crocket i think you may have mistyped when you wrote a v twin sportsman...polaris are parallel twins. if you want to see a definite advantage of an irs machine it is clearly displayed in snow.....find about fourteen to fifteen inches of the white stuff and go irs will eat a single rear arm machine in this situation. although noone ever rides in the snow all the time, it jsut shows the advantages of an irs machine

 

My bad. For some reason I had Kawasaki on my mind. There are times that IRS is a benefit (snow included). Also, if you are into really deep mud and plan on putting a lift kit and much bigger tires. I've found for what I do (tow stuff on our farm and trail ride) the simplicity and reliablity of a solid rear end is more of a benefit than a hindrance. For that matter, I also bought the standard shift 500 over the automatic rubicon. That was more of a liquid cooler vs. air cooled decision (and the fact that my 94 has about 8000 miles on it and has never been worked on--why mess with what works). Sorry if I've gotten off topic, I apologize.

 

But, we're talking mud though aren't we? If the riders in your area with solid-rear axle-equipped machines are having problems in the muck, they don't know what they're doing. I constantly clear holes that a Grizzly we ride with gets stuck in all the time. If you have tires and momentum with at least decent ground clearance, the IRS or SRA issue is nearly irrelevant my friend. May not make sense on paper, but in the real world that's just how it is. Ride a SRA with good tires some time in the mud if you get a chance. You might just be "thrilled and amazed."

 

lol
----------------------
2004 Polaris Sportsman 700
'27 ITP 589 M/S
3000 Warn Winch (just added)

2001 Honda Rancher ES
2500 Warn Winch
(FOR SALE)

 

AC 500 Auto-697 pounds. AC 500 LE-735 pounds, SP 500-715 pounds, WOW!!!!!!!!! And thats dry too! Single lever brakes?????? Whats with that? And Polaris has the worst engine braking in the business.

With our Rancher only weighing 50 pounds less than our Rubicon it has an amazingly "sportier" feel than our Rubicon. That being the case I can't imagine any of these heavy weights being "sporty" at all. Especially with all the nose diving and body role going into corners at any higher speeds.

Quoted from ATV magazine "However, (AC 500 auto) in hard turns of braking on fast downhills, the front end is twitchy, plus it can hook and dive. An evil combination of body roll, bump steer and not enough positive camber is suspect. The Polaris, with a 1.5 inch wider front end this year has a little more body role in fast turns but not as much as the Arctic Cat."

And they continue, " Arctic Cat builds a great quad for rock crawling, moderate speed cruising and working. But generally speaking, it plays catchup to the others. Its not fast and for aggressive riding the front-end geometry needs a major overhaul."

If you are looking for a stable ATV, you can write off the Sportsman lineup, AC 500s, and the Yamaha Grizzly.

If you want good low speed, cushy ride, the AC 500 would be a good choice. If you are any kind of an aggressive rider, I'd keep looking.

 

If you want a fast sporty bike that handles good, get a sport bike. If you want a utility bike, get a utility bike. I have several utility ATV's, and I don't know how fast any of them go. Heck, I usually never get any higher than 3rd or 4th gear. Therefore, speed & handling are irrelevant for me.

You guys are cracking me up by saying the SRA bikes can keep up with the IRS bikes in mud. That's just plain crazy. The bike with the most ground clearance will go further. That's not to say, you can't get off the bike, and rock it from side to side over the rut to try and get traction or help it out by pushing it along, but that's not letting the bike do the work.

My 14 year old son drives a 99' Honda 300 4x4 with a 2" lift, 26" vampires, glass pack exhaust, and a front spool locker, and he's been riding since he was about 8. He is as good, if not better, than I am in the mud, and his bike is probably the best mud bike that Honda has ever made, and he get's that bike stuck where my Arctic Cat has already gone. And there's no way the Rubicon, Rancher, or Foreman can go where that 300 can't go without some very expensive mods.

 

I think the thing that is eliminating the IRS advantage is the fact that the mud I ride in has no bottom...therefore ruts are not left by vehicles. It is just bottomless, gooey mud, nasty enough to suck down a billy goat on nitrous with a belly full of beans to the depths of oblivion----that's some nasty stuff.

 

They make an ATV for everyone, but they don't make one ATV for everybody. I am not a "sport" rider by any means and I don't mud. I ride in the Rocky Mountains and the last thing I want is a tall, tippy, heavy ATV. I descend very steep hills and the last thing I want is an ATV that does not steer well coming down steep hills with sharp turns in them. I don't know anyone who hasn't hauled --- down some trail at one time or another and I hate the tippy feel of some of the heavy weights.

One ATV will succeed at one thing and another ATV will succeed at something else. You need to buy the one that succeeds most at what is important to you. Stability, no belt, auto trans, and dependability (which I understand the AC 500 is a very trouble free ATV) where very high on our list.

 

Ditto!

 

CatWithClaws, my good friend just bought a new AC 500 LE. He has a HUGE smile on his face and thats the botton line. His big reasons were the lime green (which I like too!) and all the accessories that the Cat rack system offers. He will end up with all of it to do back woods camping. No question for him he made the best decision on the best ATV. I love that lime green and polished aluminum wheels, looks great.