I looking at maybe buying a 2004-2005 polaris sportsman 700 and im looking for some honest oppinions on how well an atv this certain model is and wher i might be able to get a price quote.

 

My opinion is stay away from the 700 Sportsman. I bought a 2004 700 Sportsman and I use to have a 99 Sportsman 500 my father has a 500HO. I have raced the 500 HO against my 700 and no mater who is driving the 500 will smoke my 700 tell about 30 to 40 MPH.
The best way I can explain the difference between the 700 and 500 is the 700 feels like a utility quad and the 500 feels like a sport/utility quad. If you want fun to drive buy a 500HO if you want something to use around the farm buy a 700.

Oh and before anyone says it my 700 runs awesome it is jetted and clutched for the area I ride in. I have also had my dealer look at it and he said it is setup right and runs like it should.

Stick with the 500HO and you will be happy!

 

Hey Woody!!! You are right, a 500 HO is an awsome machine. I was unaware that it would eat a 700 but I dont doubt you. I own a 500 HO and an 800 EFI. I dont think my 500 would touch my 800......but its still a great ride. By the way, I really like your photo page. Interesting terrain where you ride.... Will

 

First, I too own a 500ho. I have two other friends with 03-05 500ho, and they will not smoke or even outrun a sp700 that is running properly. The 700 will not just leave the 500ho like you would imagine it would having 184cc more, however, as one would expect it will pull ahead a few quad lengths, and stay there.

Now, if you're going to buy a sportsman of any size cc, get an 05 or 06. There were many changes to the 05 models and even a few more to the 06 model. The 04 and down is a good machine, but lacks ALOT of the 05 and 06 qualities! If you want details on the model changes let me know.

 

My dad owns a 2001 500HO and I just bought a new 2005 700EFI. There is no way the 500 can keep up with my 700 as I have raced the 2 side by side. Me on my 700 (I weigh 215 lbs.) and my 100 lb. son riding the 500 and I still walk away from the 500. His 500 only has about 1500 miles on it so I doubt the engine is worn out yet. I also have drag raced my friends 400 vs. the 500 and the 500 would pull on his 400 with us weighing about the same. I've read posts on here in the past stating that the 700s weren't hardly any faster than the 500s. I'm thinking that these were the older model year and carburated ones? My 700 isn't even fully broken in yet so I'm guessing it will even get faster once it is. So far I love my ride and after riding my dads alot if I were you I'd get the 05s and newer vs. the 04s as they have alot of improvements the suspension being #1. My new ride feels like it's floating on air on the rough whooped out trails compared to my dads older ride. I got mine for only $5800 OTD at a dealer near Chicago if you feel like driving THAT far. Brian

 

I would stay away from the 04.5 700. Mine has been a headache from day one, literally. Most of the issues are around the shifting linkage and how it enters the transmission. Apparently this was redesigned for the 04.5 model, and hopefully redesigned again on the 05 or 06. So an 04 before the 1/2 year would be my choice. Not sure if the 500's are any different or not.

 

Briman,

Even the 700carbs will pull away from the 500ho. I was actaully speaking of the 700carb in my first post. Like I said, if this guy's 700 is being outran by a 500 then somethings obviously wrong with it. The 500ho will pretty much keep up with the sp600, but not the 700.

 

Hey Dave, I too have a '04 Sportsman 700. I bought it used and have always noticed that it is difficult to shift. It just seems like it hangs up shifting from one gear to the next. Did you have any luck fixing that problem. I bought this machine with only 300 miles on it and I have put another 300 or so on it. I haven't had any other problems with the machine and the hard shifting hasn't been a problem except it just doesn't seem right.

 

Hello folks,
I can only speak for my machine. I have an '04 700EFI and it smokes any 500 HO that I ride with. I have not had an ounce of trouble with it(knock on wood), but I am still under 1000 miles. The only mod I did was to put a K/N air filter in it. The beast really moves. I would recomend this make, model and year to anyone. IMO.

Later

 

I'm starting to think that break in has alot to do with some of them being slow. I have been driving mine at times like I stole it. I always vary the rpms. I now have about 11 hrs and 250 miles so far. The other day I left a map in a bar we stopped at for lunch along the trail. I was about a half mile out of town on pavement and remembered. I turned around and buried the throttle. Front end about came up and it got up to about 62 mph pretty quick before I had to back off. I could have easily wheelied it. I know that I enjoy the power of the 700 more and more each day than the 500 I rode previously. I know mine is faster then our 500 but that doesn't mean someone elses 500 isn't closer. I own a Victory motorcycle and the first few years the engine remained the same but on the dyno some varied by a couple hp or more upwards of about 8. I was told this was because of them trying out different cams and such. Polaris does stuff like this without most people knowing. I'm sure all the brands do actually. Maybe some of these things come into play also. If you can handle only getting 70-80 miles on a tank of easy riding then get the 700. Brian