I am positive it doesn't. No diff lock and sra would pretty much count it out for his desired riding terrain.

 

Well, who can tell me the good and the bad of the kodiak 450? also, how does it compare to the SP 500? I know the Sp has an extra 100lbs and costs about a grand more, what is its pros and cons and what "roughly" is the OTD price? Thanks for all the help.

 

I can tell you that the Kodiak is a very nice bike. I good friend of mine has one. It has good power for a 450, climbs like a goat and is very reliable. The only issue, as I and others have said, is that it is small compared to other ATVs in this range. I think someone your size would be unfomfortable on one. But, heck, go down to the dealer and try it out for yourself. Sit on the Kodiak, then sit on the Grizzly.

I don't know what part of the country you are in, but Abernathys in Tennessee has Kodiaks for $5354. They also have the Sportsman 500 for $5294 (add about $700 for the EFI version).

I know a lot of people have Polaris' and love them and have never had any trouble. One of my riding buddies has a '96 Magnum 425 that still runs good. But I also know several people that have had nothing but trouble from their Sportsman and have sworn never to own another one. It also does not give me a warm fuzzy that they have an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB. I understand that the majority of Polaris owners are happy with their ATV and if you got one, you probably would be too. But in my opinion, you are taking more of a risk in buying the Polaris.

 

To me the Honda Rubicon is the only way to go! Sure, it may not have all the fancy stuff(diff lock, mind-blowing speed), but it does everything really well. The engine is so smooth due to the best tranny in the business. The engine breaking is also great. I could go on and on. I do agree that you should do your research, and then try them. Once you get a taste for the Rubicon the decision will be easy.

 

So, Jeffrice6, have you made any decision? I can tell you that so far, with over 200 miles and 15 hours seat time I'm very happy with my polaris so far. I've had two stalls on my efi, but it's nothing that really bothers me to-date. If it starts stalling while moving I'll be concerned.

Anyway ... good luck with whatever you get .. they're all good these days

 

Hey RSeb.. It seems you are leaving out some details. Maybe you should compare numbers instead of just blindly listing them. Here is the better business numbers for Honda and Yamaha:

Honda
Yamaha

Honda had 76 complaints and they did not fix or ignored 44 of them
Yamaha had 124 complaints and they did not fix 14 of them.
Polaris had 87 complaints and they did not fix 7 of them

Seems to me that Honda is the worst company. Yamaha is second worst and Polaris is better.
As far as Polaris reliability. I am on my third year with my quads and have had no problems.
Bryce

 

Thanks Bryce, I have seen alot of folks using the "Polaris sucks, just check BBB...." crap lately.

 

I really don't mean to be knocking Polaris. Truthfully, I'm routing for them. I would love to see an American manufacture succeed. Polaris has a lot going for them. Polaris has the plushest ride of any ATV I've been on. And they are usually the first to market with new inovations, pushing other companies to adopt them. When you are constantly coming out with new features, there are bound to be hickups. Fortunately, they seem to correct them fairly quickly.

I wonder why Honda has a "B" rating with so many complaints. I'm guessing it has to do with volume. Dunno.

BBB aside and just going by going by the folks I know personally that has had bad experiences, I still think you are taking more of a risk with a Polaris. But, if Polaris has the features he's looking for and he is comfortable on it, it is probably not enough of a risk to keep him from buying it.

Heck, I wasn't even suggesting a Honda for him. I thought the Vinson would be best suited for his size and the type of riding he plans to do.

 

And if anyone wants to know, AC is catching right up to polaris, because of their quality issues, ans options!

 

Before I bought our quads, I spent 12 months reading the forums about different quads. I looked at all brands and I counted the number of complaints between different brands. I found no difference in the percentage of complaints to happy customers between any brands. What I did find is the old Ford versus Chevy bashing between brands. That is, the people that did not own the quads were the first to bash the other brands. You don't ask as Chevy man how good a Ford truck is.
Bryce