I had a Honda Rancher 350 before myself and I really liked the size of the machine. Now the Rancher 420 is just as big as the Foreman. I like the mid-size machines myself but in order to get more performance, you have to step up to a bigger, more powerful machine. The 450 is no slouch, just offer it in a smaller chassis that weighs less instead of just using the same chassis as the Sportsman 570. I just looked up the specs of the 450, it weighs the same as the 570, 702 lbs dry weight. Even the base 850 model only weighs about 50 lbs more and it has 78 hp. That's a lot of weight for 31 hp to have to lug around. If they could have cut some of the fat and knocked that down below 600 lbs, then 31 hp would sound a lot better.

 

Lighter is not always better. My 455cc 400ho weighs the same, has 30hp and had never left me short on power. The 500ho had 35 hp, I ride with many and have never eaten any of their dust, they also can't pill any ftom me either. The value line Sportsmans have a nice metal skid plate, which is a huge piece of mind for any kind of riding.

Many others don't even offer that, Honda for one.

Build a mid sized, leave the full size Weight alone.

 

A big reason for Polaris being on the heavy end of the scale is that they have a pretty stout frame. I was amazed at the hits my X2 took and never had any issues with the frame.

 

Polaris doesn't skimp on using steel either. I have noticed Yamaha especially has a lot of plastic and aluminum parts to reduce weight. Polaris has steel floorboards for instance while my Grizzly has plastic ones. That's fine until you hit something and crack them and yes it will eventually happen to almost everyone. Yamaha retains steel racks though while Polaris has gone to using composite ones. I prefer steel racks myself, but I'm sure the composite racks are fine too. But it seems to be a lot of extra weight for most Polaris quads though. This Sportsman 450 weighs about 100 lbs more than my Grizzly 660 which has a lot more power. 600 lbs dry weight(about 650 lbs with a full tank of fuel) for a Grizzly 660 still doesn't feel light though.

 

They had to keep the weight down to 600 pounds on the Grizzly for shipping reasons. Aluminum wheels and cheap tires are part of the package. If it didn't cost extra for shipping it would probably be a little heavier.

 

That used to be the case back when all the Japanese quads were actually built in Japan. Thats why Polaris and Arctic Cats weigh a lot more, they were built here in the U.S. Can-Am's built in Canada didn't have to worry about those high tariffs either. But they're all built here now and the current Grizzly models are a similar weight. Actually those aluminum wheels on the Grizzly are a great stock wheel. Maybe not as tough as forged aluminum or steel wheels but they are so lightweight. The lighter weight probably allowed Yamaha to delay giving the Grizzly more power via a bigger v-twin engine. 48 hp for the current 700 engine is more than enough to get 650 lbs net weight moving quickly. If the Grizzly weighed say 800 lbs, it would need a lot more power to get the same performance. You'd need about 60 hp to get the same power to weight ratio.

 

Yamaha will be releasing a new monster Sept 1 - a 3 cyl 130-140 HP naturally aspirated engine for the side by sides. Id love to see a Vtwin from them.

But still, The Rotax Vtwin rumble is hard to resist.

 

I do like the Rotax rumble. Too bad it doesn't drown out the CVT which is on the whiny side. I actually like the way my son's Renegade 500 sounds the most.

 

We bought a brand new 2016 Polaris 110 Outlaw for my brother and he hasn't stopped riding that thing since we got home from the dealer. Its a good little quad, very happy with the features Polaris put on it.

 

I still say a Scrambler 570 is a machine that should be in the 2016 lineup. If that model existed for the price I think it would be, I'd be tempted to buy one. This new silly video from Yamaha only proves that whoever is in charge of marketing should be fired. Tell the customers what it is and the specs of the machine. That's more important than showing it can go fast in the desert with just a passing glimpse at what it looks like. People spend a lot of their hard earned money on these things, they don't have time for mystery and suspense.