I am selling my predator and going to buy a 4x4. After riding my buddies 4x4's and I realized it is a different type of trail riding I want to do. The three choices I have come up with is the(06/07) King quad 700, the Artic cat 700 (06/07) and the (06) Sportsman 700/800. I will tell you from the get go I am very partial to the polaris line up, and heres why. When I first entered the quad arena the deciding factor boiled down to how the dealer treated me. Polaris won...hands down. As far as problems with the three quads we own, there hasn't been any. However, with that said I wanted to trade my Predator in on a Sportsman and they wouldnt do it. Said they would try to sell it outright. At first I was okay with that but the more I think about it...it REALLY PISSES ME OFF. I have bought three from them in 18 months. By my word of mouth 2 friends have bought a combination of 7 from them in less than 18 months and by word of mouth (again) 2 more were sold. Total count is mmmmmmm....12. So as one can imagine I am a little upset that they wont take it in my trade. And my buddy just traded his scrambler in on his latest deal when he bought 2 more so I know they take trades. So as I sit here the whole dealer loyalty decision has me questioning my loyalty to them. my money...my loyalty. period.

The reason for three above choices are big bore, IRS suspensions, EFI'S and some of the reader reviews as well as test reviews and shootout results. Price wise 2 are closer together than the other one, so price is a concern but not high on my priority list. I Feel all three are excellent choices and comparable to one another. I have ridden the sportsman line up as well a artic cat my brother in- law owns( not the above mentioned 700). The main riding will be a combination of trails, mud and hill riding with an occasional ride out to the western united states (maybe once every 2 years or so). Not looking for a workhorse, just some plain old 4x4ing, baby.

Please give me your honest answers, with some reasons why. especially if you own one of the three models. thank you.

 

I own an Arctic Cat and i will say these things. AC has the highest ground clearance, if thats what your into, it has a manual diif lock, shift on the fly 4x4, speedrack options, the new 700 has efi, they all have IFS and IRS. The cat has proven one of the best in mud, and rough rocky terrain due to its unmatched ground clearance, and 10" of travel in the front and rear. I am also bias toward AC, so you will see other opinions. The best thing for you to do is ride all of them, and see what you like. Good luck![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I would have to say the Suzuki or the AC, they are both the same motor, suzuki. The king is a little better priced but is you can swing it I would go with the AC, I like the styling and the orange plastics, something diffrent and it has speed racks. Polaris has AWD and I dont like that, if I were spending that much money I would want full diff lock like the suzuki or AC. My two cents, good luck.

 

I have the King Quad 700. It's more of a fun 4x4ing ATV than a workhorse, where as the Sportsmans and AC are definitely more of utilities in comparison...mainly b/c of their added weight, the dry weights are listed below
The 700/800 Sportsmans weigh a heafty 770lbs
The AC 700 weighs 735lbs
The King Quad 700 weighs 602lbs
So the Sportsman's are 169lb heavier than the King Quad...that extra weigh is good for towing/plowing snow but not for regualar riding, I had a Sportsman 400 before my King Quad and I can tell you it's nice not having to wrestle with all that extra weight on the trails.

My King Quad has been great to me. Zero breakdowns, very reliable. The King quad is quicker than the AC 700 and Sp 700, but the Sp 800 is just a bit more powerful. The 4wd setup on the KQ and AC are "real world" 4x4's with diff-lockers, where as the Sportsmans have Awd that engages when the rear wheels slip. After having the Sportsman setup for 2 years I perfer the one on my King Quad so I can control when 4wd is engaged.
I'm not putting down the AC or the Polaris' but for plain old 4x4ing I think the King Quad is the best choice, with the AC 700 as my 2nd recommendation...I hope this helps you!!!

 

How do you know if the AC700 is faster or not? It has different gearing than KQ, so it might be faster, you never know[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Well in atvmag's shootout when taking about the power of the AC 700EFI they rated it 36 out 60 where the KQ got 43.5 out of 60 and they say...

[Power comparision]"We were suprised the AC 700 didn't do better in this category. After all, it uses the KQ's motor. Here's what we think maybe going on. AC does not use the same final drive ratios as Suzuki. This means it's power delivery is quite different. The Suzuki mill bolted into the AC's chassis left some tester underwhelmed. Not really torquey, not really fast either were common themes....."

V2rider you'll like this part..."One comment kept coming up when the testers hopped off the AC 700: This isn't as nice a motor as the V-twin 650."

 

V2rider you'll like this part..."One comment kept coming up when the testers hopped off the AC 700: This isn't as nice a motor as the V-twin 650."


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