First off, some of Polaris engines are made in Japan, like the one on my Trailblazer for example. My Sport however, has an engine made in the good old USA, by Robin Manufacturing. The carbs are by Mikuni, but I doubt that Holly, Carter or S&S will ever come out with a carb for an ATV application.

That being said, I would like to talk abour reliability. Geez, I must have gotten a couple of Japanese made Polaris machines because I haven't had a problem with either one of mine (please don't tell my two quads they are supposed to be unreliable, they might start acting that way).

Not to bash Honda or even the people who ride them, but it seems that Hondas are the prefered ride of the " put-gas-it-and-go-crowd". In other words, if you have no knowledge of anything mechanical (I have several friends like that, but don't think any less of them because of it) you too can enjoy the great outdoors on a quad. It seems to me that when something DOES go wrong on a Honda (axle bearings on a 300EX come to mind) people generally have to take them to a dealer to have them fixed. A simple squirt of grease from my trusty grease gun after every ride keeps my bearings and bushings like new. I almost wish you could do this on the former Honda products I had. Sealed bearings are nice and all, but when it comes to replacing them, look out.

Hondas and to some extent Yamahas have also pushed Polaris to make some changes too. There are a lot less zerk fittings on the newer Polaris machines than on the older models. When they introduced the 1999 Yamaha Grizzlys and 1999 Polaris Magnums, I noted with some humor that Yamaha had ADDED zerk fittings to their machine while Polaris had REMOVED them. I thought it was funny how each machine was trying to be like the last years machine from the other manufacturer. Some where there is a happy medium in all of this.

Mr_Sebring is correct, If it wasn't for Polaris and it's largely Sport Utility lineup (by the way, Polaris did invent the Sport/Utility class, contrary to what you'll hear from the two main ATV rags), all of the Japanese Utility quads would have 4" of suspension and be as slow as snails. There would be no Soprt/Utility quads at all. If it wasn't for Polaris' sales Honda (and others) would have never gotten the kick in their complacencies and changed their machines. Can you honestly say that there would be Grizzlys/Kodiaks/Beartrackers/Wolverines, ForemanES/Rubicons/Ranchers/Recons, and Praires if it wouldn't have been for Polaris sales? The same can be said about Yamaha. Do you really think Honda would have come out with a 400EX if Yamaha hadn't sold a ton of Banshees? HMMM!

I'm done talking now.

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Mike Chero 97 Polaris Sport 400L/ 97 Polaris Trailblazer 250ES

<A HREF="http://users.penn.com/~hal9000/mikeetta.html">MIKE & CELESTE'S ATV PAGE </A>



[This message has been edited by Mike Chero (edited 11-30-1999).]

 

PETESBWEEN,writes,who cares if a quad has disk or drum brakes as long as they work ok and do the job?Is that not the same as asking,who cares about switching from 2wd to 4wd,having 4'' of shock travel instead of 9'',having independant suspension instead of a solid axle,having an auto instead of shifting?All the above works ''ok'',but it still comes down to what the buying customer prefers.I have had so many problems with drum style brakes,I dont want them on ANY of my quads.Drums have shown NOT to be nearly as effective as disk brakes to me,so therefore,It does make a differance to ME. BILL

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Look, SCREW ALL THIS CRAP.

It's not our job to decide who's the best selling ATV manufacturer, it's our job to ride an ATV we like. None of this stuff matters, and people still sit there and argue about why we should be thankful for this, that, whatever, screw it, it doesn't matter. Just ride and avoid this stupid BS. Why even talk about what manufacturer is the BEST? It's pathetic seeing Polaris people all of the sudden post stupid stuff saying "thanks polaris" and crap. Thank god you don't have to gather statistics. Want to figure out the BEST? Ride and see for yourself...

 

I agree with the fact that Polaris has made the rest of the ATV world advance thier research in the utility/work/farm model four wheelers. The research that Honda has put into the Rubicon transmission is incredible. Unlike Polaris and Others they have an automatic tranny and NO BELT to slip or break. As far as other quads, Polaris is SOOOOOOOO far behind in the "true sport" ATV market it isn't even funny.

Their massive (??475 lbs??) 400L, or now the 2WD Scrambler, doesn't hold a candle to the 400EX, Banshee, or the old faithful 250R. The 250 Trailblazer is so slow I can't believe they even consider it a sport quad.

They have a lot of work to do to these tanks to be competitive with the real sport quads!!

Scott

 

Not only is Polaris the cause for all of these new machines, it's all of the manufacturers. It's pretty much sales success. True, if Polaris never was, then you probably wouldn't see Arctic Cat and Bombardier in the ATV manufacturer list. But the other manufacturers are also responsible for Polaris doing what they're doing, otherwise they probably wouldn't come out with new machines every year or update because they would figure they would eventually become the sales leader no matter what. Well, they're gonna have to fight for it. So basically every manufacturer that's making ATV's is responsible for the others to update and come out with new ones, it's competition. And for the consumer, this is a very good thing.

 

Polaris has indeed had a major role in the current popularity atvs in general are experiencing. Thank you Polaris. I got out of atving at a real low point for the sport, when public opinion was against them on almost all fronts. Most of the trails in my area were closed to atvs around this same time. Things are finally changing, and I firmly belive that the new manufacturers Polaris, Arctic Cat, Bombardier etc, are playing a huge role in changing public opinions. Polaris was the first of the new guys so they deserve the most credit. By the way I still wouldn't buy a Polaris, because of the reliability issues, and I have been Employed as a mechanic in the past. Credit given where credit is due. Later Bob