I am in the process of looking for a new quad. I have my heart set on the Sportsman 500 EFI, but had a few questions.

While shopping around, I obtained a Yami Grizzly DVD. In the DVD, it showed a few "disadvantages" of the Polaris I wanted to clear up.

1. It showed a scene with the drive belt slipping, smoking and sparking. Never heard of this problem before. Did they alter something to make it do this? Any problems with the belts of the Polaris?

2. The engine braking was shown to be effective on the rear wheels only. True or not?

3. They pointed out a paper filter vs the Yami foam. Any significance? I figured the paper automotive style filter would filter better.

4. The Yami propaganda pointed out exposed wire looms. Any problems here?

5. The weight difference. Where is all the extra weight in the Polaris? Frame, skids, etc. Sometimes weight is not a bad thing.

6. Is the EFI really worth the $1000 MSRP difference?

Any real world experiences to share with the 500 EFI would be appreciated. Thanks again guys.

 

never heard of a belt sparking. if the belt gets wet yes it will slip but obly way to get wet is if it has a bad seal on the cover area. the ebs only works the rear wheels w/out the adc feature which works all 4 wheels. paper filter stops more dirt in my opinion, nut some like the reuseablity of the uni foam filters. weight is heavier and makes for a better ride and stronger, but does rob power vs. other models. i like the efi verison beter then carb for better throttle response and more power but the carb model is good as well. just my .02

 

I have a 07 500 EFI abd I love it. To answer your questions

1. I have never smoked a belt on my SP. Use low range when you are really working it.
2. Mine has Active Decent Control. It locks the front to the rears when in 4x4 and off the throttle. Make sure if you buy one it has it. It's worth it if you ride extreme hills
3. I installed a UNI foam filter on mine for a litte better performance and if a paper filter gets wet, it's junk. The foam filters just need to be cleaned, dried and reoiled
4. It doesn't matter if the wiring is exposed or not. It's still gonna get muddy and wet whether you can see it or not.
5. If you plan on towing, or plowing or working your bike you would really like the weight. The frames a bullitproof and no one makes skids for these bikes because they don't need them.
6. If you ride in differant elevations or temperatures the EFI is worth it. It'll have a little better throttle response and way better starting especially if it's cold out.

I'm definitly lovin my 500. 126 hours and 1367 miles in 10 months so far

 

Its been my policy to avoid a product that sells itself by, rightly or wrongly, bashing another company's brand. Tell me why theirs is good, not that someone else is bad. Pretty weak logic.

 

I agree, if Yamaha wants to sell their Grizz, just give us the facts on that particular product. Don't make a foul of yourself and bash all the other manufactures. The grizz has it"s shortcomings also. If you look at the quad smoking its belt, the tire is turned into a rock crevice 18'' high. In the real world all that idiot had to do is backup a foot and turn the bars in the opposite direction. I feel sorry for the person who believes all the hype on that video.

 

It sounds like your questions have been answered but thought I would add this, the EBS does only work the rear wheels but once you learn how to ride you will learn to love it, you will only use your brakes in emergency stops, and as far as exposed looms I haven't found one unless there refering to the connection for a computer diagnostic at headlight pod, I've had water running over my front and rear racks ( not intentional) and had no failures electric or otherwise,I say ride and decide....

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: sled05

I agree, if Yamaha wants to sell their Grizz, just give us the facts on that particular product. Don't make a foul of yourself and bash all the other manufactures. The grizz has it"s shortcomings also. If you look at the quad smoking its belt, the tire is turned into a rock crevice 18'' high. In the real world all that idiot had to do is backup a foot and turn the bars in the opposite direction. I feel sorry for the person who believes all the hype on that video.</end quote></div>

While they are telling you the good things on the grizzly, they just point out that stuff on the others so you know what you want. If you watch the whole vid. they go over the rock the burnt the belt on the can-am with the grizzly a couple times. I believe all the stuff on the video, and if you don't, it's your problem.

 

My neighbor has a polaris 800 ho efi like the one in the vid, and once he saw this, he took the cover off hiss belt and looked to see if it actually sparked. it does pretty bad, aspecially if you start out in high range.

 

Scrammy had lots of good information.

Having both, I'd suggest the EFI model. If you go for the '08 Deluxe model, it should come with dual mufflers, Active Decent Control, and nice rims and tires. The best thing to do is to ride each ATV that you're considering in buying, and then pick the one that impresses you the most.

My 500 H.O. has been running non-stop for 14 months, plowed about 250 inches of snow last winter, has about 130 hours on it, starts first time every time, highly dependable ATV. My 800 will do everything the 500 can do, just uses more gas doing it.

Good luck!

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Bigpappa

It sounds like your questions have been answered but thought I would add this, the EBS does only work the rear wheels but once you learn how to ride you will learn to love it, you will only use your brakes in emergency stops,</end quote></div>

The 07 deluxe models have Active Decent Control whenever it is in 4wd. The 08s have a seperate position for 4wd and 4wd with ADC. So on my 07 when I'm in 4wd and off the throttle I have 4 wheel engine braking