Went on a ride today. One of the guys I work with has a new Outlander 800 and I have a new SP 800. We wanted to get out and get them broke in. Ended up putting about 25 miles on them. We didn’t stay out as long as we wanted to; it was raining and about 35 degrees. We switched rides for a while. The 2 machines are similar in a lot of ways, and different in a few. I think the Outlander is geared more at sport riding, and the SP is more on the utility side. The outlander is a little quicker, but not that noticeable. The ride is softer on the SP, but both ride very well. The 4 wheel drive on the Polaris is more transparent than on the outlander, but both work great. We got them in the slick mud and both had no problems. All in all they are very similar in power and ride. I use my quad for hunting and some trail riding. I really like the storage on the sportsman. Can’t wait to get it out again.

 

Thats probably one of the best non biased comparisons that I have read about the outlander/sp800... So Im guessing that you are still happy with sportsman even after riding the competitions big bore?

out

-j-rOd

 

For what I use a quad for the sportsman is a better fit. I think that they are both great machines. I went with the sportsman, because it felt a little smoother to me, and rode a little better. It also has a lot of storage space. I have a dealer about 2 miles down the road, and I got a great deal on it. (about 2000 dollars less than the outlander). I had intended to buy the outlander, but rode them both and made my decision. For me I made the right decision.

Enjoy what you ride.

 

could you explain "more transparent" a bit more, I'm interested in how the Visco-Lok performs compared to the Hillard set up on the Polaris. does it engage as quickly as the Polaris? what about the way it steers? please keep us updated on any other head to head rides!

thanks

 

When you run both machines with 4 wheel drive engaged, you can not tell that the Sportsman is in 4 wheel drive. It steers just like it is in 2 wheel drive. I dont feel any feedback in the steering wheel. With the Outlander you can tell that it is in 4 wheel drive. (Steers a little rougher).They both seem to work fine. Havent got into any rocks or slow crawl situatitons to really test the 4 wheel drive yet. In the mud they both seem to engage very quickly.