I have been really looking hard at which ATV to get my son. I really like that the SP 90. mainly cause it looks like my 600. And my son says he wants one just like his Daddy...lol...
I have looked at all of them at the Dealerships..Yamaha,Suzuki,Polaris,Honda, etc....
I really wanted a Four stroke with shaft Drive but yamaha is the only one that has those specs...But it isn't a fully automatic....
Every dealership dowms the other brand....so its hard to get a good opinion any ....
With the Sportsman 90...Does the water issue become a real problem? We go through trails with little water and sometimes get cought in the rain....
Any tips ....
Thanks
JP

 

.

We have an '03 Pred-90. Same frame / engine / wiring except its plastic and a few minor controls are different.


My son & I have drove our '03 Pred-90 in the rain. No problem. We drove our Pred-90 in the deep mud with no problem. We drive our Pred-90 through clear water crossings and "no problem". On average, it takes the same level of water depth as many other brands of 2 strokes. Their recommended factory water level is "level or below" its running boards. Just like many other 2 stroke brands. Yes, we've had our Pred-90's engine completely under water. No problems. But after a while of doing our water / crud riding conditions, it came back to haunt us. Billy Holt from WRH Racing had to bail us out again.


For a few pictures of Polaris Pred-90 design under water / mud condtions, surf:

- Press Here 1 -
- Press Here 2 -
- Press Here 3 -
- Press Here 4 -


If water / mud is your passion in life, you may want to keep looking for a 4 stroke with sealed tranny. The 2 strokes with open CVTs and vented stator systems don't do well in the "mud & crud" riding conditions - especially over a long period of time. Sorry Polaris owners but the proof of "NOT a great water / mud" machine really is in the above pictures.


Hope this helps...

.

 

OrphanMaker:
I just bought a 90 Sportsman '04 new for my son (soon to be 8) 2 weeks ago. I too do a lot of trail riding with creeks to cross and some of them can get deep. I did not want to spend the extra 6-700 on the 80 Grizzley, but it did have the 4 and a shaft drive. Major pluses for me, but I figured I'll try this SP 90 this year and see how it goes. If I have too many problems, I'll sell it next year and hopefully there will be more options, i.e. reverse, shaft drive, and a 4 stroke on the '06's. I understand that you can shut off the motor and drag it across deep water if needed (heard Spike99 mention that in a previous post, it think). I'll probably do that with some of our deeper mtn streams. I bought mine for 2k and was told today by the other Polaris dealer in town (long story) that I bought it at dealer cost and that I could turn around and sell it next year for nearly what I bought it for. If you can find an '04 out there that is new and a dealer that is willing to push it out the door, you may get one much cheaper.
Good luck.

 

IMO stay with a 4-stroke. Alot of the manufactures are talking about 4-stroke for the 2006 model year. I would stay with chain drive as more options to gear for your riding conditions. Fact is you will probably only own it for a couple years and will be getting a bigger one for him as he grows, so buy a few chains. Maybe look at a used model a few years old for him to learn to shift on. WOT in 1st, WOT gearing down as he just stomps on the shift lever. My now 7 yr. old learned on a 1987 Honda TRX 125 quad w/auto clutch. Would have been alot harder to watch the learning curve on a newer quad.

My pros for a 4-stroke. Gas and go (no pre-mix or oil injection failing or oil tank going dry), oil change 1-2 a year, resale value, quiet (if you want), better fuel mileage (for long trips), low end torque, etc.

 

Hey Spike ...
What exactly happend to your Pred...Stator ?...I'm new with this tech....Would thier be a way to vent the sytem up with a snorkal or something ....and I have heard that the New 05 are a littl more water proof and have reverse...

I have checked out the 80 grizzy...I like it ..but it is $2800....but most of all it is not auto....its 3 speed...I dont want my son to have to worry about gear yet .....

Thanks
Jp

 

.

In the above posts, I created some "- Press Here -" links. Click on each link to see what "most likely" caused out stator to blow. If wondering, it wasn't ALL the coils that blew on our Pred-90. It was only the Spark Plug (aka: Ignition) side of the stator. For more description of its coils, surf: - Press Here for Coil Picture -


To reduce accidental fear in everyone who has a Pred-90, let me further explain. We do lots of water / mud riding. We've been doing it for 2.5 years. Under these unique riding conditions, water / mud does get into our 2 stroke stator system. Probably not as bad as other 2 strkes brands, but it does happen. Going forward, we (the family pit crew) plan to clean our stator area every 4 months during our summer mud runs. Mid summer and fall to start. For more details, surf: - Press Here -


The '04 & '05s do have a much better Engine Cooling Vent Intake system (compared to the '03). However, I'm sure each year does have a water dain hole in the bottom of each of their plastic covers. This little drain hole will let water out but it also lets water in. This explains why Polaris recommends Pred-90 water level with "level to or below their running boards". For a picture of this Plastic Cover drain hole, surf: - Press Here for drain hole -


Note: I'm sure many other 2 strokes have the same recommended MAX. water levels because of the drain holes in their Engine's Plastic Cover (and open CVT systems) as well.


Hope this info helps as well....

.

 

MY buddie bought a sportman 90 for his girl and has had nothing but problems with fouling the plug. I told him to get a four stroke. IMO these 2 stroke are made to REV high and when a little kid puts around on them it fouls the plug. Just my 2 cents.

 

hey camo...has the governer strip on that 90 sportsman been removed?....that'll foul plugs out daily..

 

I'll mention it to him. I think part of the problem is she really just PUTTS on it now. Maybe when she gets used to it and opens it up it will stop.

 

.

I believe an improperly adjusted 2 stroke engine (re: mini-quad, weed wacker, chain saw, etc.) will foul plugs. Two strokes need to be more "optiminal tuned" than a 4 stroke. High revs up / down on 2 strokes does reduce carbon build-up. But if the engine is "out of synch" in a variety of different areas, it will foul plugs at any engine RPM level. For more details on how to reduce / eliminate fouled plugs, surf: - Press Here -


Hope this helps as well...


.