After owning my Prairie one year I decided to get a plow for it because I have a new home with a ~500 foot paved driveway . So I stroll into my local dealer to order a moose plow and here is where the problem started. I had to walk by a Yellow sportsman with chrome wheels and the rawhides on it. I almost bought one when I bought the prairie but I "had" to have the Prairie. So I price the plow and accesories and walk back to the polairs "just to look". 20 minutes later I had the Prairie traded in and a new 03 Yellow sportsman HO witha 60" moose plow. My dealer steered me away from the 600 and 700. He prefers the 500. For just a few hundred dollars more than what theplow would cost for the prairie, I have a new machine witha plow.
So I trailer it home thinking to myself , "gee I probably should have ridden it first..." but I just had this feeling about it. All I can say is this is a GREAT machine. Sure the power is lacking in comparison to the Prairie but it has plenty of guts for most anything I want. The ride is king. The prairie was smooth , this is outstanding. At speed you feel very stable , the 6560 felt squirley. At 6'2" , I fit this machine much better. The ground clearance is wonderful , the 2 spots on my land that the 650 would rub the 500HO clears with ease. Fit and finish? I was suprised...equal to the kawasaki. Doesn't wheelie like the 650 though [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img].....
All in all I am thrilled , I only have a few hours on it but I wish I had made this decision last year, although I am happy I waited for better tires and alot less zerk fittings!).
SO if anyone ever tells you you need a 650, just smile , cuz you already have a great machine.

Brad

 

If you think the ride quality is great, just wait until you get it out on a trail and hit some jumps. You will surprised at how much smoother the SP lands. You will also notice how much better it flies. While the 650 has a tendency to keick the rear end out on occasion, the SP does not. Several of my friends ride 650s and they refer to my SP700 as "Piggy" because of the weight. I just smile and enjoy the ride.

One other thing you will notice that you may not expect.The SP is more stable on off camber trails. We went to Barnwell Mountain last weekend and Jason had toget off his quad and walk it on an off camber trail. I never felt like my quad was going to roll.

If you are going to use a plow or winch, you might want to consider Progressive adjustable springs. They will allow you to adjust for the additional weight and will also keep the front end from diving on hard corners.

Greg

 

gregism.... I would have to disagree with the off camber-comment. The P650 is extremely stable

 

I did not say the P650 was unstable. And, the fact that he had to get off his quad may have more to do with rider skill than one quad being more stable than another. Although, Jason is a very experienced rider that has raced flat track and ATV MX on his Lonestar banshee. My point was that the SPs are more stable than you might think, and just as stable on off camber trails as the P650. If my post led you to believe I was bashing the P650 in anyway, I apologize.

 

gregism.. hey, no offense taken.

Out of curiosity which atv do you like best of your bunch?

 

I think all manufacturers should make IRS quads. The sp500's and the 700 ride like magic. Never drove a 660, but i'm sure it's the same. The Rincon is smooth too i hear. My next quad, i hope by next year will be a sp500-700. The ones i drove ride sooo smooth, and they seem to be doing better on the reliability front, if you look after them. After this year on the trails i've realized that all brands can fail you on the trail, even the "reliable" 300 honda. Also the polaris dealer around here is very supportive, a guy i know had a sled that was 4 years old and the crank went, the polaris dealer fixed it for free! Now that's dealer support! Unless the grizz660 comes down from $10 200 i think i'll look at the sp500-700.

 

I like the power and speed of the 700; however, I prefer the design and reliability of the SP500. I also had a SP500 HO at one time I bought for the wife. It was buy far my favorite. I believe the 700 as it is being manufactured today, is a great bike. If you were to buy one now, I undertsnad that the carb boot and water pump cover has been improved. Given this information, I would probably buy a 700 if I were to buy a new quad today.

If you are wondering why I own a Rubicon given my preferences, I bought it for my wife. She had trouble squeezing the brake lever hard enough to stop herself on steep inclines. The Rubicons 4 wheel engine braking and seperate brake levers and foot brake combined with the full time 4 wheel drive make the quad more safe for her in the mountains. We do not and will not mud the Honda. The drums brakes are shiney new and I intend on keeping them that way.

Also, I think the Rubicon is more stable going down steep inclines. The 4 wheel engine braking and low center of gravity is hard to beat. My problem with the Rubicon is that the upshift in the tranny while descending steep hills is unpredictable. If you are crawling down a steep incline and bump the throttle for whatever reason, it will up shift and you are off to the races if you are not careful. Also, whne climbing steep inclines, if you need that last little kick to get you over the lip, sometimes the tranny will not backshift predictably and the motor will bog under full throttle. Both of these are issues for me because I ride extreme terrain and take chances. The wife does not and overall, she feels safer on the Rubicon.

They all have their pros and cons. Personally, I would like to sell the Rubicon and buy a Rincon for the wife, but she wants to keep her bike.

I am not bashing any one quad. This has been my personal experience with my quads and this is my opinion.

 

I am real curious how a SP500-700 rides compared to the 650 over bumpy terrain. I drove my friends sc500 right before I bought my 650 and fell in love. . I ended up with the 650 for the power since at that time I had a 400ex and didn't want to give up any power, but I find that I NEVER use the power because it's too much labor to ride the 650 aggressively compared to how easy it was on the 400ex.

The 650 lands very very nice off jumps. After owning a 400 ex, I am real happy with the sportability of the 650. Also, for sportiness, if I had it to do again, I'd probably get the sc500. I find it to be as sporty, and it rides lighter too. The seat is much softer. In MANY races with my friend I think the sc 500 is plenty fast.

I am very very impressed and happy with the p650, and I'd like to have a smoother ride if it's possible. I've thought about getting a Polaris, but the supposed reputation scares me a bit.

Brad,
Could you comment on the softness of the ride on both machines over bumps and varied terrain?

Anyone else out there drive a p650 and a sp500-700 back to back who could give some feedback?

If anyone reads this post who lives in southeastern lower Michigin who owns a late model sp500-700,
I wouldn't mind getting together and swapping for a few minutes for a few gentle test rides.

Thanks in advance for your comments guys.

Thanks.

 

Jefffoxser

I have been with my friends who own 500HO's and the 700 Sportsman. I own a P650, performance wise the 700 is very close and the ride is impecable. Like you I am leary of the Polarises reputation of fix and repair almost dayly. I do find the newer 500's and 700's aren't as bad as they used to be. They have some querks but so does Kawi, Yamy and the list goes on. I am in the market for an IRS quad up till now the Polaris 700 wins in my book mostly because there is a strong following in relationship to after market accessories. Even though the bikes are heavy they perform well in the mudd and do well for comfort on the trail. Don't get me wrong I love my P650 and wouldn't part with it at all. There is one more bike I want to ride and that is a Bombardier Outlander, 450lbs, locking viscus front end, very durable Rotax engine, high ground clearance, can supposedly run with a 500HO. By the stats it could be one heck of a machine, might be worth a look. Anybody want to buy a 450ES perfect condition LOL?

 

I can comment on the ride of both machines, having put about 6 hours on the Sportsman now. (No Problems yet!!!wahoo!). The Sportsman hands down rides much better than the prairie on bumpy ground. (I classify 'bumpy' as irregular terrain with bumps under 10 inches big. under power it just soaks up the bumps you never know you hit them. In larger jumps , where the prairie would sometimes kick the back end up the sportsman tends to lift the whole machine very level, giving a much more controlled feeling.
Ok now the prairie wins the following points. It lands better when jumping. The Sportsman has soft springs in the front which will bottom out when pushed hard and also make it 'push' in turns.
This being said , in the ride category , I feel the plus's of the Sportsman FAR outweigh the soft fron springs (which I am told is easily corrected with progressive springs).
The power...well its only a 500 guys, the 650 will kill it hands down. Where it is suprising though is midrange. From about 15-20 mph if you nail it , the sportsman really goes . All in all I wondered how I would deal with the lack of power and it is no big deal , the sportsman will go fast enough to kill you just like the prairie. On a bumpy trail, there is no question I can ride faster on the sportsman.
I can say I am very happy with the Polaris , and I can say the eye appeal is great too , I have always liked yellow, and the chrome wheels really set it off......

Still grinning,
Brad