i rode the 800 yesterday at the dealer and i dident have trouble like that getting the wheels up i may be a bit heavyer than you but still when i nailed it i thought it was coming over on me??? or was that not full throttle?

what do you think elkbow??

 

Pretty cool[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]. I didn't realize Polaris had added the "Barking Dog Exhaust" option[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

It may respond to pavement a little better when gunning it full throttle. Yes mine was full throttle. I have a winch up front not sure if that is making a difference. If I am on a grade, it will come up part throttle. I am not sure how those people on the reviews were saying 40 mph wheelies. I have not had a chance yet to compare to the big bores on an open ground yet. However after testing the BF, I would say this has more low end torque.

I am surprised at how good the clutching is on this. It does seem that the revs are higher on this. I will note later the rpm it takes to move. My old 04 polaris 700 non efi was not anything comparable to this. I can actually keep it in high on a grade and it not act like its going to burn the belt. Almost seems like it engages at a lower ratio. Another thing is the engine braking on this. My other Sportsmans never really had this much of engine braking. I literally can go any grade and slow down to a slow crawl with it. The others always held back but not this much.

It has tons of low end torque. I had an old glacier plow on and was cleaning up a bunch of concrete blocks with it. It needed a meer touch of the throttle to move anything. I did notice one huge difference with this compared to my old 04 700 when having the snow plow hooked up. It seems since they improved ride quality, they didn't make the springs up front quite strong enough for a 60" glacier plow assy. It seems very unstable with it up front since it squats up front. I NEED to get the spacers up front if I am going to use this thing a lot. I was able to fly wide open on my old 04 700 with the plow on and not worry about losing control.

Overall I am excited at how well Polaris designed the 800. I must disagree with some people feeling like it has too much power. This thing has about the exact power it needs.

My overall feeling of this

 

jwyles,

Low end torque is a must with me. I'm getting rid of my KQ because of it's annoying low end hesitation. I've owned a BF and it had monster low end torque. I'm thinking about getting a BF on Tuesday but I read from you and another poster that that the SP800 has more low end torque than the BF. This peaks my interest. Can you elaborate on what type of testing you did to determine that the SP800 has more low end than the BF?

Thanks

Chris

 

i didn't even full throttle it on the pavement and could bring it up higher than that....if you look at his video closely, you'll see the rear wheel spin when he is trying to pull it up....also, i would run alittle more rpm's before pulling the front end up, it is hitting the engagement portion at the beginning, but i think that alittle more rpms are needed....it sounds like you are in low gear....i was pulling the wheelies in high gear?

the low end torque is awesome on the machine.....even the pull through the midrange....from my ride yesterday, I would say that they 800 EFI and BF would be pretty close to the same acceleration and give the nod to the 800 EFI off the line....I like the looks of the '05 Polaris's and the BF is good looking too....until they do something with the suspension the BF, I wouldn't own one....its a nice machine, but for my style of riding...aggressive and sliding around the corners....the BF doesn't cut it compared to the Polaris....JMO....

dave

 

Unfortunately I do not have any concrete evidence with the BF as having less low end torque. However just my observation with the kick when you punch it full throttle and part throttle. The evidence with the SP800 was me pushing concrete blocks with the plow with a mere touch of the throttle just enough to engage the clutch. Any more then that the plow pretty much jumped up over the blocks. Whenever I would have too much to push from all the weight, no more throttle was needed as it just spun. Not sure if this helps or not but I could guarentee you without a shadow of a doubt that you would not be sorry wiht the 800. However I strongly feel the BF is not significantly less powerful. Both are so powerful you will not go wrong. My opinion is that the Sportsman is built the heaviest and will take more of a beating when using it for work, which is what is important to me. I have pulled and rammed stuff that I would never attempt on any other quad. I wish I could help you make your decision but its mainly up to you with what you like. My best advice here would be to try both before you buy. That usually eliminates regrets.

 

NICE GOT MY 800 LAST WEEK AWSOME COMPAIRED TO MY 500 CARB. NO COMPARISON NOT FULLY BROKE IN YET BUT TODAY PLAYING AROUND 55 MPH UP HILL GIVE YOU SOME INFO YOU CAN GO FROM THERE EFI THE WAY TO GO IN MY EYES ALSO TO NEW TO TELL YET!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I agree, with the weight of the Polaris, it is the workhorse of the two....can't go wrong.....like I said on the BF, if they fixed the suspension, it would be an awesome machine, but reading over in the Kawasaki forums, the BF has overheating, brake, shifting, etc. problems....just some of them I read on the forum....problem with forums, if someone reads something bad about a machine, they think all the ATV's from the manufacturer are bad and all of that model, which if we posted all the people that don't have any problems would give an indication of the real issues vs no issues....

 

I learned a hard lesson yesterday with my EFI. Don't unscrew the fuel cap when the machine is on!!!

 

Very well said Elkbow