Hey Barbwire, let me tell you what I do with my scrambler. I have a two inch ball on it. I pull a two place atv trailer around my property with no prolem whatsoever. I have a plow for it in the winter that works awesome and I just added the winch to the front which fits and works perfect. It has only forward and reverse and is simple to use. My wife thinks it's a breeze to drive. It's fast as hell and it also has TRUE four wheel drive that works at the click of a switch at any speed. Two of my friends have sportsmans and they haven't gone anywhere that I couldn't follow. In fact, I have been able to get through a few puddles that they couldn't. The full body skid plate under the scrambler alows it to skim across some things at a quicker speed which enables me to make it through a few tougher spots that they had trouble with. Look at my pics and see some of the mud I have gone through with no problems. (you can also see the trailer I pull with it) I have had no breakdowns that WEREN"T a direct result of something that I caused my self. It's a 2003 model and has performed flawless. I have had it underwater to the middle of the seat driving through a creek bed slowly and it never stalled or gave trouble. The belt has performed flawlessly and has yet to get wet or slip on me even in deep water. It's quicker than all my friends quads in the trails and it climbs hills like a beast! I can't say enough about this machine. It may not be a true farm work horse like a sportsman, but it holds its own plowing and pulling stuff at my house and it's flat out a blast to ride. The only thing negative I can say is that after riding 5-6 hours, the seat can get a little uncomfortable. but to me that is a small price to pay for everything else that this baby can do. besides, the new seat has been widened and it feels a bit better. I will probably spend the bucks and upgrade the seat. These are reasons why you should by a polaris and I suggest a scrambler for what you are looking for. If you have a chance to ride one, do it. You will like it! was this reply long enough? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Mike

 

To be honest I don't think you will find one quad that will give you what you want. If you dont need or want EFI I would stay with any of the 4 wheel drive 500 cc models. And out of all em most people will agree that was the best model Polaris ever built. I do not know why you dislike there belt system. Since 1992 I have only fried one belt and that was due to me not having it in low range when I thought I did.

 

Snowwolfe is right, that 500 engine is a tank. It's polaris' bread and butter motor. eventually, they'll offer EFI on all of their motors. Good luck!

 

Looks can be decieving. You can't judge a book by its cover...Or a quad by its looks for that matter.

Don't get me wrong, looks do mean a lot, but you'll be surprised how much something will grow on you after you realized what it could do. Give a Sportsman a ride and see how you like it.

I'm with Revshredd, as well as most other Scrambler owners...You'll be surprised how versatile the Scrambler is. It is quite possibly the best trail quad out there, and in my opinion way more fun than the Sportsman because of the lighter weight, riding position and SRA which makes it easy and fun to throw around on the trail.

I just recently purchased a Kawi Brute Force 650 because I needed a quad to plow lots of snow with as well as be fun on the trails. I feel it is the next step in the utility direction from the Scrambler with more power, about the same weight, a SRA plus shaft drive and low range.

 

Both you and revshredd got some awsome pictures. These are a must see, make the magazines look pretty tame. Revshredd, remember you got a cute kid and wife to look after, watch yourself on those satanic rides. No doubt about it the scrambler is an awesome machine, im impressed, almost unstoppable. But I need racks, maintenanace tools stay in the tool box year round. Also ground clearence is of concern. From what I understand with polaris or kawasaki a person should stay in low at lower speeds to conserve belt, surprises me the scrambler only has F-N-R but I guess its made to go fast all the time. The wife didnt like the seat height of the sportsman or the front end, but she bought a bruin so I guess I can personalize my choices. My polarises dont have a differential on the front, just a strange thing called an eccentric. Ive replaced these numerous times , are they still that way?

 

They make racks for the SCramblers.And when I had my Sportsman and my 425 Magnum I never worried about low gear in 4x4 unless conditions called for it.I never had any belt problems still dont on my Scrambler.

 

BARBWIRE,

I take it your older Polaris 4x4 had chain drive front and rear? They are not like that anymore. Waaay lower maintenance and more reliable than ever. Scramblers are now chain drive rear shaft drive front.

 

there are some very special things i like about the '05 Sportsmans that come in quite handy for my needs.
first is the rear work lights.
second is the super bright headlights.
third is the sealed, front rack storage. no need to buy a rack bag that get's in the way and isn't waterproof.
fifth is the excellent stock tires. there is no need to waste your hard earned money on upgrading tires. you won't find potato skins on a Polaris!
sixth is the receiver hitch. i use two different inserts- 2" ball and pin-and-clip. it's a cinch to swap inserts.
seventh- i like a winch that mounts up high.

Polaris offers many different accessories. seems like many more than other mfgs. the new Glacier plow is inovative, fantastic, and easy to use! pull up to the blade, glides right into place, hook the winch and off you go! damn that's easy!

i've owned Polaris ATVs since 1995 (still have the first one) and i have yet to have a problem with a belt. Polaris belts and transmissions are TOP-NOTCH!

BARBWIRE
i would caution you with the 3 kids riding a SP. watch them all the time. it's NOT a sport quad. it's a utility and a heavy one at that! kids kinda think they can hot-dog around with a SP and it ends up on top of them! not fun. more than likely DEADLY! 700+ lbs on top of a 18yr old............well, i'll leave it at that.

sincerely,
-MT

 

mtpockets i added the pure polaris front and rear bumpers to my 05 500ho they
fit and look freat easy too install also and come in colors

 

Yea my bikes are dinosaurs. The one has 26 grease fittings. Pretty much need to clean the whole thing with a tooth brush to find then all. Are they still that way? Got three kids, Daughter age 21, sons 17 and 7. The older ones ride ok, Son has a KLR 650, it works better on street than dirt and hates mud. The seven year old is a handful, hes got the Bruin figured out and took off with it. Ive looked at the sportsman, seemed like it needed a little more protection from sticks up front, that cheesy expanded metal in front of the cooler looked like it could be a little heavier. It was only a quick look because at the time I thought sra was the only way to go, now im hearing diffrent. Polaris is the only one that gives tongue weight which is somewhat impressive.(120 lbs vs the bruin at 33) I believe the sportsman had 26 inch rubber if im correct, wouldnt need any mods then. The atp had a sra but the box didnt impress me any. Ill give the sportsman another look, cant buy locally, dealer wants msrp. I can take a ride to tennesse spend the night, eat good and still save a thousand considering taxes and pricing. Does polaris got that $69 winch thing going on like everyone else?