I just recently sold my 05 BF 750 and am looking to buy a new bike.

My question is, what would persuade me to buy the Sportsman 800. The price on both is with a couple hundred bucks so price is out of the picture.

Background:

I loved the BF 750. Would smoke anything i lined up against. But ride was quite as smooth and handling was good but not great. With the 4 wheel lock engaged, you are going somewhere. I don't believe in tearing your bike up in mud. I mainly use the bikes to get me to and from the deer stand, and i go to the up to mena, ar to ride the trails there 2x a year.

PLEASE DON'T KNOCK the polaris. My brother, rancher and old man own rangers and have yet to have a problem. The rancher at our lease (19,000) acres uses his ranger every day in some of the nasties texas panhandle dust you could imagine and has never had a problem other than tires. In fact, he has a little over 600 hours on a 07 model he bought in January. I owned a 500 sportsman for two years before i got in a wreck and it flew off the trailer.

I am just wondering the pros on the polaris.

Thanks!!

 

polaris 800 is the way to go. The handeling is great the has lots of speed behind that big engine, and tows great and could hold a lot of weight. The 4 wheel drive system is the only thing i don't like and the only thing bad about it. "Lets say you are going up a hill in 2 wheel drive and half way up you say to your self i am not going to make it and you want to turn on your 4 wheel drive system", it will not turn on unless the back tires start to spin, and by the time they start spinning you and your ATV are going to start slidding back down the hill. But that is Not really a big deal becuase if you are a good, smart driver you would turn on the 4 wheel drive system before going throught thick mud or going up a steep hill then you would get through the mud no problem and you would get up that steep hill with out slidding back words.

 

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

polaris 800 is the way to go. The handeling is great the has lots of speed behind that big engine, and tows great and could hold a lot of weight. The 4 wheel drive system is the only thing i don't like and the only thing bad about it. "Lets say you are going up a hill in 2 wheel drive and half way up you say to your self i am not going to make it and you want to turn on your 4 wheel drive system", it will not turn on unless the back tires start to spin, and by the time they start spinning you and your ATV are going to start slidding back down the hill. But that is Not really a big deal becuase if you are a good, smart driver you would turn on the 4 wheel drive system before going throught thick mud or going up a steep hill then you would get through the mud no problem and you would get up that steep hill with out slidding back words.</end quote></div>



There's no difference if you switched to 4x4 before you went uphill or on the way up!!! When in 4x4, the machine will still run in 2x4 unitl a slippage of 1/5th a rotation occours, then it will engage in 4x4

 

oh sorry guys, i thought is was a full rotation in the tires, my bad. But anyways the sportsman 800 is still the better choice.

 

I like the power of the BF. It's just an awesome engine. One fast ATV. I like the brakes on the Kawi too at least the new one I rode. What I didn't like is the handling. It's improved over the last model btu they still don't handle for crap in my experience. They don't ride all that great either.

The Polaris on the other hand rides fantastic. Very plush. it handles well even though it's a bit heavier than the BF. I can feel the extra weight but it isn't unmanageable in the least. I much prefer it on the trail and for general duties here on the farm. It's great at slow speeds in the timber. Not quite as fast as the BF but it's not slow by any means. I really hope they adopt power steering for 2009. That would really be sweet. Supposedly for 2009 it gets A arms in teh fornt, Power Steering and a 850. We shall see.

Anyway, if I was choosing between the two I'd pick the Polaris. No question. For the uses you describe I'd pick the Polaris. However, if I wanted an ATV to use as a base to build as a project the BF would be a great start. When aftermarket shocks and springs are added you can really improve the handling. Likewise the bf engine is a good one to mod for more power.

 

There is no 'better' choice, only which one is better for YOU. If you loved your '05 BF750i, rest assured the '08 is much improved, in handling, steering, also has EFI.

Give the Polaris a ride! Only way you can figure which one you like more. The Polaris will be better for work, but the Brute can tow and carry plenty. The Polaris will ride smoother, but it won't be as fun for faster paced trailriding.

It will come down to, Polaris edge for the hunt, Brute edge for trails...BUT it depends on how you like to ride trails. Hard and fast, Brute. Slow and comfy, Sportsman. That isn't to say either can't do the other thing well.

You would probably be plenty happy with either.

-Krait

 

Dont take this wrong because I think polaris makes great bikes, but just my personal opinion is they are ugly as sin, and I think the bf 650i and 750i are the best looking bikes out there.

Now I know looks do nothing for handling, comfort, ect. But I wont buy the the 100% best of anything If I dont enjoy the way it looks [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

But im sure there are plenty of ppl who think the exact opposite of me in this.

All I can say is go test ride a newer brute and a polaris and base your decision on that. The new brutes do handle better then older ones.

 

Thanks for your responses. So if I do like the comfy, "at home" feel of the polaris, (i have only ridden the 500 series), but i am curious if it will even "hang" with the BF 750 speed wise. i dont think the SP 800 will beat it, just wondering how close it would be.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: 650Mobrute

Dont take this wrong because I think polaris makes great bikes, but just my personal opinion is they are ugly as sin </end quote></div>

You're absolutely right. Polaris is THE ugliest ATV made. No doubt about it. It's strange too. Look at their sport models. The Outlaw, Scrambler etc. They look fine. The Sportsman's are just butt ugly. Look like a rubbermaid trashcan has been melted on the front. The rest of the machine looks normal and then you have this incredibly hideous front end. If ANY engineer or designer thought that was in the least bit aesthetically pleasing they should have their degree revoked.

If I buy one I'll hide it with a big brush guard so I won't have to look at it as much.

 

you tell me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bQqKUq6yAo