Anyone test ride one of these? Or know anyone with one? Have not been able to find anything on them...

 

Appears to be the replacement for the Fuji powered Sportsman 400 and Hawkeye 400.Looks like Fuji is pretty well history now. 2015 Polaris Sportsman ETX Blue Fire

 

I believe i read somewhere that it and the Ranger ETX use the 330 from the ACE.

 

Wife an I are going to the old shop tonight for an early Christmas get together for present and former employees.The owner's my nephew,so uncle opt's going to have a look see. If they don't have things packed in for the party, I'm going to try out either the Sportsman or Ranger ETX if they have one,if it's even been released yet? Didn't really even pay attention that Polaris had this in the line up until WilliamBos mentioned it. Starting to get out of touch with what's new. Kinda like the looks of the Ranger ETX for what it is and $8699 doesn't sound too bad.. if you say it quick enough.

 

Crazy thing is ,on all the specs charts they only mention it is 30hp and never its displacement.
2015 Polaris Sportsman® EXT Base Reviews, Prices, and Specs

Hard to believe its a 330cc with 30hp. The 455cc made 32hp. My 347cc Grizzly makes only 24hp.

But it is a DOHC so who knows, Can AM has a 450 Outlander that makes 38hp so anything is possible. Looks to be a little brother 570.

 

I believe this is purely intentional due to the displacement.
Saying Ranger 330 or Sportsman 330 polarizes the machine in potential consumers minds before they ever get a chance to see what it will actually do. As you pointed out, 31HP is pretty good (like all the Pro-Stars). I'd bet the original Sportsman 500 didn't make much more...if any. Heck, my own Pioneer 700 rings in at a whopping 36HP (obviously conservatively tuned for torque in typical Honda fashion). I'd wager those whose ego will allow them to buy one will find they do the job just fine.

I don't know what links can be posted here, but this is another source saying the ETX models use the 325cc ProStar...
» 2015 Polaris ATV Lineup First Look

 

Thank you OPT, that is really appreciated. I like the value model chassis, and the compactness of the ETX.

The DOHC and 11.5:1 CR is where the hp comes from. Are they smooth? What about torque?

It is a Prostar engine, 325cc.

Polaris bought back the shares of Polaris that Fuji owned, and terminated the engine deal. 2013 was the ladt year of the 500, 2014 was the last year of the 400.

 

Yep,branding it a "330" would cause a lot of people to dismiss it at first glance,then dealers would have to explain that it does make more horsepower than the outgoing 400 Fuji engine and explain it's merits against the 400.Less explanation dealers have to make.Smart on Polaris calling them both an ETX from a marketing point. Same as what the ad mentions..

" Last year’s 29 HP 400 has gone away and has been replaced by the new 30HP Sportsman ETX. Polaris is keeping this Pro Star engine’s displacement under wraps, most likely because it’s hard to market a 325cc machine for $200 more than a 400cc machine, even though the ETX engine is higher-tech and could be superior in every way."
Engine technology has come a long way in a short number of years.Some of it at the expense of possible reliability and shorter length maintenance schedules in some cases.Just have to see how it all plays out. Kinda like comparing my old Honda 750 with a Gsxr750.Both have the same cc's,dohc engines,but other than that,no comparison. My Honda has 75 hp @8500 rpm, the Gsxr750 has 126 @ 12,600 rpms. No contest on these two engines. As far as reliability though,I think the old Honda will out last the Gsxr along with me plus make a good ride for someone else later on.Sometimes simpler might be better in the long run,but may not be as much fun.

 

Polaris never advertised the horsepower of the 500s but according to what others have posted online mine has as much horsepower as your 700. Either 36 or 38 HP depending on who you ask. The EFI is supposed to be 1.5 or 2 more HP than the carb model. It's typical for Honda to be way underpowered compared to everyone else but as long as you know that you can shop accordingly. I'm more likely to get a Yamaha or Polaris but anything is possible and if I get a Honda I want the biggest engine I can get.

 

I was actually referring to the original 500 Sportsman way back in...what? 1994? But yeah...i have no doubt that the newer 500's make more power than Honda's 680. I think Honda's own 500 is actually pretty close.

I think it actually moves surprisingly well for 36HP in a 1300+lb machine ( + 300 for me and gear ). That said, a 570 Ranger would blow it into the weeds...and i bet the ETX would handle it as well. I'm not an HP junkie, so i am OK with it.