Greetings all. This seemed to be the most active ATV related forum that I've come across, so I figured that this would be a good place to hang my hat. I just wanted to share the deal I got on my first ATV today. I bought a brand new 2008 Polaris Sportsman 800HO EFI for $6800 plus tax. A dealer by my mother and father in law's house was doing a Polaris test drive event today and I figured I'd stop by. I have been looking mostly at the Yamaha Grizzly 550 and the CanAm Outlander Max 500, but figured that I should at least see what the Polaris was all about. I had a couple of friends who had bad luck with a Polaris sled and a Sportsman 500 when they first came out, so I was a little leary. But when I test drove a 500 then the new 850, I really liked them. Plus with the great price and awesome financing I was able to afford an extended warranty, so I wasn't worried. I ended up getting an 800 V twin Polaris for the best deal that I was able to work out on the 550 Grizzly and less than the 500 CanAm. So how did I do? My wife ultimately decided that if she wanted to come along, it would be infrequently and she wouldn't mind riding in a back rack seat as the terrain that she would be willing to ride on would be very non technical terrain, so we opted for a great deal on a 1 up instead of a 2 up.

I've ridden friends and family members ATV's a bunch of times, so it's not like I'm totally new. I know this bike will do more than I need it to do, but it just seemed like too good a deal to pass up. I test drove the 500 HO and liked it a lot, frankly it was all that I needed. But they also had a 2009 850 XP, that the salesman convinced me to try out. Wow, was I impressed. The power was just awesome. It felt super comfortable (the most important attribute for me) and handled well. The 850 XP was heavily discounted, but not quite as good a deal as the 2008 800. I talked to my wife about how good a deal the 800 was and she pretty much told me to get it, but we thought about it over lunch anyway. By 4:00 the paperwork was pretty much done and I was admiring my new toy. I'll pick it up either next weekend or the weekend after. I'm really looking forward to trying her out. Thanks all for letting me share my excitement.

Oh, by the way, I think I'd like to get a winch and maybe the brush Polaris brush guard for this bike. Any recomendations on where to find these items at discounted prices? Thanks

 

Nothing like starting at the top of the food chain. Congrats on your 800. Really like mine. There is a place on ebay called bresse lawn & garden that has some pretty decent prices that i have done business with. As for winches, I had a chinese polaris one that did not last but maybe 2-3 months before crapped dealer exchanged it and the 2nd has been running 2 years now ok. Wife has a warn on her outy that don't like to work when real cold (below 0) there are the off brands, venom, viper, gorilla that have been a mixed bag on reliability but are in the 130-150 range. Sure more will chime in with their feelings.

 

get a WARN winch, don't waste your money on a cheap chinese one
ebay is probably the cheapest, I also have heard of gowarn.com

 

also ebays probably the cheapest for the bumper
I also would reccomend getting the 3 light mod, which allows all three lights to be on in high, I would also hook up the rear work lights, all tht it takes to do it 2 GE 912 or 921 light bulbs and a switch

Good Luck with your new bike

 

Congratulations on your new ATV. I had a Sportsman 700 for a while and put Ricochet skid plates and A Arm guards as well as a Jamhard radiator protector. Mine had heated handgrips and throttle that I really liked better than I thought I would. Oh and my wife insisted on a seating pad, got a really good, heavy duty one from Cabela's.

 

Yea there are more options now for front brush guards. You can even check out the new
Body Guard styles and has a nicer modern look not sure if it is really more durable? Along
the Jamguard thing, there is a similar company that designs the front brush guard to the
same look and design but they add in more to protect the headlights etc. If I were to do
again I may go with that, I think those links are off of Jamguard or ATV-Guru or search for
Rubberdown customs somewhere on those pages.

Regards,

R'