I have been riding street bikes, ATV's, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, etc.. for 25+ years but it has been a while since I have been in the market. I am looking for a 4x4 ATV which will be used primarily around the house, plowing, yard work, etc... with probably 1 or 2 trips a year to NH or ME for trail riding. In all honesty, this is not a machine that is going to see a lot of use and I know that going in.

I have always been partial to Yamaha dirt/sport bikes and we still have a 1984 Yamaha 250 ATV in the family that runs and drives great after years of abuse. Snowmobiles have always been Ski-Doo (Bombardier).

I have friends who swear by Honda (they have Ranchers) and I know they have a great reputation for reliability and durability but I dont have any personal ownership experience with them. In the 90's I stayed as far away from Polaris as I could. Everyone I knew that had Polaris sleds had tons of issues and they just didnt seem on par with the Ski-Doo. From what I have found in my research, Polaris has come a long way and they seem to be the most common ATV's around here. Just not a big fan of Suzuki or Kawasaki, not that they are bad machines, just havent had a great experience with them myself.

Based on that, I think I am looking at either a Grizzly, a Rancher/Foreman, or a Sportsman. Just to throw another factor in the mix, I am 6'5" so I think that puts me on a full-size machine though I think something in the 500cc class would work for my use but I am open to thoughts on that.

I would prefer a used machine but am concerned about a previous owner's lack of maintenance. Thoughts?

I would like to be in for $5k or so. Two features I really would like to have are independant suspension all around and EFI.

Any thoughts or input would be very much appreciated. I need to get educated before I start throwing money at something I will regret buying!

 

Polaris ATVs started putting EFI in their 500 in 2004.5. The 500 is a good machine. I had a 2006 Sportsman X2 500 EFI that treated me much better than I treated it. Couple minor repairs and one big one that I caused crashing down hard onto a rock because I wasn't going fast enough to jump over the 3' drop or going slow enough to just crawl down it. I knocked something loose in the transmission and it was pretty costly to fix. I don't think any other ATV would have fared better in that circumstance. It was an unbelievable jolt. Polaris is a very stable and comfortable ride. I'd give a slight nod to Yamaha for reliability and Yamaha is a great all around machine. Either one will do what you're asking. I ride in ME and NH and there are plenty of mudholes and lots of rocky climbs where you have to hold on for dear life. That's the only reason I would avoid Honda's IRS machines. They don't have full 4wd for those tricky situations. It's a limited slip in the front. I've been in plenty of places where I barely made it through or over that the full locked front end made the difference.

 

I appreciate the response. The more I read the more I am thinking the Sportsman may be the way to go but I have a hard time breaking my loyalty to Yamaha. They have always been so good to me.

I had said I wanted to be in at $5k and am looking used but does it make sense to look new? Maybe find a leftover 2011 or 2012?

MSRP - 2013 Sportsman 500 HO - $6,200
MSRP - 2013 Grizzly 550 FI - $8,000

Am I missing something on the Polaris website, it says the Sportsman 500 HO is carbureted not fuel injected?

I also like the fact that the Grizzly is selectable 4WD as opposed to the AWD. Any thoughts on that?

 

Everyone I know rides Polaris or Yamaha. The most common model is a Sportsman of various engine sizes from 335 to 850. I think the 335 is under-powered for such a heavy machine and wouldn't buy one, although it keeps up on most of the trails I ride. I've been riding 500s for 15 years and my next atv will probably be a 550 or another 500. The 500 is a great engine and I've never had any problems with one. I lose traction and dig 4 holes before I run out of power. Grizzlies are great quads too.

ETA: The polaris goes from 4x2 to locked 4x4 so seamlessly you don't even notice it. On the Grizzly you have to come to a complete stop, push a button, flip a switch, and then push another button. On the Polaris you just push the button at any speed and it goes into 4x4 when it needs to.

 

The "value line" Sportsman 500 has a carb. while the value line Sportsman 800 has EFI and a bigger engine for $1300 more. The 800 is a great quad too as long as you aren't looking for power steering.

 

This is interesting. I have always been a selectable 4x4 guy even in my cars and trucks but the more I learn about this Polaris AWD system the more I like it. You mention a button on the Polaris, does that mean I can go from full time 2wd to the AWD with a button press so I still technically have some level of selectability?

 

Hmmmm, I was under the impression that there was a 500 with EFI. I really would like to have EFI so it looks like my options would be the 800 or the 550. They are about $200 apart on MSRP and it looks like the primary differences are engine braking, active descent control (does this really matter?), and the suspension setup.

I never really thought about an 800, just seems like more than I need but if I want EFI and these are the two least expensive ways to get there in a sportsman what are your guys' thoughts on each based on my original post?

 

It has a button to choose 4wd or 2wd. In 4wd it stays in 2wd until it senses 1/5th of a turn difference between the front and rear tires. Engages automatically. You don't even notice it.

 

The 550 XP, 800 EFI (value line), and 850 XP have EFI. Most say the XP is an improvement, suspension-wise over the previous Sportsman that already had a great ride.

Engine braking is rear wheel only. ADC adds all wheel braking for better control on downhill riding.

 

Yes. You can leave it in 4x2 and slide around corners then if you see a big mud hole push the button and it's On Demand 4x4. This video shows the rear wheels turn a tiny fraction before the front end locks in. Then when the rear gets traction it goes back into 2wd.