I'm sold on Polaris!. I have a Sportsman 500 HO. That thing is tough. I've abused it for 3 years and it still hammers away. For a 700lb. machine it will run 55mph. Polaris' 4x4 when you engage it ALL four tires pull. Best ride in the business. I've pulled my boat (4000lb), 16ft trailers and just about everything else and no problems. I also like the dry sump system on the Polaris. And the disk brakes. I love the engine brake to. I wasn't biased toward Polaris until I abused it and it never broke or slipped.

 

here's a couple pics of my dad abusing ......er.........using my quad

he's been hauling two loads like that out of the swamp out behind the house every moring since spring .........500km on the ole girl so far and not a hicup

but like I said me and my buddy with the 350 honda went out and he half **** floated and clawed his way through one hole while I ended up sunk in the muskeg up to the racks in that hole ..........weight does make a difference ..........anybody who's 4x4'd in thier CTD knows what I mean

 

The John Deere is a rebadged Bombardier with a 700 doolar upcharge for the green and yellow paint. Still a nice rig though, for a JD nut.

 

actually the buck xt has the rotax 650 in it bombardier only offers it with the 500 I believe

nice machines though, I was very interested in a traxter XL but there's no dealers in my area .........

 

We own nothing but Polaris!! I have put almost 1000 HARD miles on my 04 Sportsman 400 and other than me punching it into a ditch it has performed flawlessly!! They are heavy but that weight is there to strenghthen them.
Honda's are great machines but the 4x4 in them is very subpar! No difflock and no way to engage into true 4x4. Also the newer ones come with a very complicated tranny.
The grizzly's are also a good quad, my buddy has abused the heck out of his and never had any issues except the fuel boiling.

Best bet is to go and sit on them, each one has it's own feel and ergos and you need to decide which you like best. I think the quality in all of them is very good so it might be a matter of which one feels right to you

Chris

 

If you like to play in the mud ( like I do ) , get a machine with ind. susp. ( CHECK OUT MY PHOTO GALLERY ) . Straight axle quads bottom out in the ruts . They also ride like crap , especially in rocky terrain . I have a pollaris 700 . I also like the artic-cat 650 . Last years model grissley had a problem with steam off the motor getting sucked into the air intake when in water causing the motor to miss . I think they have fixed the problem on the new ones .

 

I know what you mean about solid axle ride. My Father-in-law bought a used Polaris Sportsman 500 after trying out all kinds of makes. He has a bad back to worry about. The Sportsman has a very fluid feel on the trail, while my wife's cousin's is choppy/bouncy. The IRS really sold the Polaris. It works hard, runs all day long in the Northern Wisconsin cold, and is a very nice machine. I really liked the Hondas I have ridden, but it has been years!! I don't think the Honda I last rode even had reverse! Very capable machines, but I remember the brakes leaving much to be desired. Not bad on isolated, fairly level trails/terrain, but got hairy on steep down hills and on gravel farm roads. Just my opinion.

Never tried the Yamahas, but I Like their enduro/trail bikes. The old IT's and WR's are nice bikes, the YZ's were too harsh.

 

Well, I picked up a couple more magazines and looked at a few more machines...

It seems no one builds a big, powerful utility that has independent rear suspension, and isn't belt driven. (Not counting the Rincon).

Dirtwheels says they shredded a belt testing a Polaris 800. I'm sure they ran it hard, and the belt apparently has a lifetime warranty, and it apparently didn't leave them stranded... But still, something like that could ruin a weekend. I keep hearing stories of people with various brands burning up a belt trying to drag an elk out of a steep canyon, or slogging through mud and having it get to the belt...

On the other hand, someone wrote ATV Action, saying his Rincon doesn't shift right and the dealer couldn't find a problem. I don't know if he is one of those people who are never happy with how their auto shifts, or if it really has a problem. Being a Honda I'm sure the chance of having one that has a problem is close to nil... On the other hand, auto trannys scare me, and eventually any piece of machinery will need to be rebuilt. At least I can fix a 5 speed (or a belt).

When I rode my buddy's Rincon, I thought it was a bit too high geared for what I want, and it didn't have as much power as I expected. The way the body leans in turns is strange, but I think it would just take getting used to IRS, and the advantages of less fatigue/smoother ride, and more ground clearance would be worth it.

I got to look at Yamaha's. Though I'm sure they are nice machines, they just didn't call to me.

I also looked at a Polaris, and they seem nice. The Military version impresses me the most. Winch front and back, ultra heavy duty construction, 2nd fuel tank, and the letter from the guy who ran over a landmine in Afganistan was cool. Strike one is the $9,699 MSRP, but what kills it is it is well over the 800 pound limit to be a class 1 ATV in Oregon, so it is class 2 like a jeep- fewer places to ride it.

On my short list now is the Suzuki King Quad, a 700 single with independent rear suspension, and the Kaw Brute Force 750 V twin, which also has independent rear suspension and is also supposed to have tons of power. I believe both are belt driven, but I want to check both out before I decide.

One other thing I leaned... I was reading a review of an electronic fuel injected rig, and they said that the system retains a bit of charge independent of the battery- So you can still start it with a dead battery. Cool.

I may end up back at Honda. The 05 Foreman looks nice on the web- with more modern sloping features like the Rincon, but I can get a pretty good deal on a leftover 04...


Edit/P.S. Question for you guys with CVT/Belt driven transmissions: Is it possible to change out the belt on the side of the trail? I expect to be out alone and way away from the trail head at times, so if I couldn't limp back on a partly shredded belt and had no one to tow me back...

 

I could see it being very difficult to change a belt out on the trail. Getting the cover off wouldnt be all that difficult, its getting the primary clutch nut off that would be hard. But I cant say from experience as I have never replaced my belt yet, just taken the whole assembly apart a few times to clean it and I always had all the tools I needed.

 

Not sure on the belt replacement. I have replaced several on my snowmobiles on the side of the road, but it is a much different animal. Sorry.

 

It's not something you could do on the trail at all. I just had to do it on mine not to long ago. Mom carried to heavy of a load for to long (over 6 months) in high gear despite me telling her it was damaging the belt. Well, low and behold, I went to put it on the truck and the belt shredded on me. It took a solid weekend to get the belt back on there just to find out that the primary had cracked as well. $1500 later, mom listens to me when it comes to the fourwheeler and we haven't had any problems yet. The guy at the dealer said if your below 10 mph, leave it in low gear and you can tow with it all day long. Above 10 mph, throw it in high and don't think twice about it.

 

You can put the belt on in about 20 min. on the trail. You need a ratchet and a screw driver. The belt is $32.50 you should carry a spare anyway for that price. It takes longer to pull the cover off then put the belt on. Remember when it is turned off the CVT is open so there is room to ease the belt on you don't have to remove any pulleys. Just slip it on and you are on your way. Besure to get the seal on the cover good. 30min. tops.

Barry

 

It is very easy with minimum tools to change out the belts on a Polaris machine. Contrary to popular belief, they do not self destruct for no reason!! You need to really abuse them to hurt them. I have had my belt on the sportsman SMOKING cause I forgot to shift into low and I did not change it for 6 more months, and then it was still in good shape. I carry an extra belt and a few tools in my dry box under the seat so I never worry too much about shredding one.
As far as water on the belt goes, I have had my sportsman up to the racks in a river a couple of times end never a slip. If you make sure the cover is installed on the clutches right there is no issue.

Like I said earlier, I have 5 Polaris machines, a 04 sportsman, a 03 scrambler, an 04 predator 90, 99 xc 700 sled and a 03 RMK800 and we have never had any mechanical problems at all (KNOCK ON WOOD)!!

 

Thanks, guys for the info.

How roadside repairable a belt is seems to vary by brand. The Polaris shop guy I taked to said theirs is a snap as long as you have the proper wrenches. The Kaw guy said that a special puller is needed to change the belt on the Brute Force, but it is supposed to be a fairly small tool.

Got a chance to ride a couple of older Yamaha's... made me realize the Rincon was deceptively fast- IRS floats over the choppy stuff.

Anyhow, found a place that has leftover 04 Rincon at a decent price, but I also really liked the camo Kaw Brute Force.

I suspect both have pretty good suspension, and I would imagine the 750 Kaw twin would way outclass the 650 single Rincon when it comes to power, plus it has low range and dif lock. On the other hand the bike least likely to have a belt problem out on the trail has to be the bike with no belt (Rincon).

I haven't gotten a chance to ride a Kaw, and one thing that concerns me is the whine noise people talk about... Straight cut gears, though stronger, could drive me nuts. On the other hand, it could make me reminisent for my old ******...

Anybody out there own a newer Kawasaki? Is the gear noise thing a real issue?