Will any Polaris owners provide some testimony on the reliability of past and '00 Sportsman 500's and the Magnum 500's? I am in the market and like some of the features of the Polaris machines (ride, handling, true 4wd), but have heard the reliability and maintenance can be a problem.

My father owns a 350L and my brother owns a 300 Explorer. The 350 has had brake, starter, and front bearing/CV joint problems. The 300 has had engine, starter, and chain/sprocket problems.

To me, these problems might not apply to the Sportsman and Magnum 500's because these machines are much newer.

The other machine I am looking at is the Suzuki Quadmaster 500. I like the brand reputation, tough frame, and powerful, liquid cooled 4 stroke 500, but the ride will not be the same and it is a 3wd.

Your comments on your Polaris machines is appreciated.

Thanks much!!!!

Jon Fabre

 

Have had 500's since they came out haven't had any problems with them.Ride with total of 8,don't know of any problems with any of themall are real reliable machines.

Later COB

 

To tell you the truth Polaris shouldnt be allowed to sell the sportsman 500,and you owners reading this hold on before you call me names, First off Yamaha invented the engine breaking system, So theirs is going to be better and with the grizzly you get a full 100ccs more the grizzly is also more of a pack mule and work horse because it has the biggest rack capacity and the most towing capacity, I have a friend who pulled his 1/2 ton pickup out of the mud with the grizzly, and on the polaris with 26 zercks your gonna be spending more time finding them getting to them and greasing them than you would riding your quad. Now the only drawback is that the sportsman has another inch of ground clearance over the grizzly but if your running over trees and stumps an inch is nothing. Overall the grizzly is a much better buy, its also only $500 more, also you should buy the new dirt wheels they have tested it and atvconnection has tested it too, Hope this helps

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You will notice that Yamaholic spelled braking "breaking" when refferring to the Yamaha engine so draw your own conclusion to that. As for his jibberish about the extra 100ccs keep in mind that the Polaris 500 makes more Horsepower with 100ccs less than the Yamaha, go figure. As for my expierience with Polaris I have owned them since 1994 and had good luck with all of them. I will agree however that the sportsman 500 has been sort of hit and miss on its reliability there are many around here and they seem to be either really good or have trouble. I owned Yamahas in prior to going to Polaris and switched mainly for the diffrence in the rider comfort of the Polaris. I think the Yamahas are much better in that catagorie now though. When looking for good opinions on anything beware of opinions that are biased to the point of prejudice such as the one above look for replys that give good honest information without all the bashing and baiting. As for the Polaris Magnum lineup I think you will really like it. This has become the 4wheeler that everyone around here is buying, this said with the Honda plant only 35miles away! As for Dirt wheels Magazine See the April 1999 issue for a full shootout of the Grizzly 600 versus the Magnum 500 in one of the most detailed comparisons I,ve ever seen this magazine make. They choose the Magnum over the Grizzly as the winner. I would go into it but the article is just to detailed.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500



[This message has been edited by Kagey (edited 10-03-1999).]

 

Let Me get this straight... he's saying Yamaha is reliable??? Yeah right... I've owned two Yamahas and BOTH of them were trot-line weights.. But oh well... thats an opinion and everybody has those.
To be honest, I wouldn't buy a Sportsman 500 if there was a Magnum 500 sitting beside it for the exact same price. I just like the idea of the solid rear axle putting more power to the ground and the more conventional handling characteristics. NOT that the Sportsman is in any way a bad machine, I've seen too many of them have to zigg-zagg around stuck Hondas going thru 300' mudholes. It will eventually come down to a personal preference, and good luck at that...
But as for a Yamaha, if you do, buy the longest extended warranty you can possible get with it. You WILL use it!!

 

if you want reliability look no further than your honda dealer, i owned them both and honda is twice as reliable.

 

KAGEY---I loved your response! Hilarious! Engine "breaking" system...

 

two of my freinds ride 500's, both atvs have trouble with their belts getting wet, also one tore up a cv joint but it was covered under warrenty. polaris 500s have some mighty good features and nothing goes through the mud like a polaris, but quality control is an issue.

 

Finally someone came up with a Polaris reliability issue.....Great!
I think the Polaris is definitively more reliable than The weather channel.

 

hey guys i know u think polaris is some kinda awesome but they really do suck. I mean comon now u gotta hate it when your sportsman's belt drive is filled up with water and you got a honda foreman doin circles around you. Also yamaha's are not pieces of crap like some of you people have said. Anythings better than a polaris