Anybody have a chance to put a new sportsman 400 to the test and see how well it performs?

 

dirt wheels tested the sp400 against the kodiak 400 and they preferd the kodiak over just about every catagory(except for suspension).

 

I read that article I don't agree with it at all i agree the 400 Sp should have EBS, but if the 500 SP is one of the best how can the 400 be worse than a Kodiak? when the only difference is a 500 vs a 425 and EBS which can be installed.

 

Are you sure it was a SP400? The bike is a new 2001 model and Ive read all the Dirtwheels lately and never seen that shootout.People with SP 335 seem to like them and the new 425cc motor would have good power I would think and the rest of the bike is the same as the SP500 which won every shootout it,s been in since it came out in 96.

 

I must of missed that read.How could the SP400 with true 4wd ,11" of ground clearance and the smoothest riding suspension out there lose to the Kodiak ,but the same 500 wins against the Rubicon?

 

i dont think u need to ask that question Tim1. it is done by a very bias magazine that doesent make sence in there writing. dont believe what you read, buy the sp400 is a much better machine.

later
jon

 

is it a 400 2stroke?

 

No, the engine is actually that same 425cc four stroke engine found in the Xpedition 425, and previously the Magnum 425. Why they called it a 400 in the SP is beyond me.

Now on a different note, instead of more arguements about the mag reviews, does anyone have a real life opinion on this machine? I would like to know how it works as well.

 

I saw a guy with one, and he absolutely loves it to death. He was goin over a frozen puddle and broke thru. The thing chopped thru some thick a$$ ice in high range. It was sweet. He had no complaints and believe me, I asked him alot of ?'s, his only complaint was me askin ?'s. It was great in the snow alltho I didnt get to ride :-(

 

Today, I went over to Lakeshore Motors(Honda & Yamaha) T&R Outdoor Polaris in Corinth, Ms. (about 80 miles west of me) and told him that I was almost sold on the Kodiak and wanted to know what he could do to talk me out of it. He told me that he was selling the 400 Sp with EBS for $5699 and the 500 Sp for $6499. He then took me over to his television, put a tape in the VCR and showed me how the 400 SP did against the Kodiak. This video had it all!!! It had both of them racing each other from a dead stop (it was a tie), it had them pulling a sled like at a tractor pull, in which the Sp 400 pulled the thing about 50 feet further than the Kodiak. The Kodiak just sat there and spun after hauling the sled about 10 feet, while the 400 Sp just continued pulling about 50 feet more. To top all of this off, they had log in the trail and both of them had th cross it in the same place. The Sp 400 got hung on the log with the front tires touching the ground. It then quickly engaged the AWD and pulled itself over. The Kodiak also got stuck with the fronts touching the ground the rider switched into 4WD and both spun for a sec. and then the left front just went dead!!!!!! It was a great video! They then went on into suspension testing, and you know what happened... The SP 400 just ate the bumps up, while the Kodiak jumped all over the place!!!!
The Sp 500 and the Rubicon were tested on this video and the results were the same, except the Sp 500 beat the Rubicon by a mile in the race. I told him that he would be getting my buisness this spring and left there with a big grin on my face!