What are the benifits and drawbacks of each of these, Im trying to figure out which one to buy and am not sure which is the better of the group. Want something that has alot of power, but is comfortable to ride too. I live in Wisconsin and looking for something that can clip pretty fast on the trails but have the ability to work around the house,etc. I also saw a SP500 X, and was wondering about that one too? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.



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'96 Sportsman 500
Livin' and Lovin' it!
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I just bought my first Polaris last Saturday, a mossy oak camo SP 700 and so far I really like it. I like the suspension travel, ground clearance, awesome power, basically everything about it. I opted for the 700 because I wanted the camo finish and you can't get it on the 600 yet. They both weigh the same and in my opinion you can't have too much power. I couldn't tell any difference between the 600 and 700 when I test drove them. I was surprised how easily I went through all the tight places on some of my old Honda trails, I was expecting it not to handle that good in tight places but I only had to back up a couple of times. I am very new to the Polaris brand but so far I think I made a good choice, I was not impressed with the new Honda Rincon, my second choice would have been the Yamaha Grizzly.

 

Did you ever look at the Prairie650?? Ive heard that has been pretty competative w/ the SP700. Is there anyone that has riden them both or compared them?

 

The Pararie 650 is by far the quickest. The Sportsmans have a smoother ride and better off-road capabilities due to the indepenant rear suspension (Better ground clearance). The Sportsmans also come with awesome stock tires while the stock tires on the P650 are not very good. I have ridden all three (my neighbor owns a 650) and my favorite is the Sportsman 600-same performance as the 700 and $400 cheaper .

 

I agree. I've ridden both the sp600 (mine) and a p650. The p650 will smoke mine off the line but I like my groung clearance, tires and suspension. I found the prairie to be quite rough.

 

Scrambler 33, I looked at the Praire 650 but didn't test drive it. I've heard it has a great engine and is faster than the SP 700 but it does have a solid rear axle, I wanted IRS. I also liked the Polaris 4wd system better than the others. With the Kawasaki you have to hold down a lever to lock the front differential.

 

buy the prarie 650.

 

I myself have been looking into getting a new machine and i have rode and looked at all three quads listed.

Polaris pro's and con's (just my opinion)
1 Front and rear suspension is awsome.
2 I like the option of a park that polaris offers.
3 I dont like the locking system of the polaris ( Rear wheels must spin 20% before all 4 lock up)
4 I like the stock tires polaris offers
5 i dont like the extra weight as compared to a prarie.
6 I've heard from many people that the seat on the polaris is more comfortable than a praries for those long rides.


Prarie pro's and con's (Again just my opinion)
1 the power and low end is awsome
2 the digital gages i like better (easier for me to read)
3 I Hate the lack of clearance
4 I really really really hate the dunflop tires ( Might as well ride on your rims you would get better traction)
5 The straight axle is ok for my type of rideing but i would rather have an IRE for those ball grabing eye opening rides where your thinking to yourself what in the he$# am i doin here.


And the most important thing is what type of rideing are you going to be doing?? For me im going with a 650 prarie.
See ya in the mountains, and good luck with whatever machine you decide to buy.

 

I just bought a Prairie 650 and ride with galljc. Everything everyone says is correct. To add a couple things about the Prairie that I like is the sealed wet brakes. Don't have to worry about them being exposed to the elements. The solid rear axle does give you a rougher ride and some loss of ground clearance but it is also more stable hill sides than a rear IFS. The power difference is huge between the two and the Polaris doesn't allow you to control how the 4wd system acts. Never been a fan of auto 4wd sensing systems. And lastly the weight is huge. The Prairies weighs over a 100 lbs. less. Also for me the Prairie was less expensive and they had to 0/0/0 promo to July 2003. Enough time to pay it off and not inflict the interest charges. Polaris was not offering this.

 

Been there done that. Had a P650 traded it in for my first Polaris. Should have bought a Polaris long time ago I would have saved myself a lot of headaches. The 650 will take the
700 right out of the hole, but the 700 will catch up and leave you. The Oem tires on the 650 are crap. Rims on the 650 are alum and soft as butter, they dent very easily. Kawi still has problems with their belt drive system, $136.00 a belt . The 700 will spank the 650's
*** in the rough stuff period. The 700 will out climb, out mud and out ride the 650. Just my
personal observations and opinions. Yes I was the one getting my *** kicked by the 700.