i was going to trade my 02 sportsman in on an 05 efi 800 but im a little nervous about the issuses im hearing on heating up and melting plastic. also heard belt life and gas milage suck.belt is probley the falt of drive not using l.range when going slow.

 

All quads have issues, Just do it you won't be sorry it is a great machine

 

the melting plastic was an issue with the first run of sportsmans, this late into the year its already fixed from the factory. the belt life, if you dont use the gearing correctly then yes the belt will burn out fast, but some of the early 800's were built with faulty belts that blew at 300+ miles. as far as using low when going slow, not neccisary really, unless your pulling a load. the gas millage is terrible appon buying the quad, but after it breaks in it gets ALOT better, you wont be on your 800 the first time for more than 2 hours before it runs out of gas, but if your on it like a sport quad, expect about 45-50 miles a tank, if you are just putsing around trail riding, expect 70-80 miles a tank

 

IMO the Sp is the best trail/mud ride that there is. The very soft suspension is nice, and true 4x4 can not be beat. I have gone backwards(stock tires) through the same ruts that other quads were stuck. It really is an awesome quad. I feel a little like a snob, when on the trail. LOL!!!

 

i wished you could get the rawhide tires w/ the 800 they r awesom in mud. is 05 the first yr of the 800 and the melting problemis a design flaw around the exhaust pipes right. my buddy just bought an b.force 750 so i want to keep up w/ the jones lol.

 

Mine melted the plastic,but was fixed by my dealer. New plastic. I love the machine and would buy another tomarrow if I had to.

 

well, my buddy parks his 800 in my garage ,and we do alot of trails so I get to test pilot the 800 quite a bit. My 700 cant catch or get out of the 800s way fast enough! The 800 rides better and is flat out faster than my 04 700.And the lights are way better at nite., Only smaLL ISSUE HE HAS IS A "BURP" about 1/2 throttle and its in the shop for that now.Dealer says its an Adjustment . GEt One!

 

Had my 800 EFI for 6 months now and I love it.
Would recommend to adjust the rear suspension preload a couple of "clicks" higher, as the rear seems a little "american" from stock (sorry guys...;-)
Keep the revs down in the brake in period, and avoid heavy loads. Will pay you back on gas milage later on, eventhough it never gets great.

Torgue and speed is great, but can be a hard to handle around tight corners and narrow spaces. Clever weight distribution (driver and load) will help you quite a bit on this.

RIDE HARD!

 

Stick with your 02' it's built better.

 

bionic, why do say my 02 is better? i c u have an 800 efi dont u like it? i like my 500 but looking for a more power.