I wasn't sure where to put this so here it is.
Are there any 4-wheeler riders on here?
For the last 10 years or so I've had it in my mind that trail riding on a 4-wheeler would be kind of fun. Not racing or going fast, just exploring. We have an OHV area in the Francis Marion NF that I've never been on because of a 54" width limit that basically requires a motorcycle or 4-wheeler. My Polaris Ranger is too wide.
There is also the Hatfield & McCoy trails in West Virginia which are several thousand miles of trails through the mountains. They look to be lots of fun as well.
With that in mind, I've been keeping an eye out for a 4-wheeler. Not too expensive, not too small. Something 4WD. Something in the 500+cc range. Something a big guy can ride without looking like a bear on a bike. I also wanted to be able to take the wife with me.
This popped up on the book of faces this past weekend. It's a Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI X2 Delux. Priced fair. Only 1360 miles and 175 hours. No snorkel and no paddle tires, so it hasn't been a mud bogger. According to the seller, it was ridden by his 70-year-old father on trails and such. It looked to be fairly gently ridden and well-maintained so I went and looked at it.
I'm partial to Polaris equipment. My Ranger 800 is a 2010 with 24k miles and almost 3000 hours. Pretty much all of that is beating around a farm doing farm work. It is just now starting to show its mileage and wear.
I guess I should say, I went and bought it. It is huge. Wife approved.
Holy crap this thing has a ridiculous amount of power. It should be a hoot if I don't kill myself. Helmets are ordered. We shall see how it goes.
That's a nice quad. Hatfield McCoy trails are great, can go for 10 days and not see 1/4 of them. We rent a multi cabin set up and do a guys trip a few times a year, it's a blast. I'm partial to Can Am myself, but know plenty of people with Polaris and no issues that I know of. I have a photo of my 1000 next to my classic mini, and they're pretty close in size.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
That's a load of machinery!
My main reasoning for going Polaris instead of CanAm is I have a Ranger 800 that has been bulletproof for the last 25k miles and 13 years. The Sportsman 800 should have about the running gear.
Those cabins look pretty nice. Where are they located? I've been debating finding an RV campground and taking the motorhome up there or just renting a cabin.
If you had to pick a HM trail, which is your preference? Any clue which of the trails are more scenic?
I haven't been on quads since high school, but I'm in the lowcountry and my golf cart is fun on trails that aren't total mud bogs. I'd be interested in exploring the trails on a mountain bike also!
In reply to Toyman! :
I think Polaris and Can Am are both good, it just happened a buddy had Can Am when I got into it. If he had Polaris, I'd have a load of Polaris :)
The cabins were on a section that is now closed (Little Coal River Section) as someone bought the mountain. Pinnacle Creek is by far the most scenic
dan0
HalfDork
1/27/24 7:34 p.m.
I've had a few over the years.
Brute Force 650, Suzuki Z400, Honda 400ex, Yamaha Grizzly 700 EPS, Polaris Predator 500, and now a Brute Force 750.
I was on a pretty decent sized forum that the organizers decided to stop putting effort into. I took over the hosting, but the one that was paying for the domain name let it expire, thinking that I could just easily purchase it. He did this after I had emailed him for months trying to get him to transfer it to me. Well low and behold a scalper bought it and even 10 years later it's still for sale. Price has come down to $1581, back when the site was bigger it was listed for 10k.
My current ATV I bought off a friend on the forum after he let it sit for two years after buying a newer machine. Still not perfect but it was hard to beat a $500 ATV.
In reply to dan0 :
Does the Acty or ATV have a bigger engine??
I must say, this thread really makes me miss my ATV. I had an old Polaris Scrambler 400 that was very reliable, went anywhere, and was a ton of fun. I have an ATV park nearby, and it was great to be able to ride on trails knowing that you weren't trespassing. As I got older, I had less interest in speed and more interest in going out and touring in the woods. I really wanted to take it to Hatfield & McCoy with some friends, but the trip never materialized. I eventually sold it, but still peruse Craigslist for a nice touring machine that the wife could ride on.
In reply to dan0 :
That's awesome. We need a picture of the ATV hauling the Acty next!
