I have 800 miles, hard , mud, rough high speed riding, and have had absolutley zero problems. These CATs are truly reliable, and as durable as the other brands!!!

 

Were do you get the swith to make it selectable 2wd/4wd or do you think its even worth it ? should i just blow the extra dough and get the irs slectable. Its just seem really expensive for the switchable 4wd and irs but still be air cooled ? I was thinking if i spend 6,300 might as well get a bombardier but i think the suzuki motor is going to be the best bet cause ilive way to far away to have it in the shop. im going down monday can someone help me out. i want the best bang for my buck the yamaha dealer said he can get me a bruin 350 auto 4x4 he say bulletproof atv for 5,000 otd the cat and bomb dealer says 4,900 otd with manual trans all the time 4x4 (better body style too) or should i go 5,500 and get the suzuki eiger same motor but comes with the insterment cluster and selectable 2wd/4wd ? I just want to get in cheap as i can and get a atv that would make me feel like i dont need another till a can afford a big bore.

 

i would say, get a Foreman 500 S, Sportsman 450/500 (non EFi) and anything else that fits into that price range. Remember, if you set a price limit on something, check ALL the listings of quads in that price range.
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2004 Polaris Sportsman 700 (Green)
'27 ITP 589 M/S Tires
on ITP Type 5 Wheels
3000 lb. Warn Winch
3-Way Headlight Mod
High Lifter Lift Kit

2004 Polaris Sportsman 500 Mossy Oak - STOLEN
2001 Honda Rancher ES 350
Sold

 

Craw, you are correct sir! the A/C is very capable and a helluva machine. My point, as you just made for me, is that all machines are basically great. But the riders are the main veriable. If you ride like me you have to do some maintainance on a more regular schedule than if ya ride like Razor (the king of clean! and he wont ride thru any water over his hubs).

My personal experiences make me prefer A/C over Polaris. But I feel Honda builds the most reliable quads. They dont perform like the others and thats part of why they last. The A/C 650 will blow away my rincon in any speed contest but I feel the Rinny has better handling and is better suited to my style and type of riding.

The Eiger is the FUNNEST!!! 400 class quad I've ridden! Its downfall is the crappy Suzuki frame.(Zuki builds the worse frames).

The Hondas are tanks and very bland.

The Kaw 360 is prolly the quad most people need. Great ride, nice handling, good power, and all the features of the bigger 700s.

The Yamahas are good quads but not quite as refined. They do hold up tho.

As I said, I'm not a polaris fan. They're heavy and require way too much work for my attention span.


I was working with my local guy on a left-over 750 Brute Force for $6600 when I found the Rincon (leftover 05) at a local dealer for $5950 OTD! $500 more than I paid fer the Eiger 3 years ago.

Cheapest aint best. Go ride them before you pluck down yer money. They dont take em back. As I said, I love the Eiger but its not comfortable for me (6'2", 250) or my knees but I did put over 4000 miles on er.

Some people love autos, some hate em. But you need seat time to figure out how you feel.

Its better to drop an extra grand on something you'll love to ride vs something thats cheap and you have no desire to put your butt on.

 

I have rode a 05' Artic Cat 500 and my dad's 03' Sportsman 500 and the Artic Cat doesn't turn as well. My dad's Sportsman 500 has 1000 miles on it and the only thing he has had done to it is change the oil. Polaris makes durable quads if you take care of it.

 

I agree. But the Polaris doesnt seem to hold up as well under more extreme conditions. I dont have much experience riding either one but I do have a lot of experience fixin em.

Between myself and all my friends,THE SOUTHEAST INDIANA QUAD ABUSERS, We have owned a lot of machines. As our name implies, we abuse our quads!!

Almost everybody now rides a brand that ends in a vowel.

 

Had an '04 AC 650 for 1.5 years, now have a Polaris 800. Both have their strong and weak points, but I ride the 800 the same way and in the same places I rode the 650. The 800 is holding up much better so far. No broken axles or frame, the 800 has yet to fill the airbox with oil like the 650 did. Hasn't left me stranded out in the woods yet. Fit and finish is a little better on the 800 and the ride and the handling of the 800 are far superior to that of the 650.
All that said, I always felt a little more confident going into the deep stuff on the 650. Probably because I knew everything was locked in 4wd and front diff lock rather than the letting the quad decide if I need 4wd (the 800).

 

Polaris has really stepped up the last few years but I think they may have overdone it with that new 4wd system. One tried to pull a p650 out of a ditch the other day and the front wheels didnt start pulling til the back wheels were already too deep. I hooked up, locked in the 4wd, and backed out with the P650 hooked to me.

 

QUOTE by: eiger2: Polaris doesnt seem to hold up as well under more extreme conditions.


I disagree. I've never owned one or even spent much time on one, but over here there are some units that have them for use on the camps. I know where I am they get the pi$$ rode out of them every day by everyone in the unit. These are people who don't have to pay to get them fixed, and the machines are weighted down with extra heavy duty platforms front and back, "roll bars", and winches at both ends. Extreme conditions? It's supposed to hit 125 degrees this week, and 130 plus later on. The Rangers seem to work just fine, too.

 

But those machines are not the standard Polaris but the spec built machines and there is a major difference.