polaris quality????
#11
01-23-2006, 02:13 PM
polaris quality????
don't worry, you don't have to tell me about Polaris Quality going to poop. I have commented to support that fact many times. look at the melting plastic, the '06 sp500 EFI problems, the old moisture in speedo issue, and many others. stupid stuff that should not happen these days. just a siimple matter of greed, gotta get the machine on the floor.
if my machine sits for more than 2 days it's a long time, too much to do around here. I may not hit the trails, but I give my machine a good workout climing into the fields several times a week hauling several hundred pounds of poop with a 5'x7' trailer. I would imagine this puts a good amount of stress on the IRS components combined with my 200+ pound heft. I leave it in AWD because it is such a bitch getting up there, mud, snow, ice. would be nice if I had a plow, but the snowmobiles pack it down after a few days anyway.
didn't know about the bad boot thing, sounds like bad material, could have happened to anyone, but more than likely Polaris when they were trying to save a buck. it's too bad because they have decent machines and good ideas, they just need to do more R&D in house instead of using us as test subjects.
if my machine sits for more than 2 days it's a long time, too much to do around here. I may not hit the trails, but I give my machine a good workout climing into the fields several times a week hauling several hundred pounds of poop with a 5'x7' trailer. I would imagine this puts a good amount of stress on the IRS components combined with my 200+ pound heft. I leave it in AWD because it is such a bitch getting up there, mud, snow, ice. would be nice if I had a plow, but the snowmobiles pack it down after a few days anyway.
didn't know about the bad boot thing, sounds like bad material, could have happened to anyone, but more than likely Polaris when they were trying to save a buck. it's too bad because they have decent machines and good ideas, they just need to do more R&D in house instead of using us as test subjects.
#12
01-23-2006, 02:21 PM
#14
01-23-2006, 06:16 PM
polaris quality????
Originally posted by: zerowick
no disrespect, but the boot thing seems to be an operator issue, after one tear perhaps you should have installed better protection, it's only rubber. I ride mine like an old lady so boot tears aren't an issue, but most stock machines need extra aftermarket help if exposed to excessive rough stuff. personally, my 04.5 sp600 seems to have plenty of protection.
the rear suspension bolt could have been a Polaris oversight, I can't speculate without seeing the machine.
the shifter resistance could be from water freezing in the black "box" on the tranny, perhaps Polaris could put a better seal there, I don't see a need to get into water that deep, but that's just me.
lighter parts breaking less doesn't make sense to me....you tore rubber boots, nobody makes a rubber boot that doesn't tear. and the bolt, perhaps it needed to be a heavier grade.
bottom line, all machines have their limits and will succumb to a certain amount of abuse, I believe that the Polaris Sportsman is one of the most prepared machines on the market when it comes to hard work and hard riding.
the boots kept ripping..over and over. Then a bolt in the rear suspension cracked in half. The first time I was about to plow my driveway, the shifter wouldn't budge I think it would help Polaris for them to make their utes 50lbs-75lbs lighter and then parts would be less likely to break, and for them to make better quality parts plus put better protection around their cv boots.
no disrespect, but the boot thing seems to be an operator issue, after one tear perhaps you should have installed better protection, it's only rubber. I ride mine like an old lady so boot tears aren't an issue, but most stock machines need extra aftermarket help if exposed to excessive rough stuff. personally, my 04.5 sp600 seems to have plenty of protection.
the rear suspension bolt could have been a Polaris oversight, I can't speculate without seeing the machine.
the shifter resistance could be from water freezing in the black "box" on the tranny, perhaps Polaris could put a better seal there, I don't see a need to get into water that deep, but that's just me.
lighter parts breaking less doesn't make sense to me....you tore rubber boots, nobody makes a rubber boot that doesn't tear. and the bolt, perhaps it needed to be a heavier grade.
bottom line, all machines have their limits and will succumb to a certain amount of abuse, I believe that the Polaris Sportsman is one of the most prepared machines on the market when it comes to hard work and hard riding.
And with my KQ 700, I haven't ripped one boot after 900 miles and I ride in the same places and I ride harder then I did with the SP, they have twice the protection.
I never went in water with that thing so the shifter problem wasn't from abuse. And what I meant to say was if Polaris would make their Sportsmans lighter they could use smaller boots, and the parts wouldn't be under all the stress of their hefty 700 to 800lbs.
#15
01-23-2006, 10:11 PM
polaris quality????
The boot thing wasn't my fault it was just Polaris' stupidity to not put better protection around them. The boots would rip somehow every time I rode the thing and it was one of the main reasons I sold it and left Polaris for my next purchase. I buy utes to go in the trails and I got to where I couldn't go in the trails without the boots ripping again.
And with my KQ 700, I haven't ripped one boot after 900 miles and I ride in the same places and I ride harder then I did with the SP, they have twice the protection.
I never went in water with that thing so the shifter problem wasn't from abuse. And what I meant to say was if Polaris would make their Sportsmans lighter they could use smaller boots, and the parts wouldn't be under all the stress of their hefty 700 to 800lbs.
And with my KQ 700, I haven't ripped one boot after 900 miles and I ride in the same places and I ride harder then I did with the SP, they have twice the protection.
I never went in water with that thing so the shifter problem wasn't from abuse. And what I meant to say was if Polaris would make their Sportsmans lighter they could use smaller boots, and the parts wouldn't be under all the stress of their hefty 700 to 800lbs.
that's cool, you chose to get a different machine instead of improving protection, someone else might have done something different, either way it's all good. I'd say you are better off with the Suzi if you are looking for a light sporty machine. I like the Polaris heft personally, makes a great work horse. different strokes for different folks.
#16
01-24-2006, 10:12 AM
polaris quality????
To give Gunman a little support on my 2000 scrambler that I bought new has had a few problems so far i replaced
Battery,Solenoid, starter, waterpump, front a-arm bushings and two front axles because of torn bushings. Now I need to replace my belt. its all stock and my girlfreind rides it so its not beet on at all. the first three i can understand the rest is bad design or cheap quality.
My 05 predator so far has giving me no problems. Both of them though are high mainteance. I think polaris is High maintenance in general but have the best features. I love ride both of those quads though. they are both awesome as what there intended for.
Battery,Solenoid, starter, waterpump, front a-arm bushings and two front axles because of torn bushings. Now I need to replace my belt. its all stock and my girlfreind rides it so its not beet on at all. the first three i can understand the rest is bad design or cheap quality.
My 05 predator so far has giving me no problems. Both of them though are high mainteance. I think polaris is High maintenance in general but have the best features. I love ride both of those quads though. they are both awesome as what there intended for.
#17
01-24-2006, 05:13 PM
polaris quality????
Originally posted by: Hoopie
To give Gunman a little support on my 2000 scrambler that I bought new has had a few problems so far i replaced
Battery,Solenoid, starter, waterpump, front a-arm bushings and two front axles because of torn bushings. Now I need to replace my belt. its all stock and my girlfreind rides it so its not beet on at all. the first three i can understand the rest is bad design or cheap quality.
My 05 predator so far has giving me no problems. Both of them though are high mainteance. I think polaris is High maintenance in general but have the best features. I love ride both of those quads though. they are both awesome as what there intended for.
To give Gunman a little support on my 2000 scrambler that I bought new has had a few problems so far i replaced
Battery,Solenoid, starter, waterpump, front a-arm bushings and two front axles because of torn bushings. Now I need to replace my belt. its all stock and my girlfreind rides it so its not beet on at all. the first three i can understand the rest is bad design or cheap quality.
My 05 predator so far has giving me no problems. Both of them though are high mainteance. I think polaris is High maintenance in general but have the best features. I love ride both of those quads though. they are both awesome as what there intended for.
#18
01-24-2006, 05:24 PM
#19
01-24-2006, 05:42 PM
polaris quality????
I was never a big Polaris fan. I grew up on Hondas and Yamahas, and have always liked sportquads better. My wife wanted to ride but has back problems. She could barely walk after a 20 mile ride on a 400ex. My buddie suggested trying his 700 Sportsman. We ended up buying a new 2004.5 Sportsman 500. Now she can ride 80 miles a day and not have back pain. The suspension is great, its got 1200 miles on it without any real problems. A rubbed thru throttle cable and normal fluid and filter changes. After owning one I would buy another, they are damn good quads. (and the sleds arnt bad either)
#20
01-24-2006, 07:38 PM
polaris quality????
I have owned now 8 differnt quads from 2 hondas 400ex, 250R, 2 suzuki's LT185, 500 quad racer, arctic cat 500 (new)manual, 2 polaris Predator, scrambler, 1 kawasaki Majave and the only ones I didnt have any problems with was the honda 400ex and the predator(new). They all will break eventually and if they dont your not riding hard enough! They are toys remember that. Of them all though I in my experiance the polaris has required the most maintenance but the polaris i think offers the best ride and features of them with honda being last. I guess thats the trade off. I think polaris just needs to have more R&D in there products before releasing instead of being first to market with everything. I dont think any brand stands out as the best, each has trade offs and you to decide whats more important to you. As I get older I am finding (personally) reliabilty and comfort being number 1 on my list. I cant stand a broken quad in the middle of my vacation. I getting a new trailer this spring so I can bring 3 quads with me so if one breaks i can take it back and ride the other one!