Ride one of these for a few years and you will see what kind of problems you will have.

You may have to get a second job to pay for ATV repairs.

If you trade for a new one every year or after the warranty is up you will be OK.

Keep one 5 years and you will wish you never ever heard of EFI on a quad.

 

Good job Indyguy, It sounds to me like you're doing your homework. You just got another "extremist"(cornbread2) reply to filter out. I've been in equipment repair of some sort nearly my whole life. I've found that most of these "extremists" cause most of their own problems and waste most of their time and usually a good deal of other peoples time whining about their problems instead of patiently trying to resolve same. Like you, I would agree that if the problems w/500EFI's are so widespread we would be hearing more about it. You will find people out there who you could put in the desert with only a cotton ball and an anvil and they would come back to you with a broken anvil. EFI has only been on production quads, what, maybe three years tops now? I don't know what cornbread is talking about with that,(5 years) and I doubt he does either.(wonder if his daily driver automobile still has a carburetor on it?). I'm not 100% sure but I think the Polaris EFI components are mostly Bosch and most of the designs and or components have been used in some size or form in the automotive industry since the "70s'. I know that Kohler Engines uses a very similar design EFI system and it's what's used in most of the high-end commercial landscape equipment. We know the components of the system are tried and true. Most of the time in the beginning the problems lie in the software which controls the components. The good news is this can usually be corrected or diagnosed quickly by competent and well trained technicians. Sad to say but this is where a lot of dealers drop the ball. Technology changes so quickly it's hard for most of us to keep up. Once again, hope some of this helps.

 

I have 1100 miles on my 500 efi and other than the "false" HOT message, which was fixed by my dealer in 10 minutes, I haven't had a bit of trouble. I would recommend it highly to anyone![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks Fireslayer, I agree that EFI is the way of the future. There is no way that carbs can keep pace with the preformance and adaptibilty of EFI. You couldn't give me a sled or ATV with points and condenser in place of the CDI ignition system. In 5 years we'll say the same thing about EFI. I'm not afraid of growing old with one, I only worry about the infant mortality problems that any new system have.

 

we have 2 500 EFI's and love them. We have had a few problems but they have been worked out and in the 2 months that we have had them we have 375 miles on them. Its nice when you are out and just turn the key in the morning to start it and everyone else is sitting there cranking and trying to warm up theirs. The Sportsamn rides much better than any other quad that I have ridden, and has plenty of power even for the weight of it. I would buy another one if I was in the market for one.

 

I have been in "equipment repair of some sort nearly my whole life" also.

30 years experience in import auto repair and ATV and motorcycle repair.

I an not an "extremists". I am only stating facts.

If you buy a EFI Polaris you are going to spend more money in repairs in the long run than you would one with a carb.

If one has the money to waste then it is fine.

Many people have to buy on credit. They can't afford to make a payment plus give their local Polaris dealer a bunch of money for repairs.

 

Cornbread, Sorry for labeling you that way,but you have to admit that these are your OPINIONS and not "facts".The "facts " are as follows;#1 It doesn't matter which brand of ATV you ride for a few years, you will more likely than not have some kind of problem with it.#2 Again, it doesn't matter which brand they all have major problems at times which can be financially hard on us at times.(yes,I work two jobs but it is not because I need the money for ATV repairs)#3 This one is closer to being factual as it does apply to most brands. I think you meant to say "before" the warranty is up instead of "after". The only thing is, you can have problems with any brand during this time also that can cause you to pull your hair out. This has a lot to do with your dealer and how competent their staff is in most cases though.#4 I would dare say that in 5 years there will be more ATV's with EFI being produced than with carbs. Look at the ratio of automobiles with EFI vs. carburetion today. Saying that one will spend more on their ATV because it is fuel injected is not fact either. I would bet that on average you would spend less due to the fact that the engine spends most of it's time at a near perfect fuel/air ratio. (less spark plug fouling, less flooding, especially when cold starting, and less dilution/breakdown of engine oil which causes accelerated wear.) Hope this clears things up. No hard feelings here. Just taking up for the brand I choose to ride.

 

You should not have had any problems with the Machines!!!! They are new!!!( and you would buy another one)????????? That is why Polaris can keep putting out JUNK!!!!!!!!!!

 

yes i would buy another one. I believe that overall Polaris is a fine machine. We ride with a lot of people that don't have Polaris, lets see, the arctic cat has had the front tranferr case rebuilt in the first 10 hours and then at 35 hours had a rear wheel bearing go bad, and you can't hardly steer it as it plows, the yamaha had to have a new engine as it had an egg shape piston and siezed up, the Honda had the electric shift quit working, and the kawasaki with 6 hours the whole electric system failed. Thats just a few of the problems that I have seen out on the trails on all brand new bikes within the past 2 months, so YES I would buy another Polaris. It would be nice if they did get the ongoing problems that they have fixed but overall, they handle better, ride better and are more reliable than the competition.

 

I never once said that Polaris did not make a good quad. I have owned nothing but Polaris machines since my first Trail Boss in 1992.

My point was that if you keep your quad for a long time maintainence and repairs on the EFI will cost you more than one with a carb.

There are two things that wear out on a Polaris carb where you must buy parts. The float needle and seat and the slide needle and nozzle.

Compared to EFI parts these are dirt cheap and if one has any mechanical ability these carb parts can be replaced by the owner. If you have a jet to clog the owner can fix that also.

Call a dealer and price a few EFI parts such as a TPS, ECM, injector, fuel pump, and a few others.