Yes they are dropping the 600 in 06, I just test drove 05- 500 and 600, and i thought the 600 had tons more power. it really impressed me and the 500 just felt ok... not impressive... So i bought the 600.. and it was only 300 bucks more then the 500


I am very impressed...

 

polaris5 already bought one. he went with the 500.

(saw his topic "2005 Sportsman Questions " dated March1st)


-MT

 

i kinda thought for his needs he would have saved $700 and bought the 400.

oh well!

 

This has been an ongoing question on this forum. Everyone has a preference and everyone’s riding style is different. The 500HO is a hot bike for Polaris. The 400 & 500 ATV class is the largest selling ATV class. My dealer said he has been selling more SP400's in the past year over the 500HO's due to the price difference. Most of the people buying them are farmers using them around the farm, cattle operations, timbers, pulling 150-200 gal. sprayer, etc. And of course some play. Chances are you will be happy with any bike you purchase. I purchased the 400 w/EBS and love it. The 500HO would have been nice just to have the bigger bike, but I had a budget to stay within if I wanted to pay cash, plus if you are like me the extra $700 means more sales tax for the government too & I would prefer to keep as much of my money as possible. If you want to be the first one off the line when racing with friends, get the bigger machine. If you are going to work the machine and do trail riding, hills, mud pits, etc. and not go over 40-50 MPH too much, the 400 will have plenty of power & speed. Also, if you read this forum and will believe you need the bigger bike because that is what most people have on this forum, then consider the bigger bike. When I work my bike or go riding with my sp400 I don't see how the extra expense for the extra power would put a bigger smile on my face. I really enjoy my sp400. Here is a review of my SP400 I posted back in January. (Hope this all helps for those who have the same question in the future.)

****************
Hi folks, Just wanted to pass along my review of my new ’05 400 Sportsman. I was able to get about 3.5 hrs on the machine on Sunday riding through some timber trails about 1.5 hrs northeast of Kansas City. I was riding with my neighbor who has a ’05 AC 400. Here are a few areas I’ll address:

* AWD - GREAT!! Ran most of the day in AWD and the machine kicked in the front wheels when the rear lost traction. My buddy on the 400 AC got stuck because he forgot to put in 4WD on his machine once. Simple mistake but didn’t have to worry about that on my Polaris. (I wanted to see how much slippage the back wheels needed before the front wheels kicked in by spinning on a sheet of ice. So, I put the machine in 2WD &, of course, spun, then stopped & switched to AWD leaned over and watched the front and rear wheels while hitting the accelerator, and the amount of slippage before the front wheels kick in can’t even be seen. The Polaris AWD is GREAT!) Pushing the reverse override when backing up to get AWD isn’t a big deal.
* EBS - The 400 doesn’t come standard with EBS, but I was able to have it added as part of the deal when I purchased the bike. I really like it when going down slopes, adds a lot of control. The EBS doesn’t engage on the front wheels, but it wasn’t a big deal because I was able to feather the brakes slightly if I felt the rear wheels were slipping. The only time it felt uneasy was when I let up on a large sheet of ice at about 20 MPH and the back end started to get a little squirrelly and come around a bit.
* Power - When I was looking at the Sportsman I did ask myself if I should get the 500 HO, but didn’t because I had a budget to stay within and the 400 had all the power I needed when I test drove one at the Dealer. Now that I have put on 3.5 hrs on the machine, the 400 has PLENTY of power, even as I drove it conservatively babying the machine because of the break in period. Didn’t have any problem climbing up hills, over logs, through wash-outs, etc. I’m extremely happy with the performance of the 400 and would recommend it to anyone. The 500 HO will beat the 400 off the line, but if you want to save $700 by buying the 400, you will NOT be disappointed! Especially for the tail riding I do and some work I’ll be using it for.
* Looks - Great looking machine! Really like the front storage compartment for carrying a bow saw for the trail, water, extra gloves, etc. Great addition! (My AC 400 friend really liked the storage compartment also and kept talking how he is going to try and make one for his bike.)
* Lights - It was dark when we returned home and the rear work lights are great for backing off the trailer in the dark.
* Plastic parts - The bumpers & racks are a hard composite plastic. I was wondering how much abuse they would take. Throughout the trail ride I looked at the front bumper and any marks from small brush, etc. was easily rubbed out and didn’t leave any deep scuffs. Many fender areas are “pre-dulled” at the factory in the areas that tend to hit tree branches, brush, etc. This is great because it hides a lot of the scuffs.
* Servicing - When I picked up the machine I was fortunate to have the Polaris mechanic do the orientation. This helped because he showed me all the service areas and answered all my 2 pages of questions I had written down. Plus he did a nice job of explaining the break-in period and the importance of it.
* Overall review - With everything being said, I don’t think there is a better machine for me. I am satisfied with every aspect of this bike. Any concerns I had by not having the 500 HO are no longer concerns, I don't think the extra $700 for the 500 HO would make me $700 happier. For me I am glad I negotiated the EBS. I have plenty of power in high and can cruse at a good speed, put this bike in low and you have a tank! It is also great to have “Park” on the transmission, especially when transporting. The only question I have is the foot brake seems a bit weak. I’ll have to check with the dealership and also see if I can find a post on it in this forum. I give this bike 5 out of 5 stars & two thumbs up!

(If I added my pics correctly to my profile there should be a camera on the left which should take you to a few pics I took on Sunday.)

 

i would get any...they are all very similair...the only main difference is cc. my neibor has a 400 and a 600 and my friend has a 500 and they all ride the same.

 

Well my father has a '04 400 , I have a '04 500 HO and my buddy who I ride with all the time has a '04 600..... Of course my dad's 400 is not as peppy as my 500 HO but I think if I threw a K & N filter and an iridium plug in it like mine has it wouldn't be too far off... I can actually beat my buddy's 600 in top end by 2 or 3 mph with my minor mods. He consistently uses more fuel than I do when we ride together at same speeds etc. In my opinion I would go with the 500 HO before a 600. We have had pulling and winching competitions and the 600 will pull more than my 500 due to the added torque from the extra cylinder. That is where these bikes really shine is in brute power. I think that all in all you will find the 500 HO will handle anything the 600 can and you will save money on fuel and in weight. Just my 2 cents!