Looking at a new ATV and have narrowed the search down to these two. I have read several reviews on both and still have not made the final decision. Any opinions from owners?

Thanks

I've only had Hondas but have two good friends,one had the prairie and abused the crap out of it and the only problem he had with it was front end work that was a factory recall.The other is a outfiter and has a Yamaha ,can't remember the model but has had nothing but problems with it.Hope this helps.

I thought the grizzly is a 660. I have had a 99 model grizzly 600. It was a great ATV. sold it for money for a lawyer.

Got and 05 Yamaha 450 Kodiak now with 300 hours on it and not one bit of trouble. The new yamahas have power steering as an option I think. Might be something that could give you trouble.

MY DAD HAS A PRAIRIE 360,AND HAS HAD IF FOR 2 YEARS. HE ALSO HAS A POLARIS 500HO, AND A HONDA. MY FOURWHEELER IS HAVING THE MOTOR REBUILT RIGHT NOW, SO WHEN I NEED TO BORROW ONE FROM MY DAD, I TAKE THE 360. I LIKE IT BEST.

BUT CHOOSING FROM IT AND MY ARCTIC CAT 500, I CHOOSE MINE.

I bought the Praire 360, in 06, brand new. I like it, and no problems with it

Why not go with the cheaper and smaller 250 models? It seems all I see these days are the 500cc and up models & I wonder if this does not defeat the purpose of an ATV. The smaller models are easier to turn, load, will get you into more tight places and out of mud due to the lighter weight. They will still go 40+ mph which is more than fast enough and carry any adult without any problems. My Kawasaki Mule with the dual bench seats only has a 660cc engine. I have had 5 guys in the Mule and it ran without any problems straight up our steepest hills in the Hill Country.

BIGGER is better!!!

No not always, like I said, I had the 660, all it did was burn more gas than the 450 I have now. Didnt haul any more weight, or go any faster. Simple is best, mine is automatic, with push button 4 wheel drive. I take care of it, and it stays in the garage, but it is used alot.

Friend of mine has a mule like Letsgo is talking about, that thing is a HOSS. We made a hard top for it and a high rack bench in the back, carries 6 people comfortably and got a good shooting rest for those piggies.

Honestly I know bigger is not always better.

My dad has a 350 Rancher and I like it just as well as my Rubicon. If I had it to do all over again I would have bought the 350 Rancher over the 500 Rubicon.

The auto transmission of the Rubicon is nice and the ride of the Rubicon is smoother than the Rancher but when you come right down to it they both are going to do the same thing.

I have never found any thing that my Rubicon can do that his Rancher cant.

i used to have a 2000 model arctic cat 250 2wd that went everywhere and i only got stuck once. lighter is better, unless you have some heavy loads then a bigger machine is needed. also check out the new 366 arctic cat. i sold my 500 and am wanting to go back to a 300-400 class machine. the new arctic cat 366 is pretty light.

Well my buddy and I use his Grizzly 660 and its wonderful. Never had a lick of trouble with and always been very dependable. My parents have a Polaris 400 and its a great frouwheeler except that polaris's have horrible turning radius's. That and the reverse is kind of weird on the Polaris. Yamaha will always be my choice for a ATV as far as power,towing, plowing and just reliability I think there the best. The new models even have power steering!

That yamaha 350 engine has been around forever. It's a very solid engine and you should not have any issues with it. I bought my 350 Bruin from a guy who buys them every month at the auctions... he said he always looks for that 350 from yamaha b/c he never has any issues with them coming back. He sells hundreds of these things a year. Mine is a 2005 and runs perfect and starts right up.

I have a 01 prarie 360 and have had no problems whatsoever..Had the recall done for free..For some reason it has a pretty tight steering which I like..prolly cause its all time 4wd..I do not do regular maintenence other than blow out the air filter during the dusty months...

I would go yamaha. Mine is a little older now but at the time ground clearance was higher and had a drive shaft and was air cooled. I just dont like a bunch of excess parts.

I recently bought my first atv and after talking with a lot of owners, independent repair shops,and multi-line dealerships, two brands rose to the top consistantly and those two were Honda and Yamaha. Both brands have a world of experience building the mid-size atv's and have most of the problems worked out of their units. Remember some folks can tear up a steel anvil given the chance. I bought a used Yamaha 660 grizzly(auto transmission) because my wife said that should something happen to me while we were in the woods (heart problems) she wanted to be able to get me out or at least be able to go get help. My choice would have been the Yamaha Big Bear with the manual transmission.

I've got the 07' Kawasaki Prairie 360 4x4 and love it. I can hall almost anything around with it on dry ground but it will get a little bogged down when pulling in the mud. Without pulling a trailor, it has gone through everything I've asked it to.

I second you comments on the Yamaha Big Bear! I have a '99 Big Bear 350 (manual, shaft driven) and have never had an issue. It has gone through every possible type of terrain imaginable! One time, I was brushing a duck blind and was motoring through water about 2 ft deep when I hit a creek that was about 8 ft deep. The only thing sticking out of the water were the handlebars! Just kept the hammer down in low gear and it never once bogged down! Looked like a paddle-wheeler! If you ever wonder if a 4 wheeler will float, there's your answer.....

I own an '05 Suzuki Ozark 250 that has gone through every kind of terrain immagineable! It has a tow rating of 750 pounds, yet it's light enough to easily get it unstuck from mud. My dad has an '86 Honda 200SX. We have both ridden this quad (450+ pounds) at the same time to go lay out some corn. It had plenty of power even with that big of a load.

Smaller ATV's are more manueverable, can go down narrower trails, get better fuel mileage, and they are typically easier to work on.

for the $$$$ you spend on that you might as well get the 6x6 argo

I have an 07 Arctic Cat 650 H1 and is one of the nicest machines i have ridden. More ground clearance, 2WD, 3WD w/ limited slip, and 4wd.

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