You're right I was thinking about the TRV and ya'll are talking about the TBX.

The polaris x2 has 8.2" of travel on the front. The Arctic Cat TBX has 10.0" of travel on the front.

The polaris x2 has 8.75" of travel on the rear. The Arctic Cat TBX has 10.0" of travel on the rear.

 

Both are good machines, and you're lucky with that as they are your only choices in an atv with a work bed. I have to give the upper hand on looks to the Cat. Something about those ATP and X2 machines that aren't appealing to me. However, the Polaris does offer more features as I mentioned earlier, minus the suspensin travel.

 

I believe the TBX has a front Diff locker that the Polaris doesnt have also.

 

The x2 has the same 4x4 or AWD system the sportsman has except it has the additional turf mode. The popo 4x4 system is about as user friendly as there is. You hit the AWD button, at any speed, and it does all the work for ya. All 4 wheels pull when it detects slippage of the back. It engages so quickly that you can not even see the back wheels slip. The Cat has a system similar to some of the jap bikes where you put it in 4x4 which is actually 3wd limited slip, then you have a manaul locker switch to flip locking all 4 wheels in. Both systems have lockers, one is automatic, the other is manual.

 

It was mentioned that the TBX has a bigger bed, this is true as the x2 using some of it's space for a passenger. The X2 is a 2up machine. The TBX is not, allowing for a larger bed. However, the x2 has a max load of 400lbs for the rear bed and the TBX is 300lbs.

 

Not everyone is thrilled with the heller clutch system used in the Polaris. I have one and I've had it apart many times making me somewhat of a reluctant expert on it. Its one of the reasons I switched to Arctic Cat. If you ever need to work on that clutch its a giant pain in the backside to get it working correctly again.

And not everyone is happy with having to spin the tire about 1/4 of a turn before the fronts lock in. In some situations you dont want ANY more digging of the rear tires without ALL the wheels moving because your not far from sitting on the frame. If you look at how the rollers have to walk up the hex ramp in the clutch to bind the drum you will see that it takes about a 20% rotation of the shaft to accomplish this.

 

Well, the X2 uses a diff clutch from past machines. You're right with the polaris clutching, on older machines, however, the x2 has the same clutch as the sportsman 800efi. It is flawless. All polaris efi machines now have the 800 clutch. As for the 1/4 turn, the manual says it can take as much as 1/4 turn. If you have had a sportsman, you know this is overkill. It is absolutely almost unnoticable. With large 28 and 29 inch tires 1/4 rotation is still exagerating.

 

Specifications aside - the stand out item on the Arctic Cats is the speed rack system that allows you to provision the machine for the task at hand. There are numerious tool holders, baskets, tools, gun scabbards, lights, fishing rod holders, bucket holders, chain saw holders, spool holders, clamps, bow holders, ice auger carrier, flood lights and work bench accessories that just plug in and unplug with a couple of pins.

I have nearly all of these and I use them recurrently. It makes the machine adaptable to the many different uses I put it through from hunting to ice fishing, trail riding with the wife or working around the yard.

 

Don't know too much about add ons, so you're probably right, and again I give the upper hand for looks to the Cat. It maybe because the x2 is a 2up machine with a utilty bed, but it doesn't look as good as the cat to me. It would be hard to give up the efi for looks though.

 

Another option would be the polaris 6x6. It has obviously 6 wheels with a larger rear bed with 800lbs capacity.