I love visiting the Polaris and Suzuki forums. It is usually all about what they are doing to their machines to make them faster, better or whatever. There is also a fair amount of 'problems' that they have with various things. Suzuki has broken frames, reverse, Air filters, engine lag, etc, etc. Polaris has performance issues, transmission problems, and EBS system that is so bad there are several topics on how it can be removed or modified. I would like to spend more time on the CanAm forum but it is really boring as most of the people are so satisfied with the machines and the troublefree fun they are having that they don't need to post. As a matter of fact there are more non-CanAm posts on the CanAm forums than actual owners and all of them seem to feel the need to bash. It is also fun to listen to the Polaris owner talk about how great their quads are. The forums are the only place they can do that because in the real world of trail riding with a group of different make quads, it is very seldom that a Polaris can boast because everyone else on the ride has seen what they can and can't do. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

Another can-am owner, thinking he is riding Gods Machine, and it has no troubles. Better wake up

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] woah.

 

Yes they are god quads that is why they need no skidplates cause they go so fast they are flying off the ground

 

I am not saying a CanAm can't or won't have problems. They are just not an issue right now. I like the extra power my Outie has but that is by no means the reason I have it. The ride is very close to that of my Polaris and the seat itself is more comfortable. The stability is awsome, without any twitching or darting. I am now happy to tackle tricky steep downhills because of the EBS where on my Polaris it was terror. I can ride all day in 4wd (or true 3wd as you Polaris guys like to say) and never have a steering or control issue, but still seem to go anywhere I want and anywhere any other quad can go. You can talk bad about ViscoLok all you want, but I think it is fantastic. I love the radial tires it came with. I haven't needed but am reassured by the 3 year warranty. I like where the air filter and belt air intakes are. ETC, Etc. So.... while fast is nice, there are alot more reasons to own an Outie than the Rotax engine.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] well thanks for taking my comments totally out of context. You should be in politics. Yes, some fat people do have medical issues, but NOT the guy I was reffering to. He's just a slob who has no control when it comes to food and cable tv is his main hobby/exercise. But he'll spend $100s on parts that increase his 1/4 mile drag time by a fraction of a second!?!

ANYWAY the point that you so easily missed is, even the 400s have plenty of speed for a 4x4 bike. To gripe about weight is a joke and I guess if that's the main negative for Polaris, then my sportsman 500 was certainly the correct choice for me. It's a great machine period.

The current issue (Nov) of Field and Stream had a brief article on field test reviews, top picks were in order:

Grizzly, $8,000 @ 602 pounds
Polaris, $8,500 @ 715
Rincon, $7,850 @ 600
Outlander, $8,750 @ 649
Brute, $7,100 @ 606
King Quad, $6,500 @ 601

So again, we're only talking about a 50-100 pound difference....not much really. And if a person weights 250 pounds or more and is 6'2" or shorter, then that's a much bigger issue than the bike weight. Polaris quality speaks for itself.

 

Never missed your point about speed at all. I just never commented on that aspect, and I agree, the sportsman series is plenty fast for 99% of the riding population out there. I can say that I've only had my 500 up to top speed three or four times out of all the riding I've done on it.

What I DID miss in your original post was that you knew the guy personally, and knew of his eating habits etc. My bad on that. Regardless, it's still not nice to call him a "slob" don't you think? Some folks are alcholics, some are drugatics, some are chain smokers, some are overeaters .. everyone has their vice.