I always thought that a straight axle was prefered if a person did alot of towing. Am I wrong? I know they all tow , just thought a straight axle was better. Tell me Im wrong, than I got more options. Got two dinosaur polaris and a bruin, the bruins a nice little bike with 1102 lb towing capacity, Only problem is a tongue weight of 33lbs is about usless. All the manufactures list towing capacities but never tongue weight, its almost deceptive.

 

Polaris lists the tongue weight on their site. The 400 and 500 Sportsmans have a tongue weight of 120 lbs and the 600-800 Twins are rated at 150 lbs.

 

The straight axle will not squat like the IRS.

 

but then again, the IRS generally gets better traction, and usually are heavier which also provides better traction.

 

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The SP500 HO was never made with a SRA. The older non HO (98 and prioir?) has SRAs. It all depends on where the hitch is attached. Polaris also sells a device that locks the rear suspension to prevent it from squatting

 

BBS,
you are right, I don't know what I was thinking, it is the older one with sra. I guess I haven't ridden my dads ho lately. I have been too busy riding mine.

 

All the new IRS machines have adjustable settings, and you can set those springs pretty stiff. Here is another way to look at it, have you ever seen someone come in with a IRS and then say "that trailer is too big, I can't pull it, better get someone with a SRA".

A very usefull feature for towing is the receiver hitch. Arctic Cat has the 2" as standard, I think Polaris uses the 1.25" one. Not sure what the other companies have out, but it is a great feature.

 

Thanks alot for all your input. I had my sights set on the Eiger 400 but it lacks front differential lock. The Articat is the same thing with diffrent suspension, clothing and a locker. The eiger has sra and the articat has irs and costs more. If towing on rough ground doesnt make that big a diffrence with an irs I might go that route and enjoy the greater ground clearence. The AWD of polaris is inviting,simple to use and operate, but ive had bad experiences with two of their older bikes in the past, everything on them has been replaced except for engine and plastic. Seems like lately they have made an effort with quality control to keep up with the others. Still think if they were as great as they said they are, everybody would have one, they must have a downside.

 

I have a Polaris 2004.5 500HO and tow a trailer rated for 1500lbs. My tow rating is 1250. The other day, my wife wanted to collect rocks from our acrage for her garden. Well, you don't realize how much weight you have until you try to go up a real steep dirt hill. I had all four wheels spinning and barely made it up. I wanted to continue riding around the property while my wife put the rocks in her garden one by one, so I thought I would just disconnect the trailer. I could not lift the tongue off the receiver ball. I had to get my floor jack out just to lift it. I'm not that weak. 6'1' 210 ... I didn't notice any squating. I also use a 25 gal. sprayer and I don't notice any squating. Good Luck...