I've only been here a few weeks and I see a lot of posts bashing brands or stating how much better one ATV is than the other. Now its just words and some of them are uneducated but it made me think about my own decision to buy my Sportsman.

But then I thought about it more, the 500 HO was exactly what I needed/wanted. I was looking for an automatic tranny 4 wheeler with a comfortable ride and a good looking chassis. I wanted something with AWD (4X4) but with the option to turn it off. I also looked for reliability and I knew that Polaris had been making ATV's for a very long time. On top of that, knowing that the ATV I was buying was one of the best selling ATV's on the market today, I felt I was making a wise choice.

I have not regretted my decision. I love my Sportsman, it has enough power for me, it gets me through everything and it looks good doing it.

Sure there may be faster, more powerful, and even better looking atv's out there, but for the price and for my preference in looks I couldnt find another 4-wheeler that had all the features I wanted and was most pleasing to MY eyes.

I guess there will always be those that are loyal to brands but as you can see from my profile I havent stuck with one brand.

Does anyone here feel the same way?

also, what were you looking for when you made your decision?

 

thats awesome dude..yeah i personally think polaris makes the best utlities, they have the best automatic tranny thats for sure.

I actually wanted a raptor at first but then when it came down to money and avalibility issues we got the scrambler and i'm really glad we did because i know it gets through alot more crap then a raptor would[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I've been a little Schizophrenic with my purchases. I really love sport quads, but they aren't practical. I would end up riding the Preddy for 3-4 hours and be dog tired (it happens as you get older). I also needed the utility side to plow and pull my trailers around the yard. So, after as much research as possible, considering it was a new quad, I decided to sell my SP700EFI and Preddy and I bought the BRP 800 XT. The Polaris brand has been and is great. But, the BRP is the only quad that gave me the combination of utility with a lot of power and sport built in.

I am not brand loyal, but I would say that I am brand partial to Polaris.

You made a great decision. Why? Because it works for you and met your needs.

 

I like the Polaris and it is damn sure not because of their reliability, customer service or how some dealers treat their customers.

There are some things even on the newest Polaris ATV's that is still a joke as fas a reliability and good designs go.

I like the way they ride. I like the single lever brakes and the overall preformance so I continue to buy them today. In fact I am looking to buy another this week for the wife.

I just know from owning several of them and working on them in a dealership for years and on my own since then that they leave many things to be desired and they are not perfect.

If you are so foolish like one person on this board that told me that Polaris has NEVER made a mistake or had a bad design then you need to stay out of adult conversations.

It shows you have a mental problem to show "brand loyalty" to that extreme where you can't see what is so obvious to everyone else.

 

i'm with Cornbread2, i like certain things about polaris that others don't have. but i'm not gonna say they don't have problems. i imagine a lot of people who say they have never had a problem wouldn't know if they did. and i guarentee you if you let my 300 pd fat *** ride your atv for 6 months i can break something no matter who makes it.

 

I was 32 when I got my first atv ever, I had a v star 1100 custom cruiser bike I wanted to rid myself of, so I went with the dealer that gave me the best trade for my bike on a atv.

Now 3 years later and another atv, I am loyal only to my dealer, and it happens to be HONDA.
there service, there shop, there attitude just makes me feel good and important when im in there shop.

If he was to start selling another brand Id switch with him.

service is what makes me loyal... No matter what atv you have, if your dealer wont back you up or help you when there is issues, then your atv experiance will not be a good one.

 

Service is definately an important consideration when purchasing a ATV. If you know and trust the dealer then I can see why you'd be "loyal" to them.

So what Honda did you buy and what features made you choose it?

 

WELL...i was actually brand loyal to honda myself that was all i had ever rode it is what i grew up on then a friend of mine i started riding with had a 500 h.o. and a 700 sportsman my honda went down with a electrical problem on a ride so i rode his 500 h.o. and was very impressed with the machine 3 months later i bought my own 700 sportsman

now i will say polaris has design problems i have just spent 3 hours and 150 dollars swithing out the fan on my radiator because they do not build them with a sealed bearing on the fan

on service i can not say the same i have 3 dealers here within 75 miles of me and i will not take my bike to any of them they have awesome customer service and can get the parts easy but getting them to fix the bike takes forever

so yes i am brand loyal but as you can tell from my sig i have two brands in the garage though

and is anyone going to little sahara sept. 23-25-2005

 

I bought from St Joe Honda, st joesph missiouri. Rob IS the owner.

I bought me A Honda Rubicon 2002, because of the trade they gave me and at that time it was the biggest they had and I wanted a automatic tranny. I have seriously been spoiled buy the rubicons shifting options, and yes I use them all depending on the job im doing. Using Low in ESP mode is very impressive. Its a true champ when it comes to pulling, towing, and plowing snow.

I then Bought my wife a Honda recon about 2 months later, Price was the only reason for this purchase and that it had electric shift which she loves!. oh and she wanted red.

I was really wanting at that time a Grizzly but like I said, Mcbrides Yamaha out of st joe missiouri would not trade good with me, even though I had bought the motorcycle there!! Im not bashing them, just telling like it was.

our atv group in my home area is about 30 strong with all differant brands from Bombs to quadzillas and every thing in between, and our age group runs for 15 to 60. some of us take it easy some really bash the heck out of there quads and us older ones just watch and shake our heads remembering the time when we were doing the exact same thing! Ive seen a yamaha big bear live through things that I would have not thought possible. So I can not say ive noticed any one brand is alot better than another, Most issues ive seen has been because of rider induced damage or lack of taking care of there quad PERIOD.

 

I bought my first ATV in 1994, a Honda Fourtrax 300 4x4, mainly because of price and a friends endorsement. It worked really well but for someone 6'3" 275, the power and overall machine size just wasn't up to my comfort or plowing the snow levels of Northern Iowa. I rode it for two years and switched over to a 96' Explorer 400 and gone to the Polaris Sportsman models ever since. Mainly because of the size, tranny, and comfort along with the power I wanted. I have been thinking about a new, bigger machine and my dealer sells Polaris, Kawi, and Yamaha so I have tried the Grizzly and Bruteforce but comfort is not comparible to me, the Sportsman just feels right. I plan on checking out the Bombardier and Suzuki KQ and keeping an open mind but I am big on personal feel. My wife wants one to ride as well but my Sportsman is too big for her (her words) so I told here just ride the ones you want to try and we will go from there. I guess this may make me brand loyal but until I find one that fits me and my style, Polaris will still be in my garage. I will say Bombs 3 year warranty really does make a guy think about a change though.