ATV Florida Forum

im looking at buying a new bike to use mainly for the mud. what is the top 5 bikes for that? new or a few years old

Polaris Sportsman 500 or larger (I Like the polaris')
Kawasaki 650 or larger (Prairie or Brute Force) The prairie is straight axle.
Artic Cat 650
Honda Foreman. I think the Honda guys don't like the Rincon as much as the foreman but they may chime in. Keep in mind that the foreman is a straight axle.
Yamaha Grizzly
And some people like the Suzuki King Quad

I would say get an independent rear suspension with whatever you choose.

BE CAREFULL OF I.R.S YES THEY ARE A MUCH BETTER, SMOOTHER RIDE THAN THE STRIGHT AXLE HOWEVER THEY TEND TO PE A PAIN TO GET UN STUCK FROM THE MUD. IF YOU ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE A WENCH IS NOT USABLE YOU BETTER HAVE SOMEONE WITH A GOOD TOW STRAP AND A STRONG 4X4 OR AN ARMY OF MEN TO LIFT YOUR BACK END UP AND FREE IT UP. I HAVE A BF 650 STRT AXLE ITS NOT EASY GETTING IT OUT OF STUCK SITUATIONS, BUT BELEIVE IT OR NOT I HAVE BEEN STUCK SIDE BY SIDE WITH A POLARIS SPORTSMAN, WE WERE BOTH GOING THROUGH SOME REAL NASTY STUFF ALL DAY AND FINNALY OUR LUCK RAN OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A 100 YARD MUD FLAT, HE AND I WERE ABLE TO GET MY BIKE UN STUCK IN JUST A FEW MINUTES , UNFORTUNATLY WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET HIS OUT EVEN WITH MINE PULLING AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS WE FONNALY WERE ABLE TO GET A PRETTY BAD A$$ TRUCK IN AND GET HIS OUT, HE HIMSELF SAID AFTER THAT EPISODE HE WILL NEVER OWN IRS AGAIN. JUST MY TAKE AND STORY, USE IT WELL, GOOD LUCK!!

May be so but that IRS has more ground clearance then the straight axles. You are not gonna be tugging on a 650cc quad very long anyways in my opinion. I like my sportsman IRS. First thing to do is get some good mud tires and you will be able to go in two wheel drive where you could only dream of going in 4wd with stock tires also.

Huh? You probably couldn't lift it out because Polaris' are so darn heavy.

I've had straight axle and IRS, straight axles when stuck tend to get caught in suction and are a major pain to lift out, IRS keeps all that stuff out of the way of mud suction.

Hands down best ATV in the mud????????????????????????






































































1983 Honda ATC 70 with Buckshot Mudders.   :-*

Ill just go with what he said. We have a sportsman too and it is great.

the foreman,non ES.

i had a honda rubicon 500 with mud bug's on it and it would go anywhere you wanted it too.

My Outlander 800 with 29.5's snorkel, skids, lift..The works..  :)

Oh yea, its for sale =P  ;)

yamaha bigbears are awesome mud machines, they are geared extremely low so they can turn oversized tires and pull through the nastiest of nasty.

Arctic Cats, eaither the  650H1 or 500manuel. H1s will turn 29.5 laws stock easy has most gc and quite a bit of lifts are around for Arctic Cats. 500s will turn the 29.5s with very few mods.

Ha Ha....This question is like asking someone...."Which is better, Blondes, Brunettes, Redheads or Black hair.

hahahahaha

The one your riding, if your not playing its no fun at all.   Doesn't matter to me if I'm on my Polaris 700, the wifes 2wd 250 or my son's Honda 125.  If I'm spinning 'em in the mud I'm smiling. ;D ;D ;D

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This is no BS.  My Prairie 400 4x4 with Vipers has never been left behind.  The bottom line is get good tires and use good technique and you will do as well as anybody else on any other machine.

i personally perfer honda but, they are ALL good. find a sweet lookin one, get the right tires, and go play. we have 2 ranchers, a recon and a 300ex. all we love the ranchers for the mud but they are kinda small so if you want huge tires get a bigger one. it is more fun to play on one in mud than sit here and debate for 6 months. me and my dad counted and we have had 21 bikes in 2 years. we got into the sport in november 2004. if you dont like the one you get, get another one.

ARCTIC CAT 500 MANUAL.... TEST AFTER TEST THIS ONE BEETS THEM ALL IN THE MUD.




    BUT.................... YOU BEST KNOW A GOOD RE :oPAIR SHOP

110cc w/ 21" cheveron paddle tires - extended axles.

200s w/ 22" swampers

unbeatable.

No offense Honda guys but most of the Hondas don't even have low gear and if you mud ride that is important. When you consider what they cost and the lack of options that most other ATV's have that they don't and how little power they have in their respective class it makes it a bit more obvious. Artic Cat's have the most GC and can fit and turn most any tire with little or no work. Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki have some good models with low range, diff lock and some very nice features that handle the mud pretty good. Polaris I've seen nothing but problems and most will steer clear of agressive tires as they break too many parts.

/slipping into fireproof suit...

Bill

I agree Bill... :ThumbsUp.gif

Ok Lets see how many owners of any brand has got mud tires on their quads or still running something close to stock. Remember to put the brand and size.

I have a 500 with 26inch mudbugs and one 500 with 28inch dirt devel XTs.     NEXT

I have a '99/'06 Wolverine/ATP w/ warn 424 riding on 26x12x12 Maxis Sur Tracks all the way around.

You want a bike that'll go through anything weight can be a factor as to what to buy  Watch Mtg_man's kids on a recon w/ mud tires and they go through everything the big bikes go through.  Mine will do the same but I am not a heavy rider and my bike weighs almost half what the 500cc+ bikes weigh. 

If you're going honda I'd go w/ the rubicon aka foreman over a rincon.  Suzuki I'd say King Quad, Twin Peaks or Vinson.  Kawasaki Brute Force is powerful.  Yamaha I say go w/ a Rhino.  Avoid larger tires on certain year grizzley's they snap axles.  I know nothing about artic cat or polaris to suggest.

Only one thing is consistant w/ mudding....tires make all the difference in the world!

Mudbugs are not an agressive tire Tony. Outlaws, EDL's and Mudzillas are agressive tires. If I recall you've said on more than one occasion you won't run Outlaws because they just break parts.

Bill

Well, I think we need some definition clearing up. Agressive compared to stock or compared to mud only tires. I say any tire other than stock is agressive. Although I find this whole topic stuipid. You mind as well rename it to what you drive. Very few people are honest enough to say that another brand is better then what they drive even if it is. Also personal exprience is to consider. A friend of mine has a 96 sportsman (which is the year it came out) and he does regular maitnence and he just replaced a few parts for the first time other than filters and stuff like that. So I say get a quad thats in your budget, get some good tires, and go riding. They are all good quads. There isnt one brand thats just horrible and one is the best. Just factor in price and upgrades and all that and you will have the best mud quad.

Nope Bill, You have a set of Mud Bugs also. There plenty aggressive, just not as much as outlaws. I go almost anywhere and then some with them. The only difference that I have seen that I may want outlaws are in Georgia where its all gray clay, and the extra side tread would kake the difference in those ruts when you bottom out. I may have said that most people running 800s have outlaws and break things because the 800 has so much power that they break things after they get in the thick mud and go down. I love the mud bugs and have followed them all. most of the time in two wheel drive.

Technically I don't have them yet they are on order for the Rhino and they are more for trail riding but still have to be somewhat capable of going through some mud. They aren't even close to as agressive as Outlaws and if you think you can follow Outlaws then you aren't following the right people or sticking to the easy stuff. As for Polaris breaking parts it doesn't matter what they have in them they still break way too often. I've owned one before and I seen more than my fair share of them broken.

MadMudder, the whole point of the thread is to give experiences that is why the question is asked. I don't own or never have owned an Arctic Cat or Kawi but from my experience with others I know they are very capable machines. I have owned and still do own a Suzuki and now a Yamaha as well.

Bill

Bill, You need to come to L-cross sometimes. Most will tell you that I will Put mine in the bad stuff. Maybe it will warm up so we can get there a little more often. Plus since its so far for us we try to go to the adult events. Polaris works for me and does a good job at it. Gonna get a yamaha rhino next but thats only because they are a little smaller then the ranger and they are very good vehicles. Gonna keep the polaris' also.

I must ask why? I have 4 cats and they never go to the shop or have problems(as of yet)

 You must be blessed ;)

Hopefully it stays that way ;D

Well i guess we all have our own opinions on which is best. I personally like my rubicon with 27x12x12 Mudzillas all the way around.This thing goes everywhere leaves all others behind.as for the rincon well my rancher with 26x12x12 mudlites goes better than the rincon and goes way more places without getting stuck. Put a jet kit in it and did not lose power with these tires. But, hey thats just my 2 cents

Im not sure why this got bumped back up but we had a set of 27X12X12 bearclaws installed on our polairs and OMG what a difference. I dont want to go aginst my own comment about saying what you drive but from personal exprience, but, all quads have their faults. The reason you dont see allot of hondas in the shop is that they dont have allot of moving parts? Whats going to break on a SRA? Unless you snap the axle or something then your fine. Our polairs has had no problems since the tires but we have had to put new bearings in the rear and a new axle. But my dad hit a steel 1/2 foot thick burried telephone cable at about 6,000rpms. That might have had something to do with it. ::) But still, if your going to play in the mud stuff is likeley going to break. Most hondas are very basic. Its a air cooled engine and a solid axle. Not much to break. But not allot of ground clerace either. The polaris and arctic kittys that have the irs have to worry about ujoints and cv joints and axles and everything else. But the trade off is more GC. The bottom line is that every quad has its draw backs. If there was a perfect quad then everybody would own it and there would be no need for discussions like this. But there isnt. If you want basic and reliable then honda is down right the best. If you are after more serious performance and things like low range and more GC then a polairs or arctic cat is the better choice. Oh yea another thing to think about is the fact that polaris's 4x4 system is fully locked. The honda system is limited slip. See its crap like this you can talk about till your blue in the face and your fingers fall off. The best advice is just to get something 4x4, put a good set of mud tires on it and go ride. I think thats something we can all agree on? ;)