I just want to get opinions regarding the differences between the 2 atvs.
Mud?

Hill climbing?

Trail riding?

Speed?

Realiability?

Maintence?

Any thing else that is worthy of conversation?

 

The Sp500 rides ALOT better, so it will be a better trail rider. It's alot faster. And in mud the Sp500 will out do the Traxter by a good bit too.

I think the Traxter(with is's heavier front end) will out climb the Sp500. I also know that the Traxter has alot less maitance, and I hear it is one of the easiest ATVs to service because of it's step threw design.

Reliablity can go either way. I know alot of people who own Sp500s, and most have no trouble at all. But some have lots of trouble. Then there are only a VERY few Traxter owners that I know. And a couple of them have been haveing problems. So it's kinda hard to tell. But I thinkt he Traxter is CLEARLY alot TOUGHER built than the Sp500.

 

Hey Boner,
You missed the fact when you say the SP will out mud the Traxter, we know that is not the actual case. Traxter will easy see the SP burried, Been there and dont that for a fact.

In fact, have pushed / pulled many other buggies out of the deep mud / water holes.

Agree on the easy maintenance for Traxter, and yes it is about the slowest 500 cc around, but it will get there first if the going is rough. The great thing about being slightly slower, you get to miss all the wrong moves the hot rodders make, wrong side of trail, wrong part of ditch to try, I love it and laugh alot, it might be slower 1-2 mph but still scary fast enough for actual riding off road. Do you know anyone running over 50 mph thru the woods, I dont and hope I never meet that fool.

Speaking of fools, I turned mine over backwards end over end, was my stupidity and I survived, but dont want to try that again.

Mine has been very tough and trouble free, did have the shifting recalibrated, that was a good touch.

Never been stuck, been real close once, but it did get through it. No one else made it that day.

Enjoy,

 

Sprintpusher,

What mods did you have on your traxter at the time and what did the SP500 have on it at the time??

Are you compareing a stock tired atv to your ac tired ATV?

 

Boner,
I was using the regular tires that came on it, and at the time I only had the one winch on the rear basket.
Just a day out on the trails, and came across other chaps on the trail, and we all had a go at it.
Dont think the SP had anything but a bag of tools, tools meaning rope, saw and hatchet, on his rear carrier.
Not bad mouthing the SP, but know how it turned out.
Enjoy

 

I have a 2001 XT with 300 miles on it. Have had no problems and it amazes me every time I ride it.
Last weekend my wife and I went on the poker run from hell in Newton Falls New York. Very rough and
Very muddy. Everyone around us was getting stuck including the sportsman 500. This traxter was awesome and its performance on this poker run was admired by many people.One thing I noticed about the polaris was that one front tire spun at least a full revolution before locking into 4 wheel drive. This doesn't happen on the
Traxter-lockup is instant. Yes its heavy but in unstable conditions I can tell you thats a favorable trait. My traxter went everywhere I pointed it and not once got stuck. I do wish it had higher ground clearance but with the massive guards completely covering the bottom it would be hard to damage anything. I would recommend this beast to anyone.

 

Hey..

how do u fit 2 winches on the traxter?

 

I agree with sprint pusher. How fast do you need to go on a utility ATV? And even though it may be the slowest 500 (and not by much), it can out pull any of them. Which is more important for a utility 4x4? Park the Traxter next to an SP 500 or any other quad for that matter and do a side by side comparison to see which one is better built. Come to your own conclusion. I bought a Traxter and love it.

 

I have ridden with both quads, but haven't really ridden "on" either quad, much. I have ridden both of them, but not to any extent. My observatios about the two are this. The Traxter has a better 4WD set up. The front dif locks up tight with very little slip, and its a mechanical set up. The Polaris may have both front wheels working when the 4WD engages, but it still has to slip the rear wheels to engage. So when it comes to who slips more before engagement, its a wash. I trust the mechanical set up of the Traxter far more however. I don't really ride in alot of the "bottomless" mud that is more common in the midwest and south, so clearence really hasn't been an issue for either, in my experience. The Polaris has a higher top speed, but the Traxter has a faster jump off the line. They are both severely over weight in my opinion, and the Traxter even more so then the Polaris. They are both quit wide, which makes them good at off-camber riding, but they suck in the really tight trails. The Polaris has a better ride by far, and can hold a more "controlable" high speed on uneven roads. However, the Traxter will power slide far better, and is better suited to "sport" riding. It looks like the Polaris will fit larger tires then the Traxter, but that is just a guess. Both of the guys I ride with have stock tires at this point, so who knows. The buddy of mine who rides the Traxter is far harder on his quad then the other guy I know who rides the Polaris. The Traxter has held up better in that respect by far! Beyond that the biggest difference is the Traxter is available with a manual shift tranny, while the Polaris is an auto only.
Again, these are just my observations. I've ridden both, but not enough to give a "riders" opinion. This is just an "observers" opinion.

Rick

 

i have a 2001 polaris with about 600 miles on it and it runs great. i ride it every single day and thing it would beat a traxter easy. The only thing close if a grizzley.
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