In the market for 500+ cc utility ATV. Considering the Prairie 650 or the Sportsman 600. I tested both. The Prairie has the mother of all powerbands. The 600 is very confortable, has higher ground clearance and good power. Help me pick. My priorities are the following (in order of importance):

1)Comfort for long rides
2)Reliability
3)Power

Thanks

 

I like the comfort of the Polaris, but I've never rode the 650 Kawasaki. Probably more reliability in the Prarie. The Power would be around the same but the Prarie might have a slight edge. They are both great machines and I don't think you could go wrong with either one. If it was me though, I would go with the Polaris only because of the Ground Clearance and the 4x4 system, but I use my atv's for joy riding and hunting. You could add a High Lifter lift kit to it and it would be pretty much unstopable in the woods, best $100 you can spend on an ATV.

 

Thanks for your advice SuzukiQuadKid. Anyone else's feedback would be appreciated.

 

Any reason you're not considering a Grizzly 660?

Of the 2 mentioned though, the Prairie 700.

 

1)Comfort for long rides -Polaris
2)Reliability -Kawi
3)Power -Kawi big time

The grizzly might be what your after since it has a great ride, very good power but the reliability is in question.

 

sorry, I've got a bad attitude, ( just left another forum )...they all make good quads now...

get over the ground clearance thing...( people with an IRS quad measure from the center of the rear suspension... not the lowest point, ( does the term ground clearance mean anything ), it should be from the ground to the lowest point on the quad... on the Prairie, it may be in the center, but on an IRS quad, it's more than likely the CV protection just inside of the rear tires ( you can still get hung up here ))...

It is much more important to find a good dealer... I wouldn't be afraid to buy any of the brands "big" quads, if it was the best dealer, & close enough to me...

people like to get sucked into these #### versus %%%%, they don't breed a healthy quad environment... it should be ATV versus tree hugger... WAM

 

Mike, What forum gave you a mad-on????

 

If its comfort you want then you better get the the Sportsman. Those things are plush.

Dont get me wrong I love my Prairie but compared to a sportsman, the kawi rides like a dump truck with square wheels.

Andy

 

If you go with the sportsman, make sure you get the warranty and have a good dealer close by. Im not brand loyal, but with all the problems my friends have had on 02 and 03 Polaris machines, im more brand shy now. I do wish they could solve the reliability issues, as I would love nothing more than to put my money in an American machine.

 

Hi there 400Prairiexlt,
What model '02 or '03 are you relating your friends troubles to? The 500HO, 600 or 700? The 500HO is a proven machine, the 600 has more ''pop" but I wonder about quality/reliability issues with it... Let me know what machines your buddies are having trouble with as I am trying to make a decision.
Thanks.