Thinking about buying 2010 850XP EPS my dad has the 550 EPS and loves it. My questions are does the new 850 have drive train chatter, clunking and noises like the old twins had??...How’s the fuel mileage?? Why did you buy the 850XP?? Thanks for any input!!

 

My 09 is fairly smooth for a twin and do not get any drive train chatter. Did have the axles changed in warranty because it was making a clicking noise but that's been corrected. You need to get about 2 to 3 hundred miles to start getting better fuel mileage on these machines. I'm getting about 18 to 20 mpg now compared to the 14-16 at first. I was looking to get a bike in the 550 to 650 range but the wife was with me and talked me into getting the 850. She know's I've always been a HP freak or maybe she's trying to get rid of me! Good luck with your decision!

 

The XP's have a roller clutch setup, and you do hear the clutch engaging and disengaging. They clunk into engagement a bit, especially when cold. It's the nature of the roller clutch. After almost a year of ownership I'm used to it, and have no issues with the design. I never had an older style Polaris twin, so I can't speak to gas mileage except to say it's worse than my 500HO. I bought my XP for the massive amounts of smooth power, the ride, which is fantastic, and the handling, which is head and shoulders above the old Sportsman chassis, and anything else on the market, except the Rincon, which doesn't make near enough power for a 680 (and no locker), and the Outlander 800, which is close performance wise on all counts, though the power delivery on the Outty is more explosive. I don't think you'll be disappointed with an 850 XP.

 

Oh yeah, and it does take around 100 or so miles for the power to really wake up. A little break in period.

 

I could live with 20 MPG the 550 gets around 25… I had a 2004 600 twin and it got bad gas mileage and real bad drivtrain nose like you wouldn’t believe… so I was hoping the 850 was more quiet far as the drive train. What does the 850 idle at when warm-up? Is 9400.00 OTD a good price for a painted 2010 850XP EPS?? Thanks again.

 

I might get corrected on this, but I was told from a dealer, the 600 twin was one of the mist finacky wheelers polris made in a long time. they had a lot of adjustments that needed to be done almost weekly! He told me they had a real hard time getting them to fire correctly along with some other issues with the motor. My 700 runs awesome (except it like to go through battries) and IMO it is to bad they dont make the 700 powerplant anymore. I guess the point I am trying to get across is the new XP and the 600 twin shouldn't even be compaired!!! I wouldn't hesitate on picking up a XP either 550 or 850... You will not be disapointed

 

I've had the opportunity to ride both... the 850 more than the 550. The 850 is smoother in that the engine is quieter and the idle is a lot less. For me, riding the 550 was like sitting on my wife's washing machine on spin cycle... LOL. IMHO, the engine vibration, high idle speed, and all the "clunks" were a sign of poor engineering... but to each his own.

Anyhow, they both clunk, clatter, click and what have you (the 550 seems to be worse), and both have a crappy shiffter. However, on the 850 seems it is not as bad, and would be my choice of the two. Personally, I thought the new Outty 650 XT with DPS was a better machine for about the same price.

 

the reason the 550 idles so high is that the magnets in the flywheel that power the stator are so strong that they will stop the motor from turning over if the idle isnt turned up. these 550 and 850 xp have the highest out put charging systems polaris has ever used.The engine and drive train in the 850 and 550 are all new and they are a lot less clunks and drive train noises then the past sportsman.As far as fuel mileage with 70 horsepower it not goin to sip fuel.They have been extremly relibable machines also. the 850 is a lot smoother power then the 800 sportsman is and steering and handling is alot better also.

 

thanks everyone for the input.....do you think 9400.00 OTD is a good price for the 2010 850XP EPS?? I think im going for the 850 sounds like a good quad.

 

Sorry... don't buy it! The 850 idles down nicely to around 1100-1200 RPM's... the 550 at around 1700. I doubt that the 550 has a bigger stator than the 850 that would require that big of a difference in idle.

I rode two 550's and took two more for a ride at the dealer when I was shopping. They had more "clunks" than my 500 did. The 850's were not near as bad.

We ride with a guy that works on Polaris ATV's everyday... I have a pretty good idea how reliable they are.