Oro-Pepita Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I had a 2002 Honda Foreman Quad and sold it for a Jeep. Now I'm thinking of going back to a Quad. I'm not up to date what is a good for prospecting. I dry wash and metal detect desert areas mostly.Thank you Oro Pepita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shasta gold hunter Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Solid rear axle if you want stability. Independent rear suspension if you want comfort/performance at speed or for long rides. Can't go wrong with Honda. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenminer Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Never owned a Honda, but I have put tens of thousands of miles on 4 wheelers. Owned Kawasaki, Yamaha, Arctic Cat and Suzuki. Hands down the most durable, reliable and comfortable I have ever owned were Suzukis ! I had one King Quad with 40,000 miles before I sold it for parts. Currently have another with almost 11,000 miles. Plus an Arctic Cat 400 with 9,000 miles. The worse machine for maintenance/repair was the Kawasaki. Close behind was the Yamaha Grizzly! I think there are a lot of good machines out now, but the above is my personal observation. Take it for what it is worth to ya. Good luck in your choice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelton Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I'm an owner of Quad Workshop, so if you want to go to metal prospecting on quad, go with Yamaha Grizzly 700. Easiest maintenance machine, cheap parts, good stablility, fuel consumption, plush suspenssion. Look for 550 version. Price will be lower and you safe some $ on fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZMoney Bob Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have an older independent suspension Arctic Cat 500 and it's been a very good machine. I don't think you can go too far wrong with any of the name brand machines. I like that Arctic Cat's now making their own engines in the US and not using Suzuki engines any more. The Suzuki's were good engines, I just like the idea of a US engine. If I were looking for another quad, I'd consider looking at used machines. Seems like a lot of folks are selling their perfectly good low mileage light usage quads in order to get a new side by side. Side by sides are great but are usually wider and longer and can't go where an old school quad can go. Tires on new quads don't seem to be top of the line. If you get a used one, part of your savings could be spent on better tires. Also, make sure you can solidly mount a receiver hitch to the front and rear. Hauling a drywasher and buckets of concentrate around is a lot easier with an off road atv trailer. The steering on my quad is awkward and heavy when I have a heavy load strapped to the front rack. I don't see the need for more than 400 or 500cc. Gas mileage can be important and bigger engines almost always use more fuel. They also make for heavier quads. Traction off road is the limiting factor and extra HP doesn't do much good when you can't get all that power to the ground. I use mine mostly as a slow speed tractor. If I want to go fast I have motorcycles. The good part about getting a new or newer ATV is power steering! Wish I had it. - Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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