Bout to buy my first ATV and am steering towards Honda, either the 420/450 or the 500. But I'm really struggling to make up my mind. I will be mostly pulling a trailed flail topper, spraying with Logic 135lt 3m boom and Slug Pelleting with Stocks pro jet 65.

Any advice, pros/cons, experiences etc etc would be most welcome.

 Thanks again

Mildred

several freinds of mine own 420s.There great!

i own a trx 300,i think its much better because it is much more manouverable and does what i need it to.Ive got no idea how fast it goes though(as the dial only goes as far as 30kmh,and the needel carrys on)

We have spread fertilizer with it,chain harowed 20/30 acers in the last year,the last owner went spraying with it,you can pull a topper with it.

It also doesnt cost much to run.

 have you thought about a Mule type of vehicle I have one arriving some time this week, they can pull abit more than a quad and they have 2 seats plus you can get road leagal versions.

 Callum

Thanks for the reply. Mule type ATV is not an option really as I have narrow footpaths and field edges to look after, also think i would go down compact tractor route if i went bigger than quad.

 Thansk again

Interesting reply thanks, i must say i hadnt considered a 420 until the weeekend and i was very imoressed with what a friend (atv attachment engineer) had to say about them. Only concern would be the the single shock rear suspension when carrying stuff on rear rack.

i carry 80/90 kg on back rack no probs with 60 on front

awkward 4wd engagement and drawbar on 420 otherwise spot on

I have an Arctic Cat(don't know if they are available in the UK) 500TBX.  It has a small truck type bed on it, but it is an ATV.  With the 4WD on it it has been one of the best things I ever spent money on.  With all that said, my experience is anything made by Honda is first rate, I don't see how you could go wrong with a Honda.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I went with the Honda TRX500. Should be a nice solid workhorse.

What attachments do you guys use? I'm either going logic or c-dax sprayer and probably stocks slug pelleter but im concerned about the weight of them

dont worry about weight on a honda trx 500.just make sure that you are a good enougph driver to handle it and always make sure you go through the right prosedure when working on hills.

Enduramax sprayers are good.Logic and C dax are somtimes over rated.

He his-self:

Suzuki 500 all independent suspension, very nice quad, but what do I know I just bought a Kawasaki 360 cause the price was irresistible.

Dont want to worry you , but the three people I know who bought a kawasaki 360 when they came out all had trouble with them and moved brand after . IIRC it was trouble with the automatic transmission not lasting very long. Might be better by now, but I would not buy one.

I went through all this checking the brands and availability, and we went for a polaris in the end, because a friend was selling one that had been driven less than 30 miles..............however, even though its not a brand I would have chosen, it has transformed how we do jobs! I wish we had had one 10 years ago!

The only problem is the towing, and I think that is inexperience rather than the design.

with towing you have to be carfull you dont overload your trailer,or transport in apropriot things.

When we got our quad bike 2 years ago towing made no odds on driving because ive been towing trailers on a quad bike since i was seven.

The quad bike would be useless if we couldnt tow trailers with it.

Mildred - only just found this post, 500 honda good tool built quite light though and may struggle to actually get all power down though, does help if well loaded, had an old 450 foreman before and it would run rings round the 500 when the going got a bit slippy. 420 auto's meant to be a hellish piece of kit, local dealer got 1 he said could try, but warned me to be prepared to part with £6100 if i tried it!!!!

 Im a bad trailer driver (and I dont mean that in the 'teenage' sense.........) we transport the odd bale, but its jerry cans of water I struggle with, becuase of the shift in load. However, now we can go on the road, its easier. I did wonder whether it was the trailer, and we needed a proper 'farm ' one, as ours is a bit of a bodge from a towsure one. Or is it just me/

pyjamafarmer:

Im a bad trailer driver (and I dont mean that in the 'teenage' sense

Excuse me?

im 16 and i can reverse,control and load a trailer properly.Ive been driving ATVs since i was 7 and i know plenty of people that can drive just as well as me.

i can drive an ATV far better than quite a few adults that i know.

 ha..I mean 'bad'  as in good.......if youre down with the kids you should know that!!!!! (or perhaps its one of those word like cool and groovy that are now not in use!!!!!) I dont doubt your driving ability though.................mine is just crap, and Im not in the first flush of youth... I dont actually know reverse , or park..............however have got to get the hang of the thing before son go's to college in september.............................. I would also imagine thet your better than most adults I know too...............

.I also must get the hang of the tractor before he go's, and that is a whole other story..........to get in it I use a milk crate, and to get out ,I just fling (rather like Mrs Doyle in father Ted....................)and to be truthful, I always scrape by bum on the door, and to be honest theres only one answer to that (looks at slimming club book sadly.)

tbh tho, all you need is practice because 4 months ago i could drive a tractor well but had never reversed a trailer in my life, now i can back a trailer into a doorway just big enough for it, so just practice is my advise.