am buying 2 ATVs, one for myself and one for the wife. We have 2 kids and will use them mostly for family excursions as well as going with my buddies.

I am undecided between the Sp 500, the Sp 600 and the Vinson 500. Right now, I am leaning toward the Sp 600 for myself and the Sp 500 for the wife. The local dealer wants 22000 out the door for both but I can get them from a dealer 4 hours away for 19000. I can't understand the 3000 difference but the local dealer won't budge. Any thoughts and suggestions? TIA

Also, what's the main difference between the 2004 Sportsman models and the 2004½ Sportsman models?

 

Here's the improvements on the 2004 1/2 model:

Centrally locking front hubs
Different shift pattern
Better cooling system
Carlisle radial tires
Fuel guage

 

For crude reliability i would go with the sp 500....the difference between the o4 and 04.5 is the new radial tires that drop 20lbs and the new digital fuel guage.

 

I would go with the sp-500 it has been around for a while now and all the bugs have been worked out for many years... Its a proven machine cant beat them in price and quality...

 

trailrider500 said it

 

thanks for your replies,

Do you guys believe the improvements to the 2004½ are worth the extra 300-400$ per machine that dealers are asking for?

 

Personaly, I would go with the 600. It's a beast. Lots of low end power for crawling over rocks and such. If you do go with the 500, get the H.O. There is quiet a bit of difference in power.

 

I would say the SP600 for yourself and the SP500 for your wife. You gotta have the more powerful machine right?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Both of them are great machines and pretty much bullet proof. If it were me, I would get the 04 1/2 just for the list of improvement that WileyCoyote gave. That doesnt mean that the 04 wouldnt be worth it though. Also, I would assume that the $22000 is in Canadian? (At least I hope:confused[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Roughly what does that translate inot US currency?

 

yes it is in canadian dollars...$22000 translates into about $17000 american. $19000 from the other dealer translates into about $14500. Those are out the door prices. I'm still trying to confirm that the two bikes for $19000 are 4½ and not 4. That would partially explain the big difference in prices.

 

HMMMMM.......... That still seems kinda high to me even for OTD prices. Is that due to them just being more expensive in your neck of the woods or are the taxes higher too?