does anyone no anything about either????

 

I have never even sat on a Praire but I love my Sportsman. It does all I ask it to do and has never been to the shop. The only extra thing on it that requires more work is all the grease fittings for the IRS. Just my 2 cents.

 

Have a couple of HO's and wouldnt trade them for anything. Saw a Prairie and thought they looked really fragile.

 

Both are good machines.To make your best decision, consider the details. For plowing, go with the H.O. The Prairie has a snakey shift pattern from L to R that will give you fits. For mud and traction, again go with the H.O. Rawhide grip tires and steel rims vs. small tread stock tires. But if you want sporty on the trail, the Kawi is there. Brakes important? H.O. has single lever with front and rear hydraulic with stainless steel braided, Prairie does not. Want lighter? Kawi. Want durability? H.O. Want a gas gauge? Kawi. Want rack extenders and a hitch standard? H.O. Want a smooth ride? H.O. with IRS beats the straight axle Kawi by far. I've ridden them both. They are a far cry better than other machines of just a few years ago. Again, your best choice is in the details, plus a good dealer. Happy riding. Woodtickrider out.

 

The Sportsman 500HO is very dependable and is a workhorse i would def go with the Sportsman 500

 

Pros:
The prairie is definitely the more reliable, sportier,more powerful quad by far.
The rear brakes on the prairie will last for at least 6000 miles, yep I said 6000 miles!!! however the engine brake works so well you probably won't need to use the brakes much.
The differential lock, although seemingly a wierd design, has proven to be awesome by simply grabbing it when required and letting go when not.
As for the shift pattern being a pain in the *** I frequently use mine to plow snow and have found it shifts very smoothly.
No problems with belt slippage due to water, she is very well sealed.

Cons:
Due to all the Torque and horsepower that the prairie makes it is a little harder on belts than some. Expect to replace one about every 1000 miles "gotta pay to play!!!"
Yes the stock tires do suck really bad.

I can't speak about the HO as I dont own one but two of my friends own them and they have had quite a few breakdowns but were never left stranded in the woods.

 

Oh I almost forgot. Its pretty cool doing 20 - 30 yard wheelies without any body language on a 604 pound utility quad[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Just a thought. The SP 700 is only $400.00 more than the 500HO. That is the direction I would go in. In fact I just did. Picked up my 700 last night. All I can say is wow...........

 

I rode with a 650 and wasn't impressed. Yes it has lots of power for sliding sideways and riding wheelies, but it's not a sport quad it's supposed to be a utility. People can say what they want about a sportsman but I can do wheelies (if I want) and I can slide it around on the trail (if I want) it has more than enough power. It also has a cadilac ride and will out go a 650 in the mud any day of the week.

 

it has a gas guage just adding into what u said and kick a$$ awd[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]