Please Help!!

I've narrowed it down to:

The Honda Foreman Rubicon & Polaris Sportsman XP 550

I've always owned Hondas and have never had problems, they've been so reliable. but I'm seriously considering the Polaris. Any help/suggestions would be great. I dont know a lot about Polaris ATVs. What are the advantages/disadvantages of straight axle &
vs. IRS. And anything else I should know. I will be using it for all around use, Work and some trail riding.

Thanks for your help.

 

Your right you can,t beat the honda for its reliability,I bought a polaris back in the early 90s ,and I can,t bring myself even consider doing tha t again. I know there have been alot of changes and improvements in the last 15 years. But I had a honda at the same time and the kids rode it up to a couple years ago with almost no trouble at all. Now for solid rear diff again I own both , For trail riding I like the IRS . But the rancher seems more stable , But the grizzly is smoother on the bumps.

 

I just bought a brand new 08 Sportsman 800 after test driving a number of Polaris ATV's at a test drive/ open house event. I test drove the 850XP, not the 550XP, but I thought it was awesome. I was also concerned about a Polaris, because a lot of dealers trash talk them and I did know a guy who had a Polaris sled that crapped out when it shouldn't have and Polaris didn't stand behind them. Anyhow, I figured that Polaris wouldn't sell nearly so well if they didn't have their act together, so I compromised and bought an extended warranty for the length of time that I have the bike financed. I change everything else out like socks, so frankly if the bike craps out after it's paid for I don't care because I'll buysomething new. Anyhow, as for the comparison, I'm a big guy 6'2" 220, and I liked the Honda's the least. I didn't feel as comfortable on the Honda's as I did on the rest, I felt kind of cramped. I was kind of ambivalent on the Kawasaki's, they didn't really give me a strong feeling one way or the other. I liked the Yamaha Grizzly 550 a lot. I also loved the CanAm 500 and 650 Outlanders. When I test drove the 850XP, I was very impressed with it, and in fact found it more comfortable than the Yamaha, and slightly more plush than the CanAm. Based on your choices I would highly recommend the Polaris 550XP over the Honda. You may also want to check out the CanAm Outlander 500 and the Yamaha Grizzly 550 as well. I would rate them as my top 3 choices, as someone who recently bought their first ATV and put a lot of research into my choice.

 

500 Utility comparison

The Honda 500 just getting to dated,even the newer 450 beat it out. My 1980 F-150 Ford was reliable,but would I want to drive another one for years, not likely.


The bottom line.

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>While it handles well in most trail conditions, the suspension and brakes are badly in need of an update, regardless of how many Rubicons are sold. It would also benefit from a driveline upgrade to a locking differential to pull it through what its bottom-of-the-class ground clearance cannot. </end quote></div>

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Contributing Editor Jerrod Kelley said it best: "A rider will have to weigh this quad's minuses (rough, small, slow, boring) vs. its pluses (name, reliability and tranny)." </end quote></div>

Could you imagine the Rubicon up against the NEW XP550 when the old soon to be discontinued SP500 beats it badly.

 

Well I'm 6'6" 280 . And I don,t have any trouble on the Rancher. I,ve spent alot of hours on that machine. And for working I like the manual transmission over the belt drive . even with low range on the grizzly , I like the pos feeling of the rancher. Like I said earlier for trail riding I take the grizzly ,but when I head out to the wood lot with the trailer I take the rancher.

 

Get the xp550!Sportsmans have the best ride and are just the best honda utilties are very weak in comparison to other brand utilities.It's just a fact.

 

I didn,t them facts. Honda sure does sell alot utility machine for being so weak.

 

its about value for money. if you want the latest craze, the sportsman 550 xp, then get it. but the rubicon has a proven track record of relyability. i agree, honda definatly needs to update there line of atvs. but the rubi has been relyable for years. the sportsman 550xp is an all new mechine and its hard to tell how relyable it will be, or what problems you may face with it.

ether way in a few years both will be prehistoric compared to newer models.

and southwest45 is right hondas arnt week, they have perfected older technology. and aparently they dont want to skrew up there mechines with more crap

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>ether way in a few years both will be prehistoric compared to newer models. </end quote></div>

It just that with drum brakes ,no diff lock system and no IRS the Honda is there right now,not a few years from now.

Its not that Honda is weak there just down on power compared to the rest.

Polaris (2007)

Hawkeye 300=17
trailblazer 330=19 hp
Phoenix 200=13 hp
sportsman 450=29.7 hp
Sportsman 500 Ho (carB) 34.5hp
Sportsman 500 EFI/x2/Scrambler 500=36 hp
Predator 500 = 48 HP
Outlaw 500 = 48.6 HP
700 EFI= 44 HP
800 EFI/ 800x2 = 50.2 HP

Honda (2007)

250ex = 16.8 HP
300 EX= 17.1 HP
400 ex= 34.2 hp
500 (fm and fe) =26.9 hp
680 (rincon) =38.5 hp

Bomb (2007)

400 = 28.9 hp
500 = 39 hp
650 = 55.3 hp
800 = 61.6 hp

AC (2007)

400 = 24.8
400 DVX = 36.6
500 = 32.0
650 H1 = 39.3
700 EFI = 41.4

KAWASAKI (2007)

KLF 250A7 = 17 HP
750 (PRARIE AND BRUTE)=50.1 hp
360 = 21 hp
700 = 48.7 hp

Yamaha (2006)

450 Kodiak = 26 Hp
350 bruin = 21.3 hp
350 raptor = 26.8 hp
yfz 450 = 38.6 hp
700r = 47 hp
660 = 40.9 hp

suzuki ( 2006)
250 = 17.3 hp (2007)
400 eiger = 22 hp (2007)
a500f=32.4
f500f=33.6

 

Two fine machines. I have a Sportsman and like it a lot. However, with "any" new model year, one has to be concerned with any bugs that might appear. With that in mind, you might want to consider the extended warranty on the XP if that ends up being your choice.

Honda makes great stuff... period. The neighbor has an older Rancher, and he pounds it constantly, and never seems to have a problem.

Good luck with your decision.