Warlock Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I am looking to buy myself a second hand or new quad bike, i have seen them brand new 250cc adult for £895. Now the plan is to use this for riding to my permissions with my kit and using it for lamping at night and general pigeon shooting during the day, as i only live 5 miles away from my permission. Is there anything in perticular i should look out for when buying one as i want to ride it on public roads (i have a full car licence) i have virtually zero knowledge of quads so guidance is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 If you have some time i could rattle on a bit about Quads now an expert so follows my top tips based on bitter experience. 1, go for the best you can afford Honda is and will remain the number one 2, 4 wheel shaft drive is the only option for the shooting man 3, a good make second hand is better than a cheap one new 4, if you buy cheap expect poor performance as quality costs 5, anything that relies on a drive belt to transfer power is prone to breakdown This my Honda that replaced a cheaper make that kept breaking down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lee Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I would second what Pavman says and go with the Honda everytime. We have 2 fourmans on our permission. Both have been really good on the mechanical side and if and when they need service parts, they are easy to get hold of and cheap enough. I used to help out in the bike shop occasionally who I used to race for and they were always getting the cheap chinese **** in for repairs. Bits just fall off them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie 1 Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 If you have some time i could rattle on a bit about Quads now an expert so follows my top tips based on bitter experience. 1, go for the best you can afford Honda is and will remain the number one 2, 4 wheel shaft drive is the only option for the shooting man 3, a good make second hand is better than a cheap one new 4, if you buy cheap expect poor performance as quality costs 5, anything that relies on a drive belt to transfer power is prone to breakdown This my Honda that replaced a cheaper make that kept breaking down! wot he said! lol honda is the best quad around. we now use the same quad that pavman has and it is brilliant, before hand we had a honda forman which was also very good but it had alot of trouble with the hand gear selector and it tended to stick in a gear but i have heard from people who have the foot gear version this doesn't happen. so stick to honda, is my advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6shot Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 (edited) pavman :look: check this out its all ex army stuff. http://www.mod-sales.com/direct/vehicles/,...Motorcycles.htm Edited February 18, 2009 by 6shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Honda all the way I have a 15yr old Foreman 400 and I have only just had the brakes redone. But the 420 like Pav's got has to be the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiho Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 on our farm we have a honda forman 5 450cc and a forman 7 500cc both excellent quads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiho Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 (edited) Pavman if i was you i would cover up those bars on the rear rack of you quad with some old carpet or something like that we had a dog break its leg in them once Edited February 18, 2009 by hiho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 i have a honda forman and the estate has one as well cant say how good they are ours are doing over 3000 hours a year and still going verry well we had a track rod come off but thats it.. also on a lomping note if its a rifle your useing then you have to turn the engine off to take the shot of you rattal all over the place unless your stood up that is as its been said get the best you can i would go forman and their fast too we can get 70k out of ours!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapwing Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Bear in mind that most quads are not designed for highway use and can be a bit hairy at speed; also to comply with highway regs your vehicle needs to have a differential. As far as I remember from my training course only about two of the top end makes actually comply (apparently not Honda), which is not much of an issue unless you are stopped by a copper who knows the finer details (or deciding liability in an accident...?) Whatever you get it is well worth paying for a training course; they can be awesome bits of kit, but to get the most, and safely, out of them is not something you will learn otherwise. Most Agricultural Training Groups or ag colleges run them on a regular basis. I would definitely agree that good spec secondhand is better than new cheap; the better the suspension geometry etc the more stable the machine. We have a Honda Foreman; pretty reliable for pottering around, but I would not call it a real heavy duty workhorse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I've had a Honda TRX300 for several years, and I am very pleased with it. I am however now looking at 4x4 Kawasaki Mule, any comments? webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 (edited) I've had a Honda TRX300 for several years, and I am very pleased with it. I am however now looking at 4x4 Kawasaki Mule, any comments? webber The new Kawasaki mule 4010 is really good, but there is no option for a road legal kit or electric bed dump and it only has 2.8 inches of suspension travel where your honda I think has about 5 inchs of travel, so its gonna be a bit bumpy I personally would go for a Cub Cadet or a John Deere HPX or XUV(both diesel) Cub Cadet John Deere Gator :blink: Edited February 19, 2009 by EdwardtheloneShooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Thanks for the links and comments. I'm afraid that it shall have to be a used one for me, I'll keep my eyes pealed on ebay. webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Pavman if i was you i would cover up those bars on the rear rack of you quad with some old carpet or something like that we had a dog break its leg in them once umm a good idea thanks for that, I lift her out to look for bunnies i cant pick, plus she loves the ride about the fields as it beats sitting in the run, I take my shottie and hide poles out on the rack it works great to get to the rape fields Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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