I think they purposely error to the 'fast' side on the speedometers. That way they seem faster than they are. I once had a motorcycle that according to the speedo, it could do about 90. Checking against the car, it read 65 and I was doing just under 55. Guesstimating that out, I figure it would do maybe 75 or so, which is more realistic for a 250. I must say, though the speedo on my 99 Xplorer is close, very close to what actual speed is.
Top speed has too many factors involved to even begin to understand. As 01Grizz said, it has to do more with peak power than torque. If it can't rev, it can't move. It also has to do with gearing. Improper gearing can make quite a difference. Anyone with a chain drive who has experimented with sprockets will know that. Once you gear it so high, it will actually cut your speed. I think the Sp HO is one of those machines where everything just came together right. By all rights, a Grizz should smoke it, but it doesn't. Giving up 100ccs, while being heiver should kill the SP. But somebody got the engine, clutching, and final gearing just right.
Even tire pressure makes a difference. I can pump the tires up in my Xplorer 'tight' and gain 5 mph.

Why wouldn't somebody sell a Grizz for a Sportsman? Ride one out in the rough, and you will understand why.

The Honda 300 holds up well for a number of reasons. It is an OLD design, with only minor refinements. As time went by, they improved any weak areas, and pretty much took care of all of them. Another reason is performance, or lack of it. It has limited power, limited suspension, and a wide turning radius. All of these add to long life. I have a Honda 300, and it is as trouble free as it gets, but there is no way in Hades that I will ever take it through the nasty stuff like I will my Xplorer. That alone helps prevent breakdowns. However, in 8 or 10 years, I may regret owning a Polaris, but I hope not.

 

You ask why I chose a Sportsman over The Grizzly? There are many reasons for that. For one thing I love to mud and I got tired of Sportsmans pulling me out so much.I love the fact that 4 wheels pull instead of 3.I love the ground clearance on the Sportsman.If you ever ride a Sportsman you will not wont nothing else because of the smooth ride! After changing to Polaris I dont think I will ride anything else!Im not saying that the Grizzly isnt a great machine because it is.I just like the HO better.

 

Jamie,
you and I will agree to disagree?You said after riding a Sportsman you wont want anything else because of its smooth ride.The ride?Oh how very smooth it is,however,I owned one and I also switched,to the lighter,more nimble Xplorer.

I dont really miss the Sportsmans ride UNTIL I actually take a ride again on a Sportsman.The Xplorer really rides well to,especially after I got rid of that UGLY brown seat cover,added one inch of extra foam and covered it in BLACK.I mud alot,and the chain on the Xplorer is troublesome to me,even though Polaris is installing a new chain and sprockets free of charge.I want to keep it,but im also thinking of going back to the complete shaft drive system again,I see I cant have it all.

If the Sportsman winds out being the quad with the rumored 700cc V-twin,I very well could be switching back,
Bill

 

hello,
jamie i'm with you. just sold my 99 griz last week cause i too bought a h.o. here are my reasons for the switch- liquid cooled,true 4 wheel drive, bigger seat -good for 2 people and a smoother ride. oh yes i lined 'em up too. here it is- the sportsman has a faster top end. maybe not as much torque as the griz but it is faster. my only dislike with the h.o. is now a need a grease gun, never seen so many damn fittings!! oh well at least i wont have to get pulled out of holes by a polaris any more.

 

Jamie,
You can't beat the ground clearence of the SP, thats for sure. Its pretty awesome. I have however solved the one front wheel spinning problem. I simply will separate the front brakes so that I have independant right and left brake operation. I have the parts on order. Then I can decide for myself which front wheel gets the traction, or both. All I have to do is slide the left hand brake for the rear down farther on the handlbar. Then I can leave the brake lock active and still have the override for starting in gear. Then I will install the brake fluid reservoir on the left side and separate the front brakes. Presto, traction on demand! Should make cookies alot funner also. I can lock one front brake and just do circles off of that one front wheel. I've been riding street bikes all my life so its almost second nature for me to grab both front levers anyway.

Rick

 

01grizzly~
I know the grizzly is a great machine, but why go to all the hassle of rigging up seperate front brake levers? Would adding a locker to the front differential be a better/easier alternative? And I guarantee doing donuts with 4 wheels spinning will get more speed than just 3 wheels spinning. Either way, you get dizzy real fast!!

 

01grizzly~
I know the grizzly is a great machine, but why go to all the hassle of rigging up seperate front brake levers? Would adding a locker to the front differential be a better/easier alternative? And I guarantee doing donuts with 4 wheels spinning will get more speed than just 3 wheels spinning. Either way, you get dizzy real fast!!

 

WIscrambler,
First of all its not going to be a hassle. I've looked very closely at it, and it will probably take about 30 minutes to install. All I have to do is unscrew one brake line, cap off the spliter, and screw the new brake line into the old one. Piece of cake.
The reason I've chosen this remedy is because putting a locker in will make steering VERY hard, and I'll be braking cv's every other time I go out riding. This way I'll be able to keep the easy steering, save my cv's, and then I'll be able to make manual corrections to any traction problems that I may be having. My Grizzly has a much tighter turn radius then an SP does. Because of that it would place a much greater strain on the cv's if it were locked up. I've heard alot of Polaris riders complain of breaking cv's, even with the "ratcheting AWD" system that it uses, which would place even less strain on the cv's then a "true" 4WD would.

Rick

 

3TV,
I Don't know what the actual numbers are for the turn radius. I have never measured it either. I speak from experience only. I've ridden with an SP a couple of times, thats when I first noticed that I was able to do a 180 in one motion that the guy on the SP had to back up once to complete. I noticed it also when I was riding the HO. It just didn't "seem" to turn as tightly. That was a seat of the pants feeling, and I may be proven wrong by the numbers.
At any rate the point I was trying to make is that the cv's experience their highest stress while in a tight turn. Especially if it happens to be on very uneven ground The SP will allow the outside wheel to ratchet forward faster then the inside wheel in a tight turn, or when one wheel needs to go over an obsticle. There by helping to relieve the strain on the cv's while still allowing for both front wheels to be driven when needed. If I locked the front of my Grizzly, it wouldn't allow for that, and I'm sure the end result would be broken cv's.

Rick

 

Where did you get the quad you test drove???

SP500 in NS