I'm looking for a 400- 500cc machine for my wife so she can get off of my Rincon! Would like something with auto trans, IRS, & disk brakes. Anything like that from Polaris?

 

The Sportsman 400 is a great quad. If you want her to have more power than that then the Sportsman 500 HO is excellent. The 500 HO is a very reliable motor with more power then she will probably ever need. Plus, you can't beat the ride of the Polaris IRS

 

Thanks, BigBadScrambler, the 500 sounds great. I ran into someone on a trail the other day with a brand new 500- it looked great and he said it had a real comfortable ride. What about reliability? Text[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I know it's smaller in engine requirements than you asked, but my wife rides a 2000 Magnum 325 2x4. It is enough machine for her, as she is fairly amateur. I wouldn't climb any big steep hills with it, and it isn't a speed demon, but it is a great machine with big tires and shaft drive. Also, automatic (with high/low) and racks.

Larry

 

My wife rides a HO 500 scrambler 4X4. She loves it and it has a good 4x4 system for the tough spots. I rode it while I was getting a new CV in my Vinson, It's alot of fun and impressed me at where I could go with it. It also has a 2000# Warn winch just in case she gets stuck and I'm not there. I got her a GPS so she won't get lost and can find her way back. She and two other women ride without the guys.

 

The 500 HO motor has been around since '98 (it was put in the sportsman in '01?) There was a batch in '00 that had some bad camshafts, but other than that they are pretty much a bullit proof motor. The Sportsman 500 has been around for a long time. It prety much has the bugs worked out. I have heard of people getting over 10K on these with normal maintence. The Scrambler is a great quad. It is sportier than a ute, but still has 4wd (selectable between 2 and 4wd) and can be equipted with racks, and winches. But, Polaris invented the IRS. That is their thing and they have pretty much mastered it.

 

Thanks guys for the great input on Polaris machines for my wife. Both the 400 & 500 sound great. Now all I have to worry about is prices- I pretty much blew the budget on my Rincon. It's too bad Honda hasn't done more with IRS- I love it on the Rincon, but Honda doesn't offer it below the 650.

 

You should be able to find a used '01 or '02 SP500 for around $3500 - $4000

 

We have a 2003 Trail Boss 330, stock. This is our first ATV and was purchased for my wife and daughter. My wife is fairly petite & my daughter is 12. This quad has tremendous power for their sizes and moves very well through the sand - it is somewhat larger than the others in it's class, they really like the auto with drive & reverse, and the floor boards.

Hope this helps.