Is this machine worth it. I had a Rubicon didn't like the ride and 3wd. Had a few minor probs.
Give your advice. Pulling trigger soon.

Thanks.

 

Hi samdog thinking about the 500ho are ya. nice ride i love mine there a little on the heavy side but
it's give's the best ride out there I think so any how . The dealer cost on those is about 5850 I paid
5900 for my 03 500ho about a month ago. I would say they are diffently worth it. I stopped at the
local bombardier dealer today to because i ran into the owner at the polaris shop and he told me he
had that new outlander 400 in so i stopped to look at it. NO Comparision to the 500ho and price wise
it's only 600 dollars less. I just bought my girl friend a new kodiak 400 which she loves. I like it but
won't give up my sportsman for two of them. there is so many nice rides out these day whose to say
which one is best and which one is the best buy all i can say is I have five atv's in the garage and ill
always take the sportsman first. well there's my two cents . good luck on your purchase what ever
you decide.

John

 

We've got 5 Polaris, three are 500s. If you are looking for a utility quad, IMO, I think they're the best thing out there. Great ride, plenty of power. They do need to be maintained properly, but it's worth the time and effort. Personally, I need something a little more sporty. That would explain my Predator...also awesome.

Scott

 

Great machine everyone I know with them love them.Personally a 400 Explorer is cool but I am a 2 stroke kinda guy.

 

My sis/bro in law just bought a SP700 and a SP500HO richneck petty edition or something, I would have to say that the 500 is a better machine than that big old heavier 700. I don't get into 4x4's, so take it for what its worth, but I think it is very nice.

 

Very nice machines, can about keep up with my 2-stroke Xplorer, but rides soooooo much smoother.
A fairly heavy machine, but once you are moving, you really don't notice it much. Has very good balance.

Farmr

 

My brother in law has a 500ho and has had excellent luck with it so far. I've driven it and agree that its the smoothest ride in the business. The only thing that I dislike is the way the rear suspension looks when you ride double. It looks like the wheels are going to break off. However I have no issue with the atv at all.

Good luck and happy shopping.

L8ter
Marc

 

The suspension is adjustable, so if you ride double a lot, it doesn't sag as much.

 

Thanks guys for the info. Scott mentioned about keeping it properly maintained. So did one of the shops mechanics. Is this just following the manu. recc's or is there something more that this bike needs?? I'm not out to just punish the bike but do get in some bad stuff sometimes.

Also, dealer quoted $599 for a 36 mo. ext. warranty. In most cases the things that go wrong are not covered. Do you think it's worth the extra bucks??

Also, does anyone have the number for the Polaris Insurance company?? Couldn't get it on net and dealer didn't know.

One other thing, due the weight will this machine pull as good as others through the mucky stuff? The new tires look mean and should do well.

I was surprised that the 500 is same size as the 700, and the new break-up looks good.

Thanks for your comments.

Anything else, bad/good you can tell me about this machine???

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Hello again Samdog,

We ride down in Tennessee alot. We drove down from Michigan 10 times last year to ride at Windrock. The trails there are pretty rocky, and some are quite steep. I bought the 500 for my Son. I wouldn't trust him riding most anything because of the terrain. He's a real good rider, and the machine is that extra protection I was looking for. The first time we took his machine down there, they stayed for 17 days. He put exactly one thousand miles on it in that time. We did an 11 1/2 hour trip one day, and upon return to the parking lot, he rode around for another two hours. I've seen my Dad climb stuff on his machine that I know alot people would never climb. One of the rougher trails at Windrock (trail 21) has a real nasty hill at the end. I watched my Dad make it up that at not much over idle. He has 28" 589's on his, and it is a climbing machine. It also has the smoothest ride. We ride with a guy from Watertown, Tn. He had a 650 Prairie. It was all he could talk about the first time he rode with us. He was NOT a Polaris fan. He prattled on and on about it. After riding behind my Dad on a couple of trips, he noticed that the suspension did all the work. The 650 has a straight axle, and he would have to get up and move around on the seat to clear some of the same stuff that my Dad never did. After the third ride with us, he traded it in for a Sportsman 700. Don't worry about the mud either, it's a pullin monster.

Really the only thing I don't like about them is the stock tires and rims. If you can upgrade them when you buy the machine, I would recommend it if the dealer will give you a good deal on them. On my Son's machine, it was a special edition, so it came with Rawhides which are a decent tire. I did buy ITP C series rims off of Ebay. Much better. They don't get dinged up like those crappy steel ones do.

It's hard to say about insurance. I bought my Son's from a guy on Ebay, and I don't have the insurance. I've learned to do some of the work myself. Buy yourself a good manual, and it helps to have some smart people you ride with. That's what I've got. I broke the swing arm bolts off in the bearing carrier. I was gonna take it to the dealer, but fixed it myself. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I've had to change C/V boots three or four times, and even that isn't all that hard. I've installed hand and thumb warmers too, I'd recommend them.

Sorry for the rambling. Hope all this helps. If you've never ridden Windrock, you should. It's an awesome place. In fact, we will be there next weekend. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Scott