*warning, long post*

i'm currently undecided between which of three atv's to purchase. my current choices are

rancher 4x4 ES
foreman ES
sportsman 500 HO

the sportsman is clearly the most fun to ride for me. both the power and the handling really stand out over the smaller bikes. what has me stumped (very temporarily i hope) is how to figure out reliability into the decision. i've read and more-or-less believe that honda has better quality, and that polaris has *some* issues, but until a recent post by muddy4life i couldn't figure out what *exactly* did go wrong w/the polaris bikes when something did go wrong.

in muddy's post he states:

--start muddy4life quote

I do,however,question the amount of time it takes to wear out alot of their manufactured parts,like tie rod ends,steering stems,a-arm bushings,primary clutches,swingarm bushings,front hub seals/sleeves,and braking components,just to mention a FEW items!

---end muddy's quote

so, my current thinking is that if all of the parts likely to bust on a polaris can be replaced w/tougher aftermarket pieces as they die, then perhaps i can ultimately wind up w/a reliable and powerful/good handling atv. it will cost more than a rubicon in the long run, but i think the HO handles much better and is more powerful anyhow, so that comparison wouldn't stop me from getting the HO.

i'm going to be using the bike around my 11 acre farm for most of it's life, so reliability and low maintenance are actually more important than speed or handling.

a few questions that remain for me are:

*what kind of maintenance other than greasing the bike after each ride is good to do w/a 500 HO?

*what other parts usually break other than the ones described by muddy?

*i've read that with honda's you can ride em hard and put em away wet and they do fine. would i be making a mistake to do the same w/a 500 HO?

one final consideration is that i like the polaris dealer *and* they're close to where i live. the honda dealer is ok-to-middling, and a almost an hour away.

thoughts anyone?

thanks in advance

2000 F250 Super Duty Diesel
2001 Honda Goldwing 1800cc
2001 Kubota 2710 (can't forget my tractor!)

 

Both of the machines you like are excelant machines Polaris are high maintanance but that involves mainly greaseing all the many fittngs on them.Whrn tie rod ends wear out use the newer models on yours and when the brakes wear out i use Polaris extream duty(i have a set that has been on for 2 years).I have ridden both of these and if price is not a problem i would go with the 500.

 

The 2001+ SP500HO has many improvments over bill's old 99 SP500. Also of note is that bill's 2000 Explorer is piped, clutched, 26" tires, used to plow, ect. He tends to leave some stuff out. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

The ES probably will be more reliable at the cost of speed, power, ride.
I have had no problems other than needing to aligne the clutches. Cost $2.00

 

The only problem I have had with my 00 SP 500 is cheap brake pads, condensation in the speedomiter and the fact that a tree jumped out in front of it.
Pick the ride you like best for the $
Just my 2 cents.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

CHROMO,

SPEND 1 DAY READING POLARIS AND HONDA FORUMS AND LOOK AT WHAT TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED AND PROBLEMS WITH BOTH AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DECIDE REAL EASY.




.................................................. ...............

2001 RANCHER S W/ 2000# WARN AND 60" PLOW


"HONDA BUILDS 4 WHEELERS AND OTHERS TRY"


GO AHEAD YOU CAN START NOW!!!!!!!!

 

There's no doubt Honda has the reputation for being realiable. However I think most of it is due to the simplicity of there quads. Air cooled, manual shift, full time 4x4, drum brakes, solid axels and no front locker. So with fewer moving parts there will be less things to go wrong. Don't get me wrong, I have 2 Honda's and love them, but you can't argue that they are simple. They have been getting better with times with the ES models, selectable 2x4, 4x4 models and the Hondamatic, but with these you tend to see more problems. And we can only wait for the new Rincon with IRS. However without a locker and front drum brake they didn't come with the times fully. They said they didn't put the locker in because of the weight limit of the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) of 600lbs, and felt that there limited slip was good enough.


Now with Polaris, you will get alot more features with it. Liquid cooled, auto, selectable 2x4, 4x4, IRS, Disk brakes, stainless steel brake lines, True 4x4 not limite slip, alot faster and more power. And with all the up-grades since the 01 models, the Polaris models have been more reliable. And with the deals on the 500HO, you could get one for the price of the 450ES. But whatever choice you make, make it for what fits you better and test drive them.

 

Chromo, don't let others flame you intop a decision. As another poster mentioned, read the forums and look for design problems. I have found that most bikes are as good as the care they receive, except for the ones with problems designed into. The Polaris I have is 7 years old with 1900 miles and still goes strong, never been on on the end of a rope and never had to walk home. They do like their maintenence however, but that was never a problem for me. I upgraded last year to two Hondas only because the Polaris dealer locally is such a bozo. These Hondas are well refined machines to say the least but they're still air cooled, have drum brakes and my Foreman rides like a truck! I'll hear it for this, but the Honda 4wd is equal to the Polaris. Ground clearance is another area where Polaris is better. My wifes rancher is 2wd and it is probably the best bike I've ever been on, it rides like a dream, has plenty of power and is very nimble and east steering, a true joy to ride. The Polaris you are considering is a great machine as well, have several friends who ride with us that have them and never seen any problems. Good luck with your decision.

 

I don't think the quality issue is one anymore. I have a 99 Xplorer 400, and a guy down the road has a 99 Foreman. He laughed at me when I had to replace tie rod ends, and he didn't @ 4800 miles. Well, when his Honda had 5100 miles, the front end went out, to the tune of $600. It has since done it again, mostly due to the dealer not putting in all new seals, but it went long enough, he has to shovel out another $500. Also, the drum brakes ARE more mud-proof than the Polaris dis brakes, while the seal holds. I know of several people, who after a few years & miles, had the seal go bad, and let the drum fill with gunk. Takes all day to get that apart, plus major bucks (at this point they wouldn't even admit to what they spent on repairs on that machine) vs. an hour & $50 for me to put new pads on mine.
They may have gotten a 'bad' Honda and me a 'good' Polaris, but the point I was trying to make was the difference between them in quality is narrowing almost to the point of non-existance.

 

I just got a leftover 2001 sportsman 400, and i mak it through all of the muddholes my friends can't make it through. I am very pleased with it and i suddest your get the 500HO , i Think that it is a very niec machine.

 

What you are comparing is really not on an equal playing field. The Sportsman will EASILY out mud a rancher but they cost alot more. The limited slip front end on a Rancher is not even close to a Sportsman when comparing mudding capabilities. However, the Sportsman has 21 grease zerks to grease where the Honda has none. If you like to ride and do nothing to a machine then buy the Honda. The Sportsman will smoke a Rancher or Rubicon like a cheap cigar (there is one of each in our riding group and they cannot touch a Sportsman). There is a little more maintenance with a Sportsman but the ride of an independant suspension is unbeliveable compare to the Honda. Having greasable suspension parts is not always a bad thing. By greasing you push water and mud out of the suspension components leaving you with a much longer life. If you do not want to take the timne to grease a machine then buy a Honda. I have a friend with four bad ball joint on his Foreman (1999) because he was unable to grease the suspension components. I have had two Polaries products and like the two I have owned.

I highly recomend a Sportsman 500 HO.