Well to answer your many various questions...jltimm is a person that is a member of this board that goes around answering questions with answers like this sucks or this bike is king, that is all good and well for readers on the 7th grade level but far as taking advice from him or any other person that answers questions like that with no fact behind them, most people take their answers with a grain of salt and I don't think a person should should put to much credibility in there answers till they start answering questions with some fact beside something sucks.
And secondly to sledder I am not a honda hater if honda would have made their new bike the Rubicon w/water cooling, 2 to 4 wheel drive switch, disc brakes and a true 4 wheel drive system or just half of this, I would have been riding a Honda instead of a Sportsman. Till Honda offers something with some real state of the art equipment, and I know you will say is a 2 to 4 wheel drive switch state of the art??? Well no it isn't but you can't even get this on a Honda. Something simple as this would make it so Honda owners could put lockers on there bikes so they wouldn't have to put up with the hard steering and could have true 4 wheel drive with lockers. I mean come on guys aren't you tired of paying bigger money for the same stuff...Honda bored out a 400cc bike to a 450cc bike and charged you a thousands dollars more and made a real big deal out of it now there is a real improvement...give me a break. Polaris added EBS to there bikes for 2000 models and didn't even charge for it, I must admit it was a $400 option in 99 but became stock with the 2000 sportsman...now there is an example of giving the buyer what he needed and not charging anymore for it. Honda is still selling the basic 10 year old design with the price going up every year. Yes Polaris does have some problems with features on their bikes because they are constantly adding more features to their bikes not just painting a pretty orange color and changing the sticker name...Oh I am so excited to see the Rubicon, a bored out foreman with a different transmission. If you like paying for different paint colors and a different name on the bike well go for it...I have no problem with it, but this is my opinion and you guys asked for it and it is backed up with facts. Sledder you must be a big buddy of Jltimm if you like reading his childish remarks well go ahead I just don't think anybody looking to buy a bike should take his answers very seriously, I back my posts up with facts not this sucks etc.
And what is the trend you are seeing Rancheres??? Is it that I post facts, and the truth just hurts a little bit. You need to start reading posts more closely instead of being paranoid, this was one of my exact quotes "I personally own a polaris, AC and a kawasaki so all I can say on this matter is both bikes are great" I also went on to explain what were some of the things that are NOT OFFERED WITH A HONDA PRODUCT if they were interested in buying a honda. And on the issue of you taking your rancher where your Polaris goes all I can say to that is if you are satisfied riding old dirt rodes thats great but don't sit here and tell everybody that you take a rancher with 7" ground clearance compared to a almost a foot on the sportsman and with the sportsman having true 4 wheel drive that the rancher will follow it. I could take you places over rocks here in WV that the rancher would come back with no bottom in it when we got back. Not to mention the rancher is also 150cc less than the sportsman...I mean come on some people may believe this if you are riding trail roads, but for true 4 wd area where you need ground clearance, torque and 4 wd to pull up steep inclines and clearance to keep from getting hung on rocks or mud that just doesn't add up.

On my original post I did not say one thing bad about the rancher and gave my honest opinion on what it is LACKING. I just wanted to make this person aware what a better bike the rancher could be with a few add ons and beef ups.

Yes Polaris does have some things wrong with it, just like any other bike the Honda has had trouble in the past also with the ES, broke frames, the new 3 wd system not pulling like it is suppose to shall I go on... so before you start talking about troubles with polaris you better check your own neiborhood first. So buy the 5 year warranty and you will still pay less for the polaris even with the 5 year warranty. Even if you don't buy the warranty the parts are a lot cheaper for the Polaris than the Honda so go figure that.

As I originally stated before you guys wanted some FACTS both bikes are good bikes weigh the advantage and disadvantage of both, ride them and then decide. Seems you guys make it out that I am personally attacking the honda product...looks like you better read some of the other posts in this forum.

 

Atving, sounds like you've got all the facts right alright. First let me correct you in saying that the Rubicon will be liquid cooled, so I guess that's half the features you needed to jump over the fence. Guess your really sold on your Polaris if your willing to switch brands with just a few design changes on Honda's end. As respects the Rancher, it doesn't have 7 inches of clearance, its actually just a shade under 10. Guess that whole inch of clearance that the sp500 has over it would make all the difference in the world. If you want to challange my findings comparing the two bikes which I own . . . I guess that's your opinion. But for the record I have be known to get the bikes off the dirt road once and awhile.

 

Here is what I looked at before buying Honda. Resale. When I get my next bike, I don't want to have to give the old one away. Since we're stating facts, check the NADA values on quads. Fact: CC for CC Hondas are worth a ton more used. That tells me 2 things. When I decide to sell mine, A)it will bring more money, and B) they are more in demand, ala "easier to sell". FACT: When I bought my Foreman, the dealer had a couple '98 325 Explorers and a couple 300 '96 Honda 4X4's, in equal condition, the Hondas were going for $3500 where the polaris were going for $2500. There is not $1000 difference in new price between these machines. Why do you suppose that there is $1000 difference in resale value? Which one would you rather try to sell? I went through the same thing when I bought mine, thinking I could get an equal machine for less money by buying the polaris, but heres the catch, there not equal. Sorry to cloud this legitimate question with "my bikes better that your" crap, but I had to get the FACTS straight.

 

Both are good bikes but offer different features. The kodiak gives me the features I look for; shaft drive front and back, 2wd and 4wd and being able to start in any gear among other features. Honda makes a good product so either choice is a good one. Some of these replies on this post are lame. Lets stick to the subject shall we? I'm not in to reading continuous run on sentences of jibberish and ramblings. This does not apply to the last few posts.

 

I have to agree with JHAM,lets not let someone like atving corrupt the point of this discussion!The guy wants opinions not a idiot bragging about polaris,and cutting on Honda.Atving go back to your polaris forum so you can make up stories with others that like to also!

 

Esears and folks:

How much do y'all know about the resale of the Yamaha's (like the newer versions of the Kodiak and the Wolverine)? What about the resales in comparision to Honda - are they similiar? I'm just trying to figure out what my next quad will be - depending on how much I shell out at the end of the summer.

Thanks for your advice

 

It really ends up being manual shift and Honda reliability or belt drive and Yamaha power. It is too bad Honda dont step up to the plate and really make a strong engine to go with their better handling. One thing to consider belts will slip when wet there is no foolproof system to keep moisture out. They also break at the worst possible moment.

 

Buying for resale value is BS. Why look to getting rid of it before buying it??

 

Mudmann,
Unfortunately, resale seems to be somewhat regeonal, or dependent on where you are. For example, sport type bikes and race type bike are more expensive the closer you live to a track, because they are more in demand. Your best bet to get a feel for resale value is to go to a dealer that sells used bikes, and or, look in your local "Trading Post".
Apperently, my opinion of buying for resale is not shared by everyone in this post, but it is only an opinion and the way I choose to do business. Insurance companies, banks, and dealers have got it figured out to a tee. They know what bikes hold their value, and which ones don't. This may not mean squat to Joe Quad Runner, but eventually, you are going to have to upgrade, or replace your bike. If both bikes cost the same new, have very similar features, and one brings $1000 more, 4-5 years old, that's the one I go with. When I looked at used Polaris' they were cheaper, excuse me, less expensive than Honda. I had only had experience with Suzuki, but I trusted what I had read in this post and went with Honda. One quote that stuck with me was "$1000 now or $1000 later".
Anyway, I didn't mean to cloud this legitimate post with my rambling. I feel that either Rancher or Kodiac are adiquate machines. Had I found a Kodiak in my price range I may have ended up with one. Good luck.

 

I don't know about you but I don't buy a quad and intend to drive it for 10 years. If your a buyer that is looking to update every 3-6 years or something like that I think resale is a huge factor. All things considered you still need to buy the bike that suits your needs, but resale is similar to a bike feature and should in my estimation be considered.