And can give me an honest opinion on it. If I posted this in the Yamaha forum theyd all be telling me how great they are but Id rather have a Polaris owners opinion. I currently have a 2001 Sportsman 500 HO with 1150 miles and have the chance to get a 2002 S.E Grizzly 660 with only 150 miles on it---its loaded with a winch and everything and its a friend selling it for a good price--I do mostly extreme trail riding to my bear stand in AK through lots of mud and crap---I want a reliable machine and so far the polaris has let me down a little---any help would be great, thanks---Dave

 

I’m not a Polaris guy but I am an unbiased ATV consumer. I basically choose my ride based upon the best choice of features (that I like), reputation and price. I bought the first ’02 Grizzly that came into my local dealer (back in July ’01) and it has been virtually trouble free since then (and about 2000 rough miles later). I personally would be hesitant at buying a used ATV (not knowing how it’s been taken care of or if it has any hidden problems) but since the one in question belongs to a friend of yours this may not be an issue for you.

From my experience here are some good points; lighter weight (than a Polaris equivalent), comfortable ride, decent power, reliable and can be pushed pretty fast along a trail once you get used to the sloppy handling characteristics (body roll), good down-hill engine braking (especially when in low range and 4WD), good 4WD system, independent front and rear brakes.

Now here are some not so good points; plastic is not very durable (when compared to the older 600 Grizzly for example) as I’ve broken plastic in the rear fender / floorboard area by squeezing it through a tight spot between 2 trees, a lot of slow riding will cause overheating situations where the gas in the tank starts boiling and engine sputtering can result if you suddenly apply a lot of throttle (a heat kit is available from Yamaha to correct this), the floorboards will easily pack up with snow (due to the small holes in the floorboards) and eventually you may find that you'll need to scrape them clean in order to keep your feet from slipping off), finally the Grizzly has more towing capability than the strength of the hitch allows. If you stay within specs you won’t have any trouble (with towing), however if you blatantly exceed the specs you can break the hitch (mine broke when pulling large logs and I ended up strengthening it).

Here are some improvement tips; ITP C-Series wheels make the stance wider (nearly 4” overall) to improve stability, 6 ply tires are more durable than the stockers, 26” tires are an improvement over the stock 25” tires for rugged trail use (so far I've liked 26" Dirt Devils the best).

Mine will be making it’s second visit to the shop shortly to get the heat kit installed (no charge), to replace the choke (starter) cable (the old one would get really stiff when it got below freezing which caused the machine to idle fast) and finally to check / adjust valves if necessary. The only other time it went in was for the standard servicing after the break-in period was over…

 

I'm curious, how did your 500 "let you down"? I've had two polaris ATV's and neither one has ever seen a delaership after they left. I've got a 600 twin now with a clutch kit and winch, I've passed grizzlys in mudholes. I Personally beleive Polaris is the best for mudding and rough terrain.

 

I don't own a polaris any more, but I know guys who have the griz and they love it. It is a little tippy in off camber situations though. Other than that, it should be great. But, your polaris has the best ride out there, bar none. Although the griz rides great too.

 

"a lot of slow riding will cause overheating situations where the gas in the tank starts boiling "


now thats hot!!

 

Yep, this is caused by an inadequate amount of air flow through the engine area. This does not become a problem if you are going, say, above 15 mph (that’s a guess), but I’ve never had the problem myself except when pulling a mower for a couple of hours or more at a time, or pulling a lot of logs out of the woods (the fast trip back up to the woods to get the next log doesn’t seem to quite cool it down enough). The free “heat kit” available from the Yamaha dealer (for ’02 and ’03 models) gives you ventilated side panels (same part as what comes on the ’04 models) and some heat shielding that goes underneath the gas tank (from what I’ve heard) and perhaps around some of the exhaust plumbing as well, (I’ll be getting my heat kit installed next week so I’ll find out for sure what all is involved then)…

 

is that for the newer grizz

 

Don't have one but my buddy does and I have ridden his alot. It is a torque monster!! It does not seem to have alot of top end though. It feels really tippy in tough spots, but my buddy put a set of aftermarket shocks on that made a big difference. for me the cab area seems a little tight, but he is alot smaller and likes the tighter feel of the grizz. One thing I do not like is the locker for the front diff. it is a pain in the butt to have to worry about it.

One thing for sure about it is it kicks the crap out of the Rincon he has, but so does my 400 Sportsman! (sad isn't it)!!!

I Like my sportsman and feel more comfortable on it then the grizz.

Chris

 

The "gas boiling" issues are only associated with the '02 and '03. The heat kit modification cures that. However you won't need the heat kit under normal trail riding conditions (I've done fine without it since July 2001). The only time it becomes an issue is if you are going SLOW for extended periods of time.

About the diff-lock, although it is very effective, I too think it could have been designed better. To engage it you must come to a complete stop and then push a button. Sometimes you have to wiggle the handlebars to have it lock in right away after the button is pushed. Note however you do not have to stop to engage / disengage the 4WD (limited slip) button, you only have to stop to engage the diff lock button (after the machine is already in 4WD mode).

As far as torque and top end goes, it's no match for a 650 / 700 Prairie in an acceleration contest but it is capable of 65 MPH on a level road which is about the same as the other quads in it's class. In real life trail riding conditions though it does very well, for instance on the Hatfield McCoy system I find that I tend to average at the same trail riding speed (20 - 50 mph) whether I'm on the Grizzly or the V-Force, although the V-Force accelerates quicker and I may include higher top speed bursts with it from time to time, but the overall average seems to be about the same (I still have to wait the same amount of time for my buddies to catch up when I come to a trail intersection.. LOL!). However there are a couple of big differences in creature comforts, the faster the Grizz goes, the smoother it seems to get, and my thumb doesn't get as tired pushing the throttle all day as it does with the V-Force. The ride comfort of the IRS suspension makes a difference at the end of the day in the way you feel (not nearly as worn out), especially when compared to my older solid rear axle air cooled 600 Grizzly. However when it comes to ride comfort (smoothness), I believe the heavier Polaris models will even out-do the Grizzly in that department...

 

the gas boils in the carb bowl, not the tank.Correct?