Opinions on a beater ATV

I've wanted to pick up a small utility ATV for a while. I'm too cheap to buy something new and I don't want to spend tons of money because I probably won't use it much.

I'm just looking for something small that I could put on my small trailer (under 800lbs) or the back of my truck and I could use to go farther in the woods. It's also nice to keep the mechanicals "old-school" which are easier for a not so mechanically inclined person such as myself to work on.

I saw this on CL and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on these:
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mcy/3114719447.html

1988 HONDA FOURTRAX 300 4X4
REMOTE WINCH
RUNS GREAT NO PROBLEMS

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the old honda 300's were bullet proof the one draw back was the pinion carrire dering would go out and parts are unobtainum now how ever i have herd that bering whear houses can size them out and get you replacements. another good find is the bombardier traxter they are prone to having a starter sprag going out and they can be had cheap because the dealer wants so much to repair them. the reality is in a weekend and a couple hundred bucks you can do it your self.

dds said:

the reality is in a weekend and a couple hundred bucks you can do it your self.

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That's the kind of machine I want!

Thanks for the tips on the parts - I was hoping a Honda would have better parts availability.

those are older machines but in bush alaska ther were the work horse for many years and gave honda atv's the rep they now have the ranchers with the old style toe shifters are also very dependable and have great power to weight.

My daughter had a well used 125 fourtrax from around 1984 or so. I put brake pads on it and little else over the years. One of my guys son's are riding it today. It was a simple chain drive soid reear axle though, no differential.

I miss it because I could load into the back of my truck by myself witout ramps. Just pick up the front wheels and put them on the tail gate and go around back and lift and push it right in. At least that is how it used to go, haven't done this for some time. At 52, I don't think it would be a good idea anymore. We use a trialer for our Arctic Cat 400 4WD

I wouldn't give up on the old Honda idea just yet. How many CC's??

Regards, Kirk

It looks like it's 282cc's

I found a review that looks pretty favorable:

http://www.off-road-outdoors.com/Honda-fourtrax.html

It seems like you can get most parts on ebay so it may not be that bad.

I might have to look at this one.

if you want reveiws look at what is in use in bush alaska nobody has cars but most familys have atv's also its not uncommon to see one that has 3k plus on the odometer in the bush they are lucky to get an oil change and carry whole familys around on the racks so if they stand up to that abuse than thy will take what ever the weekend warrier can throw at it.the new favorite in the villages is the yamahas in my opinion the polaris products are the worst, although they do have the best ride quality

I have older Honda ATV's, both still going strong. A 95 300 Four trax and a 99 400ES. Both have been rock solid dependable. I have had to replace batteries but that is it. I have 1.5k on the odometer of the 400, the 300 doesn't have an odometer.