what's up with the weight difference between the '04 and '05 on the sportsmans? as far I can see the '04 were at 720 lbs and the '05 went to 765 lbs. what gives?

 

o4 400 sportsman 697 05 sportsman is 715 both have a wheel base of 51" and length is 81" and width of 46"
04 500 sportsman 697 05 sportsman is 715 both have a wheel base of 51" and length is 81" and width of 46"
04 600 sportsman 720 05 sportsman is 765 both have a wheel base of 50.75" length 81" width of 46"
04 700 sportsman 720 05 sportsman is 765 both have a wheel base of 50.75" length 81" width of 46"
04 700 efi sportsman 720 05 sportsman is 765 both have a wheel base of 50.75" length 81" width of 46"
and king of all 05 800 twin efi is 765 wheel base of 50.75 length 81" width 46"

so not all the 05 gained all that extra weight guess those extra cc's added it up lol

 

Looking at the new '05 Sportsmans, they added more to the storage front rack, the rear storage, new lights, etc. May make up some of the difference.

One thing that was interesting talking to the owner of the dealership, they did some weight comparisons. The took either a Kawasaki Brute Force or Prairie 700, can't remember what he said and then they took a Polaris 700 EFI and weighed them with full tanks of gas. The Brute Force holds alittle more fuel, 5.4 gallons total, compared to the 4.6 or whatever it is on the Polaris. Kawasaki claims a dry weight of just over 600 pounds on these machines. He said when they weighed them, the Polaris weighed 46 pounds more than the Kawasaki, not the 150 pounds difference that Kawasaki shows....

He said they also weighed other machines with similar results....I can't speak for the accuracy, only what he said.

 

Thats weird that he only got a 46lb difference between the prarie 700 and SP700. It does seem weird that they gained that much more weight. I can see them gaining some weight, but 45lbs is a lot for those changes they made. One reason they are so much heavier than the competition is because of their frames. They use square- tube steel frames while everyone else uses round- tube steel frames. Polaris also uses steel wheels, cast iron exhausts, and steel swingarms. Polaris likes to use a lot of plastic but those square-tube frames are just so heavy. BTW, does anybody know how much heavier a square-tube frame weighs than a round-tube frame?

 

Don't forget that the 05's have 26" tires that are very meaty compared to the 25" of the 04's.