this week i went riding with my three uncles and my father in southern ohio and had the chance to ride a polaris. we had 3 ac's my 650 and 400, and my uncle's 500. My uncle's friend owns the sportsman 500 which we borrowed.

Overall Look:
I dont know how anyone is a fan of how the polaris looks, to me that front end is horrible, the lights are outdated, the only thing is that the plastic seems a little thicker/stronger. Not a fan of the protruding hubs either or the extremely narrow floorboards.

Performance:
We raced the sportsman vs. my uncles ac 500 on a open flat asphalt road. Each time the ac would leap ahead all the up to about 40 mph, then the polaris would start to gain and at the end with the ac at the sportsmans rear bumper.

Trail Riding:
I am not impressed with the on demand 4x4 the polaris offers, not to mention u dont have 4x4 in reverse until you engage the reverse override button. Out on the trails the polaris does feel more stable especially in off camber situations, which is probably due to the extra weight or lower ride. Going over trails at medium speeds, the front end on the polaris feels extremely skittish, not at all comfortable. Big difference is that the engine braking on the polaris is on the rear wheels only and is too much for me, idling down a hill in low gear the wheels started to lock up and slide before releasing and rolling again, isnt engine braking supposed to prevent skidding downhills?? The mcpherson strut front suspension doesnt seem to measure up to other ifs systems. and the rear swaybar??, extra weight.

Convenience:
No available storage compartment except under the seat is a downside. What i liked is that the gear selector is on the throttle side so you dont have to reach over while holding onto the brake. Another thing is the tachometer on the screen, nice thing to have. The seat is uncomfortable, too wide and soft, you hit the brace that supports the foam on hard bumps. The throttle lever makes you extend your thumb too much and the smooth plastic doesnt provide much grip. The composite racks help you carry gear that would otherwise scratch up your metal ones, like the chainsaw we brought along. The lack of a gas gauge is a big dissapointment.

Maintenance:
We had to fix an overheating problem it was having because the owner didnt clean out his radiator from the last ride, under the fan shroud was a thick layer of mud dried on the radiator. access to clean the radiator is alot more constrictive. What is with the remote mounted oil reservoir (made of plastic) whats wrong with putting it in the crank case? horrible access to radiator cap, need to remove front top plastic. after searching for the fuse box and finding none we came to the conclusion that it uses inline fuses completely sealed in a plastic pouch that you must cut open to replace.

these were just my opinions of the polaris and it only reminds me of how glad i am that i didnt consider buying one?

 

You'll encounter many people who love their Polaris, who love their AC and who love their Honda units. One of my neighbors with their SP-500 wouldn't go near my AC-500i with a 10 foot pole. And I remind him of that the 2 different times I pulled him out of a deep mud holes. On the dry trails, he wipes my tail every time. And he reminds me I should have a bought a Polaris each time in return. A few months ago, I had an opportunity to drive a new Honda Rubicon (or something like that) unit. Nice machine with full 4x4, true torque converter and many more features then my AC unit. Nice machine for trail riding that last mild amounts of mud. Much better general trail machine then my AC unit. But, his smaller frame Honda unit would probably buckle under a large snow plow or pulling some of those large trailers that my AC has to pull around. And yes, my buddies 2005 Honda's rad overheated last time I drove it as well. Mud build up at the bottom of its rad as well.

As you can tell, I'm NOT brand specific. If it runs, feels good on the trails and makes "the driver" happy, then who really cares what label is on the side of their gas tanks. If money grew on trees, I'd have a large utility 4x4 unit and a nice little 2 wheel sports quad. Probably the AC DVX and my 2002 AC-500i tank. The best of both worlds...

Thanks for pointing out some of the Polaris improvement areas. The next time I have a spin on a SP-500 (near the same year as mine), I'll take a closer look at their construction and "ride comfort".

.

 

frndlinalowplace,
Where abouts in Southern Ohio do you ride? I am from the general area of Athens southeast a bit though! I was just curious!

 

this last summer we had some major overheating issues with the polaris's as well with the fan shroud seemed like it held the mud in there and bam big trouble and the plastic racks are nice for not noticing the scratches and stuff but alot of times when people get stuck i can drive up to them and push them out with my front bumper well i wrecked 2 wracks on the polaris's this year by doing that as for the seat on them me myself find them to be one of the more comfy ones at least more comfy then my cat's seat i agree with you on the looks of them 100 percent but gotta dissagree on the lights they are much better then the cats lights and the only thing about the on demand 4x4 system i see is that it is one step better then the limited slip front end and one step down from the diff lock

 

My uncle bought his 500 and i bought my 650 from from All Power Equipment down in Athens, it was a nice haul from cleveland ohio, but it was the best price i found for both machines, 5,300 for the 500 and 5900 for the 650. We ride at private property in Guernsy County and go to the Rumble on the Ridges in Adena ohio, off of rt 250 i think near Cadiz.

I was trying to keep an open mind as much as possible when i was riding it, and i have to admit i was a little bit surprised in both positive and negative ways.

Another thing about those lights i noticed, if you have the main headlights on and switch to high beams that kicks on the handlebar mounted light, you cant have all three on at the same time.

 

My thoughts as well.

My Dad has a Polaris Sportsman and I've had a Cat. I personally think the Cat suspension has an advantage over the Polaris when properly adjusted to your riding style but they are very close.

I only buy American stuff (call it patriotism), so I have two manufacturer choices when it comes to a quad, Arctic Cat and Polaris.

Unfortunately there are 2 things keeping me from buyng a Polaris besides being ugly. I could live with the looks, but the following reasons I can't live with.

1. Their 4wd system. Polaris' 4wd only locks the front when the rear wheel has slipped 1/5 of a turn. You cant just "turn on" 4wd on the Polaris, you have to wait for it to break traction. Honestly, I friggin hate that. They call it "On Demand", I call it unnerving. I've been in situations on my Dad's Polaris where I was in trouble and needed the front tires to be locked RIGHT NOW! But alas, I had to goose the throttle and break the much needed traction to get the front wheels to lock. When your bike is nearly vertical, you're stopped on a steep slope and you don't want it to flip on you before you make it up the hill, you really don't want to go goosing the throttle now do you? Let me tell ya, it makes your rear end take a few circular sections of the seat vinyl when that happens.

Also, with the Polaris you either have 2wd or 4 wheel lock. The Cat has 2wd, on demand 4 wheel limited slip and full locked 4wd. Cat's 4wd limited slip is nice when you're navigating tight turns. It keeps the front end from pushing as much.

2. Their EBS. When navigating down a steep hill on a polaris with EBS, the back end tends to break traction and attempts to come around on you. The Cat doesnt do this. The way my Dad deals with it on his polaris is to simply put it in neutral before he navigates down a hill. He uses the brakes to keep the bike under control. Using this philosphy you don't even use EBS for what it's intended for which then makes it annoying and useless. For a credible example of this, read this review of the Sportman 700 EFI. The rear end locking up really bugs the reviewer.

http://www.atvtv.com/atvinsider.html

I like the Cat because it gives me the kind of control that I want, looks great, is tough, has metal racks instead of plastic ones (you'll appreciate that when you roll it), a large digital speedo, a 6.5 gallon tank, and a little more GC and suspension travel than the polaris.

Go with what you like and and which dealer is honest and and close to you. That'll make your experience a lot better. The Cat does have a 2 year warranty as opposed to a 6 moth warranty.

Other than that the Polaris is a terriffic, well constructed bike and I'd own one.

 

Frndinalowplace, if you don't mind me asking. What year AC 500i and SP 500 did you drag? Was the SP 500 a HO model?

Thanks!

EtherNut

 

the ac 500 was a 2004 just like my 650, im not entirely sure on the year of the sportsman but it was a 500 H.O. What exactly does this mean? do they have a standard 500?, or are they just saying that their 500 puts out more power than everyone elses 500.

 

The HO has some engine hopups like a more agressive cam/compression and such. I think there's more to the HO but I'm not fully qualified to answer the question. Yes, there's a standard 500 and the HO. Thanks for the info!

 

They only make the HO today.... no standard 500 any more. Your uncle's 500 was prior to 2003 because in 2003 and later they got rid of the 'protruding hubs" you referred to.

The sway bar is not for extra weight, it's what makes it feel more stable. They sell sway bar disconnects if you want less stability and more wheel articulation.