For about the same price I can get either brand new '04 Sp700 or '05 Sp500, both with Glacier plow and Warn/Polaris 2500 winch. Both come out to be about $7600 OTD. What do you guys think?

I hear a lot about poor gas milage on the 700 and how it doesn't really have much more power than the 500. It's my understanding that the 700 is very tame from the factory and it only takes a clutch kit to wake it up. But, those '05 features are really nice.

I will be using the quad to plow in the winter and do whatever other work I need it to do. Otherwise I will be hitting the trail and mud pits.

I can also get an '05 Suzuki Vinson Manual shift w/ Warn Plow and Warn 2500 winch for $6900.

If everyting works out, I will be buying it tomorrow at the latest!

Thanks.

 

IMO I would get the 05 500 HO, better on fuel, pull start, longer suspension travel, will handle the glacier plow just fine ( get the 60"), Its lighter than the 700 by a few pounds. The power difference isn't very noticable.
My brother has the 04 vinson it has its pros and cons
Pros: its light, you can really man handle the atv around.
Its amazing where it will go considering it has no front locker and a SRA
20 liter fuel tank
500 engine seems to be a good performer and not bad on fuel
Cons: SRA beats you up more than the IRA
The transmission backshifts slower than the polaris causing the engine to fall out of its rpm range in deep snow and mud( but you specified manual transmission so it doesn't apply)
feels cheap while riding it compared to the polaris IMO
No front diff locker
No reverse override(reverse has a power limiter which really sucks when you are stuck or just want to back up a hill)

I don't know what improvements suzuki has made for the 05 vinson
My vote is the Sportsman 05 500HO

 

I would go for the 500 HO just because of all the great stuff they added for 05. The storage and lights, as well as looks are all first rate. The lowend of the 500 vs. 700 isn't that different. The only time I would go for the 700 over the 500 would be for mid to topend riding, which I don't do often. I bought the 700 because I wanted the "EFI", but if you are talking about the carb 700 I would take the 05 500. Thats just me, it comes down to features or a little more power...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Find a better deal!! My 04 700 twin came out over a grand less than the 05 500, in fact it cost less than the wifes 04.5 500! My dealer gave me 750 factory disco for taking an 04...and then matched it for a total of 1500 off.

 

No matter how good of a price I get someone always says it's not good. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your input, but it seems there are a lot of undercutters out there and none of the dealers near me are one! This sucks. I have to make my mind up by tomorrow becuase that's when the sales and the financing deals end. So please keep the input coming.

Here's my own position as of now, I want the 700 because it's a 700! Who wouldn't want the biggest, however I initially wanted the 500. Between the two Polaris' I am leaning towards the 700 becuase it's more quad for the money. When I asked the dealer to go lower on the 700 he said he can't b/c Polaris won't take any more off what he paid. It sucks from the dealer's standpoint b/c the newer '05 700s cost him less than the '04 700s did ('05s have a lower MSRP as well). But, I look at it this way...it's a year old quad no matter how you look at it. If he wants it off his floor he better give more off because only a moron would pay that much! However, they are not the only dealer like this. There is another nearby Polaris dealer that's even worse! If the dealers don't sell their '04s they'll most likely have to lower the price more anyways. And if I did get the 2005 Sp500 $7600 seems like a lot, isn't it?

Finally, my conclusion is that, even though it's short a few features that the Sportsman has, I am overall leaning towards the Suzuki Vinson. It seems like a solid quad. Plus I'll be saving $700 and IMO getting a sportier utility quad.