Greetings,
I'm brand spankin new to this board and find myself in the process of switching from a KTM dirt bike to an ATV. I'm thinking mid-sized here 400 to 500cc, and Polaris is currently on my short list, but I have to ask...

Why are Polaris ATVs so heavy?

For Example... another short list ATV is the Kodiak 450. It wieghs in at 591 lbs. The Sportsman 450 weighs in at 715 lbs. Even the Grizzly 660 weigh in at only 600 lbs. Where's all that heft coming from?

Please forgive the "new guy" question, but I'm completely green at this stuff.

 

The Polaris guys will say because their built better, but its stupid because the more the weight they carrie the stronger they have to be made...........lighten them up please, we know you can because you do it for the snowmobiles

 

This topic has been beat to death, maybe a search on this forum might help you out ! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Look at newbie tell the new guy it's been beat to death and do a search. You been on here 5 days, how do you know what's been beat to death? It's the dudes first post, you think he wants to hear "Screw you, do a search"???[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img] ***** there's looking for advise...even if it's how to do a search we can at least try to help him out.

Unfortunately *****, I'm a sports quad kind of guy, so I don't follow the uts too much. I will tell you the Polaris sport quad (Predator) is also heavier as far as dry weight is concerned, wet weight is actually a little closer to where the other guys are running. I do think some of this is attributed to the way they are built and the quality. On the Predator for example they have a stronger, and yes, heavier rear axle. It also comes with a lifetime warranty...let's see the other guys do that. It also comes stock with Fox Shocks, one of the top 2 or 3 manufacturers out right now. That may also add some weight...

Now, coming off that KTM, maybe you want to be talking sports quad...??? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

P.S. - I did a search in all the forums for "Polaris" and "weight" and there ain't chit out there. For you guys that know something about the Polaris uts and maybe where some of that weight comes from, can you help ***** here out? THANKS!!!

 

Well said webop, looks like cointoss lost the toss. I hate to read where someone tells yah to do a search. Not everyone knows how.

 

Look under a Grizzly and yhen under a Sportsman then you see where the weight goes. The SP has nearly a full skid plate in the frame and the Grizz has only a flimzy frame made by pipes. Even the paint on the frame dosen`t hold up to the job on the grizz.... I have 3 friends that have them (new bikes) and the frame has already started to rust. I have been using my SP 700 hard for two years and no sign of rust anywhere.

Just a comment from Norway... ;-)

SP

 

Polaris uses heavier duty parts such as axles and cv joints along with better skidplates and better tires.

 

It is all the parts that make up the weight. If you use smaller an thinner part you can save weight but at the cost of durabilitie. When looking at the quads look at the driveline an compare. An buy what you want an fit you. My inlaws have the yamaha 2 400 an 1 450 kodaks. I just got a sportsman 700 efi. One thing I don't like on the kodak is where the winch is located low in the front an ends up in the water when mudding. The sportsmans is high at top of frame an out of the water an mud unless you get it up to the top of the fenders. So go an loook an ride each one an pick the one that you like an compare. Enjoy what ever you get.

 

one thing i wanted to say is you might wish to look at horsepower as well. let us not forget that when the grizzly was a 600lb 600cc machine a few years ago, the 700lb sportsmand 500HO could still take it down. now with the 700s and the 800s, the weight is high, but honestly, they'll pull one h3ll of a lot more because of it (and the new big bores are lots faster too). when the terrain doesn't allow for ideal traction conditions, the Polaris machines will always outpull their lighter counterparts. Also, i personally feel that there is something to be said for a machine as heavy as the sportsman, and its ability to still be competative at sport riding. thats why i personally feel that polaris has the best machines on the market. and i'm not alone, their market share in recent years proves that.

 

I believe that Polaris also uses a thicker wall tubing for their frames and suspension components than the competition.

Granted a light bike is nice but considering the abuse I regularly put my Sportsman 500 through I'll take the heavier construction any day of the week. Heavy duty does have a place in this world. In the ATV world it's for riders that don't need to fly on each jump but expect their machines to survive dropping off a cliff 15ft or ramming a tree with only MINOR damage. My buddies honda recon hit a tree at a fairly low speed and broke the frame at the suspension point connections. My polaris has hit alot harder than that with only a minor bend in a control arm and a bent bumper.


You decide whats right for you but remember these are not motorcycles that you have to heft around the bends all day.