i cant decide between a polaris 400 sportsman 4x4 or yamaha kodiak 400 4x4. i want one that is reliable and wont break down every time i drive it. mainly i will use it for irrigating so it doesnt have to be fast. right now i own a '89 polaris 225 2x4 2 cycle and have had no probelms with it. does anyone know what would be better.

 

well asking this on the polaris forum you kinda get the idea what opinions you will get but believe it they are all correct!! I love my Sportsman and have really abused it in the months I have had it. I went with the Polaris mainly because of the great luck My family has had with there Polaris's on there ranch, 2 magnum425's almost 10 years old now and still going strong, and they really beat them up!! That 400 is a workhorse

Chris

 

One thing you need to remember is the newer 400 kodiak's don't have a low range.I would go with the 450 kodiak's since it has low range,a must for farm use in my opinion.

 

Definatley go with the sportsman. It's not even a tough decision

 

I was just faced with the same question a couple weeks ago. It was between the Polaris 400 Sportsman and the Kodiak 450. In my opinion, the Kodiak 400 doesn't stack up to the Polaris 400. The Kodiak 450 is more in the ballpark as it has a 421cc motor where the Sportsman has a 425cc motor. Among many features shared by most manufacturers, there were a few things that I HAD to have. One being independent rear suspension. Second, a watercooled motor. And third, as close to true 4 wheel drive as one could get, not limited slip front ends. The Kodiak 450 was almost there but it lacks the IRS. It's 4x4 isn't quite as sweet as the Polaris either, IMO. You can lock it into 4x4 and then lock the diff but you have to be at a stop to do so. With the Polaris you can "shift on the fly" at any speed to put it in All Wheel Drive but you are actually in 2 wheel rear drive until a rear wheel slips just a little then BOTH fronts immediately LOCK in. No momentum loss, no stopping, NO GETTING STUCK! It was these extra few features that the Polaris had that took me away from the Kodiak. If you're still talking a "400" Kodiak, then you're not really in the same ball park as the 400 Sportsman. Price might reflect that as well.

One thing to consider however, is towing. If you will tow a lot, the straight axle machines might be better suited but I even question that mentality. The 400 Sportsman has a 120 lb tongue weight / 1225 lb trailer rating on it. The Kodiak 400 is 1100 lbs and I would assume 100 lb tongue rate. I'm told that the IRS will sag a little with heavy tongue weight but I haven't experienced that yet. In my case, towing will be occassional so it wasn't much of an issue for me. Being that you already own a reliable Polaris, I would hope that would have a pretty significant impact on your decision. In reality, I would think that BOTH would be equally reliable as they are each quality machines and just differ in features and function. I will say that your back and body will love you for getting the IRS though. Man, I took mine on a "difficult" rated trail last Friday in the National Forest and the ride was just CUSH!!! I'm loving it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Best of luck in your decision making process!

 

Farmerboy i am teling you this so that you do not make the same mistake that a friend of mine just recently made he was in the market for a new 4-wheeler and for whatever reason he bought a Polaris Sportsman. He has had an unimaginable amount of grief with it already and wants to get a new one i have had my Yamaha Kodiak for around a year now and have only had to put Gas and Oil in it i have never had to take it to a shop or anything it is just very reliable[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Go with the sportsman

 

Hey TreeDoc, who told you had to stop to lock in the diff? I just flick it and go while cruising the light flashes a few times then it is in and if you want to haul butt all I do is push the overide button on the left handle bars and I can go full throttle high or low range. Taking it out is just a matter of slowing down and depressing the locker switch and once again it flashes a few times and then I am back in 4x4 unlocked, it is quite a simple little procedure. I do agree on the IRS but it was not to hard to learn how it handles so it is what not that big of a deal.AlaskaBoy.

 

AlaskaBoy,
The DEALER SALESMAN explained the operation that way! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img] Maybe you should come down here and show him how to operate the scoots he's trying to sell! The dealer that sold me my Polaris is also a Yamaha dealer but by the time I got to him and saw the Sportsman, I had already made my mind up that I had to have IRS so we didn't discuss operation of the Yami. He was a pro rider and really knows his sh*t about bikes and how to run them. I'm sure he could have set me straight.

Let me ask you another question about the system then....just for clarification sake....
If you are cruising in 2WD High or Low and want to put it in 4WD, can you just hit the little red button and shift it in or does the scoot need to be stopped?

 

TreeDoc, just push the button when you feel the need for it and it engages instantly and when you realy nead the locker just flip the cover switch over and push the locker button. No need to slow down to engage. That is the way the dealer explained it to me as well and it works great.AlaskaBoy.