Howdy, I am new around here mainly because I just recently got into ATV's. I need some honest input. My main riding will be hunting and trails.

I am currently looking at 2 different ATVs. One is a 2015 Polaris Sportsman 570 with 12hrs and 55 miles. The other is a 2010 Can-Am Outlander 500XT with 68hrs. There is only $100 difference in asking price.

Which one would you pick and why?

 

I'd get the Sportsman because it's 5 years newer and has less hours. Both will have plenty of power to haul your deer out or whatever.

 

I'd go for the newer Polaris 570. For all around use it's a great deal at a good price. Has a better frame and quicker engaging 4wd than the Can-Ams of that era too. The Polars 570 is a single cylinder machine so it will have a really good low end for chores and slow trails. Polaris has a more comfortable ride. Less fatiguing than most.

The Can-Am is a twin cylinder that has a great top end. Very quick for a 500 class machine. It would get a bit better gas mileage than the Polaris 570.

 

Check the battery location of the sportsman. The Polaris i have seen have the battery just behind the front diff. To me thats just a problem waiting to happen

 

I wouldn't waste my money on a Polaris. They generally come broken from the factory and it says something that the guy is selling it brand new

 

I haven't heard of anyone yet having a problem to due to the battery location. It was in a bad location on the 500s for years and years and that didn't cause any problem either.

 

Their could be a lot of reasons for selling an ATV that's only a year old. They may just need the money or maybe a different ATV would fit their riding style better. Only the owner knows for sure.

I've had about a half dozen Polaris ATVs over the years. Most of them were replaced because they were stolen. None were broken. One was traded in because I wanted more power. None of them were broken from the factory and I haven't had many problems with them in the last 19 years. The ADC broke on my current ATV but I never use it anyway. The rest of them have been pretty good.

 

Most people trade in or sell a new atv because they could never afford it. Obvious whoever owned either of them never rode them. They just sat and collected dust. I've put in more than 12 hours riding in one weekend before. 68 hours would probably be a typical year for most people. I have owned Polaris, Honda, Yamaha, and one Suzuki quad. Honda I think gets the nod slightly for reliability but take care of any of them and they will last. The older quads I bought gave me the most problems but the older the quad, the more time someone else had to screw it up before you got it. Or more than one someone even. The more owners it had, the greater chance it was abused.

 

with where i ride i have had several objects come up in the same area where a battery is on a Polaris. They would have destroyed the battery easily. Where i ride i am usually out in the middle of no ware so if the battery gets damaged im in for a very long walk. Im sure their are people out their that have had issues we just not heard about them.

 

I had a 2006 Polaris Sportsman X2 500. The battery was towards the front and "accessible" from the right side kind of behind the front right tire. Although it was a little tough to get at, I didn't have any troubles until it died after about 5 years of abusive riding.