i have to agree. comparing a brand new sportsman to a brand new grizzly, a sportsman is by far, the superior machine ..... but........comparing a used sportsman to a used grizzly (both ridden in the same places and ridden equally as hard) after 1000 miles i would take the grizz.
i guess there might be a bad one come off every assembly line. where i live we must be getting all of the bad ones. i think if polaris had a machine built as tough as the grizz and had a customer service department that you could call and actually speak to a human, then i may consider another sportsman.
TO the guy who said he never heard of a 4 wheel drive problem...... i had 3 polaris mechanics tell me themself that the on-demand 4 wheel drive is a common complaint. when u push the button a 12 volt current is sent to the hubs, an electro-magnet pulls the armature plate up a ramp and locks the front hubs in, the intelligent engineers at polaris cant seem to get the air gap right between the plate and the magnet and they tear up the plates. granted the plates are only $1.50 a piece, you have to drain the fluid and tear into the hub. a grizzly uses a motor and a shaft similar to a starter bendix, no plates, no air gap, no problem.
i just find it pretty bad that an american made for wheeler can be out done by the japs. until convinced otherwise i will own a grizz.

 

the old doc just turned 2500 miles and it still feels as good as the day i brought it home. just take care of it and it will take care of you!
THE DOCTOR IS IN!!!
96 sportsman 500

 

What till you try and get parts for your yamaha. Not so with polaris

hugh

 

My Warrior(long gone now thank god) spent 6 months in the shop when it was 3 months old engine torn apart, it took them 6 months to get the parts i needed. Yamahas break down too, I owned two of them I know.
You cannot really have us believe that you know the people that own all the Polaris machines in your area?