Im not saying polaris quads suck they make a good product.But imagine a sportsman 500 ho that weighs in at 600 pounds.The sportsman 500 ho makes 38 hp at the crank it would be awesome.Right now the sportsman 500 ho weighs 715 pounds.Then imagine the sportsman 700 efi that has about 45 hp at 600 pounds that would kick some *** too bad it weighs 765 pounds.And then there is the sportsman 800 with 50hp which is a lot of ***** already but it is 765 pounds same as the 700.If the sportsman 800 efi weighed in at 600 pounds it would be unbelievable.Polaris already has the other manufacturers beat or matched in the horsepower department.All polaris has to do is make their quads lighter.All manufacturers should be forced to build their quads to never exceed 600 pounds.

 

If you were to lighten the sportsmans to 600lbs then they
would ride like the rest of the polaris what-ta-bees. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I think the weight contributes to the best ride quality in the business. I wouldn't trade it for nothing.

 

Well if this is the only thing you can gripe about regarding Polaris then I guess they do have a great product.

Another idea to reduce weight and increase speed is for some of these fat-a$$es I see riding to LOSE WEIGHT. I know a guy that weighs about 300 and spends allot of money on little parts and details to make his drag car faster. I mean this guy deals in 1/10 of a second reductions. If it claims to save him a 1/10 of a second he'l buy it. All he has to do is stop stuffing his face and peel-off 80-100 pounds.

Anyway, my 500 HO is plenty fast for me and I see no benefit to a lighter model. When I do get suck the wench does it's job. If I feel the need to break the 60mph speed barrier, I'll buy a quad.

 

Legend, you make a good point about the weight on polaris atvs. There is no doubt their engines make plenty of power, but their massive weight slows them down. I agree that it would be nicer to see the sp's lighter(or any polaris for that matter). The sp line should have some weight reduction, but I think they should be more than 600lbs, so they would not have to resort to plastic skid plates, onion-skin tires, and cheap plastic bodywork. Polaris atvs need more changes beside less weight, but anything would be an improvement.

 

Just makes more to love, pounds I mean.

Put her on a diet, makes her lean and mean.

Put me on a diet, just make me mean.

So more to love, sadisfys me.

Can'nt control myslef on this big machine.

Without love she just lean and mean.

later

 

This is something I have often thought about myself. Would we actually end up with a better quad or just a faster quad? The polaris already smokes the competition in any drag race. So by keeping the weight down it would just go that much faster. For conering ability I think you have a valid point. By reducing the weight it would be able to corner quicker. It may also feel more stable in the corners simply by having less weight being transfered from side to side. Some feel that the weight actually forces the suspension to work better thus giving it the smoother ride. By decreasing the weight the suspension would tend to be stiff and harsh. I think it would be very interesting to see if a lighter machine would actually be better. I think there will be trade offs and I'm not convinced that the reduced weight will be that big of a benefit. I know that I ride with a group of people. My sportsman doesn't struggle anymore or less then the other guys quads. I don't think I am more tired then anyone else at the end of the day. I guess really for general trail riding the weight really doesn't come into play that much.

 

I'm not saying those 600 pound quads suck.. Why do those other utilities weigh 600 pounds. Seems that if they only weighed 400 pounds like a sports quad, thier power to weight ratio would be much better. Can you imagine a 600 quad reduced to that weight with all that power. Boy, that quad would kick some major butt. LOL, wait a minute they do make it.. its called a big bore sports quad. Furthermore these sports quads (such as the Predator) have considerably more suspension travel than these 600 pound quads to take the bumps better.

Gee I wish all those 600 pound quads had the suspension travel of the big utilities like Sportsman. Gee, too bad those 600 pound quads didn't have the ground clearance of the big utilities like the Sportsman. Gee, to bad those 600 pound quads didn't have the big tires/wheels of a Sportsman. These 600 pound quads could climb kick butt on the big obstacles and mud if they had some GC and long legs.

Hmm, seems to me these 600 pound quads are no good as sports quads because they are too heavy. And they are no good as utilities because of their poor ground clearance, suspension travel and tires.

The moral of this story is that if you want a great handling quad forget these 600 pound lead weights. And if you want a great utility, forget these 600 pound lightweights. These 600 pound quads will always be a compromise. I guess if you only ride on flat gravel roads, and never turn corners then maybe a 600 pound quad is as good as a car!!
BryceGTX

 

That weight sure helps keep traction when pulling logs for fire wood, plowing the drive, absorbing those bumps, pulling other stuck machines. When it is stuck 600 feels just as heavy as 800. Have rode nothing that is as cushy as a sportsman. To ME the 05's feel a bit stiffer though.

 

The only thing stopping polaris from being king of the atv world is the weight of their quads

The only thing stopping Roseanne Barr from being queen of the world is the weight of her butt.

Nahhhh dont think so, I think its more than that. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] J/K