I’m looking to purchase a used ATV. It must be 4wd so I can use it to plow my driveway in the winter. I’m looking pricewise anywhere between 2500 and 4500ish. Reliability is my main concern.
I think a 08-09 Wolverine would fit my needs pretty well, and I like the appearance. I REALLY like the Renegades, but to reach my price point I think I’d be looking at a pretty beat unit. Polaris Sportsmans are pretty plentiful, however, I’ve had some bad luck with Polaris items in the past.
I know there has been a good amount of discussion in the past here. I’ve been looking at atv forums for answers, but it’s hard to get a straight opinion because everyone seems really biased, so I’m looking for real-life experience based recommendations.
Wolverines are fun. Decent power up top but not much down low. They feel light and are easy to throw around. I have a friend with one and also a friend with a grizzly 450. Both have been put threw hell and some how keep going. You will want to clutch it, very easy to burn a belt on stock clutching. The grizzly is also used to plow and has a front diff lock.
My vote would be Wolverine over Honda for fun factor. The Honda is better suited for work situations.
I have a friend looking to sell a '08 outlander 650. I’ll ask him what he wants for it.
I haven’t seen a Wolverine in person yet, but the only thing that concerned me in pictures was it looked like it lacked ground clearance compared to the Can-am’s, the Sportsman, and even the other Yamaha’s. I know my price range kind of puts me out of a lot of the market, but there is sooooo much garbage out there - 3,500-4,000 for broken plastics and a distinct engine tick isn’t going to do it for me…maybe it’s just the time of year driving up prices.
My buddy wants 5k for his '08 outlander 650. Its black, has a winch, new ties and 2500 miles. I will say though the red one posted from craigslist is a better deal with plow and low mileage.
You will be MUCH happier with the outlander than any wolverine or honda.
I always had Hondas. Great reliable machines. Started out on an '87 250.
I flipped a 400ex over and sunk it in a ditch(luckily stalled when I did it since manual clutch), pulled it out drained water out of airbox and exhaust, fired it up and drove it home. Did a couple oil changes to get rest of water out and rode it for years beating the crap out of it…no problem. Sold it and still saw it out a few times after.
The only major problem I ever had was with an older Recon, something broke in the transmission losing 5th gear (autoclutch) Honda covered 100% of repair cost even though it was out of warranty.
LOL. It plowed 800’ of driveway with a 15 car lot at home, and my work lot through the winter, drags 30’ trees I cut down at the house through the woods, and moves a 3000# equipment trailer around without breaking a sweat.
I had a Kawasaki Prairie 650 and loved it. It was 4x4 but with a swingarm not IRS so you could still powerslide around corners like a sport bike. For your purposes, you could probably pick up a Brute Force 650 in your price range.
Most of the use will be trail riding actually…My backyard backs up to woods that back up to Cayuga Creek. There is A LOT of riding from what I’m told. But yea, racing is not a concern to me at all, just something with enough power to plow the driveway, and with a winch so I don’t have to kill myself getting unstuck like I did with my old Blaster.
Ride them. See what you like. Grizzly did ride better than my base renegade. But my stock renegade would destroy the grizzly in every other aspect.
A brute is a decent option.
Brute will have the power but the front suspension is very soft on the straight rear axle… The independent rear brutes are a better option and have many options for suspension upgrades
Thanks for the input guys. I’m going to look at and most likely buy a 08 Wolverine 450 today with 1200 miles. In pictures appears to be in good condition and I’m at $2900 with the guy negotiating over the phone.
I think it’s a good balance between being relatively small and light / easy to ride and handle, and still having enough power to clear out my driveway.
Anything specific I should look for? Carb boot? Axle bearings? Shock recovery? Front wheel bearings?