I am new to ATV's
I have been looking at the Polaris Sportsman 500 H.O, The Aritic Cat Equivalent, or a John Deere unit (Made by bombardier, from the traxter model.)
I am looking at staying around the 500 size engine.

I will be using it on a farm for hauling and gps mapping mainly.

I will also use it to hit the trials once in a while,
Also thinking of putting a blade on what ever I get to move a little snow in the winter.

I have used a friends John Deere it seem to run great but is solid axle and may be a bit rough for trail ridding.

Any suggestion out there,

Thanks,

 

if that are the only choices... i would go with the polaris... supposed to have the best irs out there

 

Is there some other model I should heavly consider?

As I stated before, I am new to this and these three models are the only ones I have heard alot about.

 

The 500 HO is the ticket...go ride one and your mind will be made up.

Ride safe!

XMARINE

 

well theres the suzuki 500... theres the kawasaki 650 brute force..cheaper than the polaris i believe and alot more power....

 

The Brute Force is an awesome machine.My brother has one and loves it.
Tremendous power.

 

A quick comment concerning the solid axle vs IRS axles. I use my ATV's for both farm use and trail riding. I have the solid axle Honda Rancher. When riding a friend's IRS suspension I notice a smoother ride on trails.

However, when working on the farm with a sprayer and other heavy equipment mounted on it, the solid axle handles terraces and slopes much better. It feels more stable (less likely to tip over) since the load raises the center of gravity. An ATV with the IRS suspension with a 25 gallon spray tank on the back rack just gives me that queazy feeling when the liquid sloshes to the left or right and the ATV leans in that direction. My friend just borrows my ATV with the spray tank instead of putting it on his because of that stability issue.

Hope this helps in your decision making.

 

i would pick the polaris ho to but what about the honda rubicon the suzuki vinson

 

Just about any 500 class and above will do what you want. I would not be adverse to a solid axle machine if you intend on doing a lot of heavy hauling on teh rear, or towing a trailer that has a heavy tongue weight. IRS machines are great when trail riding, rock clawling etc... their failure is when you put heavy loads on the rear. On a solid axle, the weight is all on the axle.. while on an IRS, it is transferred to the entire driveline and chassis. They tend to squat, and lighten the front end, which can adversly affect handling under load, as well as limit your braking capability. Understand that is at the upper end of th eloaded weight scale.

In addition, becasue IRS machines have superior traction in trail conditions, be careful not to over drive your ability. They tend to flip at points where a solid axle will just start to slide the rrear end out a bit... It just requires a bit more attention that is all....

The Kodiak 450 is a great choice. So is the Honda Rubicon, or rancher 450AT, but the Polaris is a good machine too. Some people swear by them, some swear at them. ALl depends on your riding criteria, and your maintenence habits.

I think it much more important to buy from a dealer you can establish a trust relationship with, and get one that has the features you want/need, and not one that he has on sale that day.