who makes the least noisy best quad atv
Equipment
I'm in the market for a new quad and currently have 2003 grizzly 660 and 2001 Polaris sportsman 400. I find myself driving the 400 sportsman more often just for the quite less noisy ride. Both bikes are great in there day but I want a new quad.
If you had your choice of quads and factored in durability first, quite a close second and power third I don't want a slouch of a bike but don't need a powerhouse 800 either what would you buy if it was a ten year bike commitment.
Honda hands down! Though having worked for them over thirty years I am a bit biased! BUT....in that time you also get a pretty good idea what is crap! The most quiet,most reliable...Honda. I have an '05 Rancher bought in late 94. Nothing but oil changes! 0 issues of any kind. BUT.....stay away from electric shift regardless your choice!
This question was best answered by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers...."use the quads God gave you." Had to throw that in. ;-)
Nothing against motorized ATV's (when used responsibly). I do appreciate your desire for the quieter ride.
I have an '04 Suzuki Eiger 400 that is pretty darn quiet. Might have a look at their King Quad 500 or 750.
I've owned a bunch and the king 750 is pretty quiet, road a polaris 550xp, loud, same as the kawi's.
Polaris is the most comfortable, Honda is the most reliable and Yamaha falls somewhere in between. They all make some noise.
This is not me - it is test after test after test comparing quads from biased and unbiased groups.
I like my Yamaha's but if I used my quad to make a living, Ie... guide/outfitter - It would be a Honda.
Kawasaki and Yamaha are the only two that have locking differentials. So if you want a true 4x4 quad, then those are your choices. Polaris aren't even in the same ballpark when it comes to a serious ATV. I'm currently running two Yamaha Grizzly 700s, 2012. These get used pretty hard for our 5 month long Lion season here in CO. all winter. Get an aftermarket exhaust if you want to quiet them down. Stealh exhaust is one I've heard about.
I also have a Honda. But I don't think it is as quiet as it should be. I believe after market exhaust is the way to go. The starters are suspect on the though.
I like the guys comment that he bought a 05 in late 94.
I started my outfitting business with Hondas and after visiting the local Polaris dealership many times (it's my fuel stop) I can't afford anything but my Hondas. I've never wished for any more than my 500cc. motors and believe the more fuel the bigger ones burn, the more noise they are going to produce. Breakdowns...what's that?
My Honda rancher with an after market stealth muffler is the quietest one I've ever heard. I've ridden up on feeding elk before. It will carry out a whole quartered bull.
As far as durability and reliability - it's a Honda. Third one I've owned. When we're out cowboying on the plains, the guys with Polaris, Yamahas, Suzukis carry tools and a tow rope. There are always breakdowns of some type with somebody else. I carry Gatorade and snacks in my Honda basket and keep on pushing cows.
I just bought a Honda Rubicon and sold a Kawasaki Brute. The Honda is far quieter and I am about to add The Silent Rider Muffler system to it. Just got delivered last week so can't say how well it works yet but I think any little bit helps.
Ya....even working for Honda it's hard to buy an '05 in 94! I have to proofread everything better! I hate touchscreen I-phones! I bought it in the fall of ' 04...there! I was in the power sports industry for 42 yrs. as a mechanic. 30 of those years strictly with Honda. The others were multi- brand dealerships . Finally retired in 2011. Don 't miss the grease and busted knuckles one bit!
Hi have always been a Yamaha man I just sold my 660 grizzly 2007 and my 350 Bruin 2005. The larger hauled a lot of deer and brush hogged a lot of fields and hauled tons of firewood. The smaller plowed a lot of snow and provided my son a lot of transportation until he got drivers license. They were both a bit loud but not irritating. Just got a new CanAm 650 Outlander. The v-twin is much quieter and 3x more powerful than my 660 grizzly.
"Kawasaki and Yamaha are the only two that have locking differentials. So if you want a true 4x4 quad, then those are your choices. Polaris aren't even in the same ballpark when it comes to a serious ATV. I'm currently running two Yamaha Grizzly 700s, 2012. These get used pretty hard for our 5 month long Lion season here in CO. all winter. Get an aftermarket exhaust if you want to quiet them down. Stealh exhaust is one I've heard about."
Untrue, Suzuki's have a locking diff, and some of the offshore china made atv's also have lockers like the 700 kymco, not sure about the can-am
I just borrowed a friends 2006 Honda Rubicon for my CO hunt. Liked it so much that I figured I would buy an ATV. Visited all the local dealers to comparison shop and decided I wanted either a Yamaha, Suzuki, or Honda. In the end the Honda didn't have as many bells and whistles compared to the other 2 brands for the same price. Talking about independent rear suspension, lock front diff, ample ground clearance, etc. Honda did add some of these things for 2014 and the rest on some 2015 models. I ended up buying a Suzuki Kind Quad 500 for $5699 plus $300 prep plus sales tax. Out the door under $6500. It has everything but power steering including a front lock. Oh and back to the question. It as quiet as any other ATV out there. I still have the Rubicon at my house and running next to each other I think the Suzuki is quieter. I would have got the Yamaha 550 but it was around $600 more than the Suzuki and didn't think it was worth it.
My new CanAm has an automatic locking differential, one less button to push. If a tire starts slipping it will automatically lock when in 4wd
I have a Honda with a muffler silencer on it that is fairly quite.
I purchased a Polaris Ranger EV (all electric) I love it - and would never go back to regular ATV for hunting.
I still use the ATV for farming and what not, but when im going in the woods to climb a tree I'm in the Ranger EV
The least noisy ATV: Nike, Hi-Tech. Solomon isn't too bad.
Let your feet be your ATV, you'll wind up seeing more critters and enjoying it more. At least I do anyway.
I also have an '04 Eiger 400 and it has never let me down. But my brother has a Honda and I just think it is worth the extra money. Was so impressed with it that when we had to buy a new vehicle this year for Robin we purchased a Honda CRV.
i have a side by side Honda,2014 and it has locking differential.Love it,enough said. Brent
Redwing, Rocky, Danner.....
"The least noisy ATV: Nike, Hi-Tech. Solomon isn't too bad. Let your feet be your ATV, you'll wind up seeing more critters and enjoying it more. At least I do anyway."
No 4x4 pickups either! Walk in from the pavement! Sheesh!
Polaris ranger, nice and quiet. I see much more wildlife now since I started using my quad.
Use your legs and feet for a quiet ATV. I hope you're an ethical rider and not one of many yah - hoos that needlessly tear up hunting habitat.
Don't own a quad myself, but why do folks assume that ALL quad owners want to rip and tear thru the woods and call it hunting? I have a few places that I could hunt more frequently if I had a quad to access the farm roads. Would still be a 1/2 mile walk to the timber to hunt. The property that I do hunt regularly is easily walkable, but doing the property maintenance (which I do and that is why I have hunting privileges) would be much easier if I had a utility quad. I am betting the original poster owns boots and knows how to walk.
Honda is making a new rubicon for 2015 independent suspension, locking differential and you can also get it in a foot shift sounds like a nice machine.
I have a 2014 King Quad 750 man that is great very low sound.
I live and hunt on my 21 acres and my quad is just another tool for spraying plots and lawn, putting up stands, hauling dear deer and what ever I'd rather not carry by hand or walk to. I don't hunt with it but do move snow. They are a great little tractor in 4X4 and I'd love to own a new one and it would probably be a Suzuki until they quite making them. I raced Suzukis in motocross when I was young and crazy... That was almost 40 years ago though. My neighbor has a 750 Kawasaki and it's loud!
Mule, I do own an ATV but to answer your question, most ATV hunters I encounter, this is how they hunt: They start at shooting light, drive around a bit, jump off and bugle a couple of times, squeak around on their hoochie-mamma's(generally in the wide open), when they don't hear anything they get back on their ATV's and drive on a little ways and do it again. This method generally doesn't do anything more than make the elk call shy. And it seems like their are more folks doing this ever year.
And I also frequently encounter ATV "hunters" riding in no-motorized vehicle areas. That is intensely frustrating for multiple reasons. Not all are bad, not saying that, but something about ATV's just seems to lend it's use to lazy hunters that don't really seem all that serious about elk hunting anyway.
End of rant.
Anyone have any experience w/ the quiet electric Bad Boy Buggies? The Bad Boy Buggies® Sport Series offers powerful, whisper-quiet electric drivetrains that are 4x quieter than the leading gas utility vehicle.
I have only owned Honda ATV's, so I don't have anything to compare to, but they are about as quiet as any gas powered machine.
In response to the "Nike" advocates, lighten up! I am not as young and sassy as I used to be. I traded my 2 ATV's in (sold them actually) and bought a used Polaris Rzr. That is even more of a "rocking chair" buggy. I have worn out many pairs of boots walking over the years, but as the age thing has crept in, the energy levels and even the desire just isn't there anymore. To be honest, I have gotten to where I really don't care too much anymore, I just enjoy being out. The hikes are shorter, the camps are more luxurious, and the taking of game or even taking a shot is becoming more rare. (I haven't drawn back on an animal in 3 years). I enjoy riding thru the woods on the trails with my wife next to me. I enjoy stopping and watching the deer and elk as they wander by... yes, they do that, and usually ignore my machine unless I get out or off. I live in Utah and really enjoy riding around on the Arapeen and Piute trail systems and the many other trail systems the state has to offer. There are over 2,000 miles of trails that will take you deep into the mountains and far away from roads on the Piute trail system alone. Do the machines scare the game? I seem to see plenty. Should I be concerned with scaring the game from others? Maybe... but then it is public ground, National Forest land and even BLM property, so the sight seers have as much of a right to be there as the hunters. It has taken me a lot of years to understand that. Hikers and bikers use the trail systems a lot as well. I believe the deer and elk are used to seeing all the various activity, so it doesn't bother them as much as one might think. I used to think like many of you that dislike the ATV's, but then I aged and matured and now have a better understanding of how things work and why. You too will get there, and like me, your habits and hunting methods will also change. Why, "heaven forbid", you may even give up the hunt and become a sight seer and avid photographer. There is no "right or wrong" way to hunt, only "preferred" methods. Let each person enjoy his choice, even if it is different than yours.
If you really want an ATV that is as quiet as possible...of course the muffler silencer is a big help..but if you try any quad with a manual clutch and shiftable gears.....what a difference..... as anybody with a centrifugal clutch automatic knows how high they "rev up" starting up and climbing....whereas a manual tranny just needs enough RPMs to move the speed you want....much less RPMs equals much less noise...since practically every Quad manufacturer only offers auto trannys these days.....almost all the gas powered quads are noisy...
Joe
For those of you who keep saying your feet is the best quad you have no idea how your comments make me so angry. The reason why I need a quiet at is because I can’t walk and am in a wheelchair. The quietest arc I have owned is a Honda stick shift
The Prowler Pro is the quietest UTV I've been around. With a trip to a quality shop, you can have someone add a muffler or 2 to any quad and cut the noise down considerably.
Adam no offense but you didn’t start the thread so you need to pull your panties out of your crack. If you had started the thread and said something about your disability I’m sure no one would have suggested using your legs. Grow up and quit searching out opportunities to be offended.
I really liked my Polaris until it was stolen. My grandson is parts manager for John Deere so I got a 550 Gator. I love it because it has a roof, nice in the rain. It has two wheel drive, four wheel drive and lock rear. It will go any place I want to go. However, it ain't quiet. I have put three deer in the bed at one time. Great for hauling equipment too. I have lots of goodies in the glove box and all kinds of stuff under the hood. Lights, an ax, big pruners, tree hooks, straps, rope and a two machetes. I live in a 40 acre woods that I own so it is fun to ride my woods roads. My neighbor has 500 acres and they guys have a half dozen 4 wheelers. By far the one Honda is the quietest of all.
Everything honda makes is quiet, book it.
Link, there are some "everyone should walk-only, except for me in my 4WD truck" guys who might have told Adam to grow a pair and just crawl like Ivar The Boneless in Vikings, or just quit hunting and leave it to the fittest. Have seen it before on other threads on here... ;-)
I’m all for using wheels where they are legal. I’ve packed miles up an open 4WD road because I drove my wife’s car to hunt elk. Never again. ;)
Guy digs up a six year old thread just to complain???
Jaq which muffler do you use ?
It's an older Stealth. I put it on my first ATV back in about '93, and transferred it over to the '06 Rancher. The newer ones may be even quieter.
Link, I've elk hunted from a Volvo sedan and a Mercury Capri. Then I bought an old Dodge Powerwagon in '81 and never looked back.
I added a Kolpin Stealth exhaust to my 2012 RZR 800. Before the Stealth you could not talk with a passenger. It is much quieter with the Stealth, and the stock RZR spark arrester fists perfectly into the Stealth exhaust. I had measured the dB reduction from when I did the addition back in 2014 but can't locate it now. My recollection was it reduced the dBs about 7 from over 100 down into the mid 90s....and the scale is logarithmic, not linear. Well worth the $135 that it cost.
Makes me want to add one to my Yamaha Grizzly which is a tad noisy as well, but no where near as loud as the RZR was pre-Stealth.
If it does not have a Honda or Kawasaki engine in it, I am not owing it.
Just ordered a Stealth kit off Sportsman’s Guide for my Polaris 570. I don’t like loud exhausts and was wondering if there was a way to deaden the sound on this thing a little. Thanks for the thread!
Get a sound meter app for your phone. Mine is SPLnFFT. I got it in 2014 for a $2 or $3. Still works and it checked very closely with our $2,000 meter at work at that time in industrial settings.
Fun to check your bow’s noise level, ATVs, appliances, work place, etc.
Kodiak x 2
Just bought my kids a Honda side by side and it is pretty dang quiet
I can't imagine buying anything but Honda.
I have owned Honda,Suzuki,Kawasaki and Yamaha.Currently have 2016&2020 Yamahas and have purchased four(Yamaha's) new.I would rate Honda the lowest of the these four. Their motors are some of the best the 4WD system the worst.Their E-shift models are terrrible.If you want to quiet them any of them down add a second muffler;I.E.Quiet Rider.My Yamahas are both 700cc and not that loud at all.
I’m waiting for a thread from 1993 to be resurrected. Then I will add my 2 cents.
"If it does not have a Honda or Kawasaki engine in it, I am not owing it."
Amen!
Get an aftermarket muffler suppressor off amazon
This question was best answered by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers...."use the quads God gave you."
Nothing more annoying than an ATV on public land where they are not allowed or the neighbor who just has to patrol the property at prime time early AM or PM travel to their stand late during the rut.
Carts, sleds, pedal bikes work pretty darn good in a lot of areas too.
In my opinion the most quiet and most durable ATV on the market is the Can-Am Outlander. That Rotex engine is powerful. Plus... they drive smooth like a Cadillac. I work mine VERY hard on my food plots without any problems. Worth every penny.
Tonybear, you are talking about illegal or improper use. My question to every self-righteous BHA god is this: Do you walk from your house to everywhere you hunt? Or do you exercise those quads by pressing the gas pedal of a jacked-up F-250 to get to my hunting spot, then tell me how to hunt? There is nothing more annoying than a 4WD truckload of guys from Minnesota with "Public Land Owner" decals bumping and grinding their way up a rough two-track past my camp, past the elk I'm hunting, when they could park and walk and use their precious "quads".
I put a Silent Rider muffler on my old Kawasaki 300. It did quiet it down quite a bit. However, I thought it robbed a lot of power due to the added back pressure. It was guaranteed to work so I returned it for a full refund.
I think one would be fine on a machine that is big enough to handle the added back pressure. The little 300 Kaw just wouldn't handle it!
I don't know about public areas but around here the deer don't pay much attention to four wheelers or tractors. In my neck of the woods they see them every day and I have driven right by deer on my Gator. Same with my tractor, they are not really afraid of it. They pay attention but I can drive by them in the woods and they just watch. The neighbors drive their four wheelers near their stand, park it and climb a tree. They kill plenty of deer. The reason they drive the four wheelers is because it is a pretty big farm and they use the four wheelers to get their deer out. BTW, these guys don't need the exercise and work hard when not hunting. One of them can take my gator apart, fix anything and put it all back together. He has every tool know to man and works on big ass tractors too. I would love to see someone tell him he needs exercise.
Have a 04 Rancher Honda very little trouble, changed an angle indicator and changed oil. It hauls tons of firewood and expect it to run for ever.
I wish God would have given me a quad, I could have saved about $6,000. Worth every penny.
The two you were born with are pretty quiet.
I hunt a relatively low pressure area and have watched elk when an ATV is close enough to be heard but not seen. They never reacted until they could see it and even then sometimes they didn't seem too concerned depending on the speed of the atv and the distance but if they see the ATV stop then they exited quickly. It's also usually windy as hell where I hunt which may be a factor.
I hunt an area with a ton of recreational ATV use all summer and fall. Elk pay no attention to them, just go on about their business. I have hunted areas where hunters used ATVs heavily in the fall, and elk were very wary of the sound, got real nervous and left if the OHV/ATV stopped.
Shaft2long, that's really cool that you can hunt everything within walking distance of your house! I can hunt elk that way but prefer to ebike the first few miles to where I start hiking. You must be surrounded by great hunting for multiple species! Envious!
The bull getting a ride on that quad bugled about 200 yards from the quad within 5 seconds of the engine shutoff. A half dozen of his bachelor friends weren't much further away and never missed a beat. In areas with recreational quad use and decent bull numbers they don't give a rip about my quad or my diesel. I had a bull start bugling at the quad as my partner drove down the road to pick me up. Not sure if he was blind, deaf, dumb, or all three. I don't worry about it anymore.
Honda. Buy anything else and your lighting money on fire down the line.
