the hunter getting into the mountains or lower woodlands down south in North Carolina.  I need a good 4x4 with automatic trans and good low and mid range power in 450 to 550. Any help or suggestion please.  

both are good manufacturers, but my personal favorite is yamaha.  i think the grizzly would do you very well  
Keep it RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!

Thanks Wolf1, what is the 450 a strong enough machine to handle mountains and swamp lands? or should I go for the 550.  I'm 6'2" 265 lbs

Jon  

the 450 would be strong enough but when was the last time you heard someone say "my atv has too much power"
buy the 550 extra power is always good!!!  
Keep it RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!

just do NOT buy the Yamaha Rhino! Unless you are ready to get hurt or die.
yamaha-rhino-information.com  

yeah it sure beats the polaris ranger catching fire in your garage and killing your whole family.

I have ridden the rhino, and it you push any machine past it's limits then you are going to get injured most likely.

ride responsibly  
Keep it RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!

Guys,

All machines are just that, Machines.  If you push beyond the design and capabilities of a vehicle or fail to maintain and inspect your ride each and everytime you ride, chances are it will bite you in the butt.  

Can't go wrong with a Yamaha Grizzly. My uncle has one and its awesome. He has one that doesn't have power steering either and I hear the power steering makes it even better.  

yamaha and suzuki are both great machines.

while polaris just has too many defects and recalls to trust them.
polaris has three times the recalls that the other atv manufacturers have.

so it's not pushing it past it's ability or taking care of it properly.

geeze we aren't 3 months into the 2010 year and they already have recalls on the 2010 models.

here's just one of the latest recalls for polaris copied from the consumer product safety commission.....



The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: 2009-2010 Polaris All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

Units: About 8,500

Manufacturer: Polaris Industries Inc., of Medina, Minn.

Hazard: The front suspension ball joint stem can separate from the steering knuckle and cause the rider to lose steering control, posing a risk of injury or death to riders.

Incidents/Injuries: Polaris has received 19 reports of incidents involving the recalled ATVs. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves model year 2009 and 2010 Polaris Sportsman ATVs  
Keep it RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!

personally if i had purchased a 2009 or 2010 polaris sportsman and was told to stop riding it immediately i would be super mad.

the polaris atv's are really expensive, and you dont expect the ball joint to seperate suddenly while riding and pose a risk of injuring you or killing you.

It seems the polaris atv's have more severe recalls than other atv's.

before it was steering stems breaking..causing you to lose control of steering.

Personally i dont want to lose control of my atv suddenly because it was defective.  the places i ride if i can't control the atv 100 percent of the time it could definately cause death.

riding mountain trails, and riding on the track.  doesn't take but a split second to go over the side of a ridge, or lose steering control just before a jump.

and even the 2009 and 2010 model polaris atv's there is still a fire hazard recall.

8 years in a row and they still have a fire hazard recall....
and every year for 8 years.
2003-2010 the consumer product safety comission reports a recall for fire hazard with polaris atv's......

can they not get it right? are they even paying attention?

do they think it is ok to ignore the fire hazard and just issue a recall every year..

most of us park our atv's in the garage, which means it could catch fire in your garage after you put it up and burn your house down.

then there's the potential loss of life due to your house catching fire, but even if you survive the fire, there's the loss of your valuables, your pets, items that cannot be replaced... amnd if it catches fire while riding it then, you have to worry about burns and scars.
and with a fuel tank sitting on top it can cause serious injury to the rider in a hurry.

We have already had one poster on here have his house catch fire where the fire dept. reported that the fire was caused by his polaris he just bought.
and of course polaris denied it was their atv that started the fire......

i mean is polaris now a fire expert that can over rule the fire dept. experts?

after a while it gets to where enough is enough.

iam native american, and very proud of our country, i seriously would love nothing more than to be able to say "buy american" it's the right product.
but i simply in good conscience can't.

in the past polaris has had to pay out millions in law suit settlements to injured riders and to the family of riders who have died because of these defects.  
Keep it RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!