Having ridden since I was 13, and now being 36, hardly think I'm a rookie. On the other hand, before last year I was a loyal Yamaha patron myself. Can Am is however reinventing themselves and their machines are without a doubt very impressive to say the least. Their is no machine out their to date that can compare to the 62hp my Renegade pumps out and it handles like no other 4wd out there. You can't even imagine how well. As a matter of fact, every time I ride, I have to tell myself, "damn this thing is powerful."

 

kas379...

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I was reffering to myself as the "Rookie" not you. I have riden all my life...but never even owned one...so my experince is very little. I know how to change gears and I know where the throttle is...other than that...this is new ground for me.

 

battlegun i will post my 2 cents worth on this. i have owned my sp500 for almost 7 years now and almost 5000 miles have passed. for me i like the polaris for what i do. it is a very capable workhorse, fun to ride and very comfy, it muds well it runs well. with that said the pack i ride with is a very mixed and biased group just like on the forums here. there are many polarises in our group from 500s 600s 700s 800s. there are hondas there are yamahas there are kawis. on any given saturday or sunday there may be 100 bikes running around. not bashing but i rarely ever see an a/c every now and then you see one. the 450 grizz is a good bike but it is small for my likeing i would prfer a 700/660 grizz because of the size. the honda foreman or rubicon is a very good bike very dependable. but has faults in ride quality and true 4wd. i sell bikes every day and i try to get a cust a bike that will work for their needs not someone elses. if you want a dependable bike to use for work/farmuseage and comfort is not important (no long all day rides) buy a rubicon. if you prefer comfort buy a bike with irs. i have ridden many different makes and models over the years. there are good and bad features on every bike. before you buy you need to ride these machines in a real world situation not a prking lot.

 

buckaroo do you bleed a/c green when you get cut????????

 

okay my 0.02 --- i rode the can am 800 -- after my sportsman 700. I found bumps in my back field i didn't know existed. The power is fun, but the machine is very unstable compared to the sportsman. being we are comparing 500s, i can probably conclude the same... you won't get as much HP with the sp500, but you will get very good stability and ride... polaris still has the best ride and the suspension is over 10 years dated. the drivetrain is proven.. i wishi hadn't sold my 01 sp500, very very reliable machine. I give thumbs up on the sp500, but i'm not knocking the yamaha.

What type of riding will you be doing? mud? sand? extreme trail? trail? rocks?


answer on the AWD -- if the rear wheels are spinning 20% faster than the front, the AWD kicks in, so if the front wheels are at 0mph and the rear wheels even move 1/4mph, the front wheels engage--so thats how it won the shootout.

 

Accepted [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Duffus; I agree Polaris's are about as plush as they get, but I thought the Outlander's were right up there. I think the Can Am's are however much better performing machines and think their link Text Spells out why. I've ridden my friend's 800 Sportsman and have to say in all honesty I didn't like how the steering fell and to me it seemed top heavy especially when cornering, and then of course there's the power issue. I also felt as though it wanted to free wheel way to easily when I let off the gas, the engine braking was almost non existant. When I did brake, only the rear wheels seemed to brake causing the machine to skid and slide going down steep decents. Not knocking Polaris, but I really think an Outlander handles better, brakes better and takes off quicker. Not just because I own one, but because I've ridden both. Then again the Polaris is definitley the plushest ride though no doubt Polaris wins that hands down.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: battlegun

ok I'm confused. TLC produced a link that had a very nice comparison of several nice atv's. (thanks) What is confusing to me is how the polaris won their overall comparison. I don't see how a limited slip AWD system can out perform a full diff 4wd lock in rock crawling. Heck, i don't see how it could outperform a locking 4wd in any 4wd application accept cornering?



Also, the "little" yamaha held it's own in that testing. I wonder what would happen if I blind folded my wife and stepped up to the griz 660? If the "lil griz" put up such a fight against the 500's the 660 MUST be overwhelmingly superior. Yes? No?



(crazysteve I plan on looking at your link today...thanks bro!)</end quote></div>\

Polaris is AWD not 4wd limited slip,it has no need for diff lock.

 

Ok...I checked out the can-am product and from what I can tell and the reviews I read this is too much of a speedster for my needs. I need a workhorse first.

To touch on the topic of 4WD Limited Slip, AWD, 3WD, or whatever we want to call it; While I have admitted that don't know much about ATV's, I'm not stupid to four wheel drive. I have owned 4 wheel drive vehicles my entire life and I have buried them, rolled them, and had fun with them. I know what works in this sense. And I know that for brute 4wd strength, it will be really hard to beat a locking 4wd system. I have not seen any "reviews" where they tested just the 4WD of these class ATV's. If they did, I would literally be dumb founded if a locking 4x4 did not come out on top and further more I would challenge that review.

I'm sure the "AWD's" will do perfect for trail usage and the ones mentioned thoughout these posts I'm sure are great ATV's for their own reasons. Let's remember that I'm going to purchase an ATV to do work with first. When I say work, I'm talking hooking to trees that I have fell and move them. Hook trailer loads of stone and wood and move them around. Move fencing supplys, stretch fence, move snow (when it ever decides to that), move dirt, herd cattle, navagate the river bottoms where I sometimes hunt. Then, when I get the chance to hit the trails, I will opt for the slower paced approach as I have mentioned before, dodging mortars and bullets has a way of making you slow down a bit and think about the chances you are taking. The trails I will ride will be very rocky and very steep in places (but my opinion and someone elses opinion of steep may be different. I've seen pictures of ATV's going places I wouldn't dream of). I will putt along these trails a bit slower than most people here in this forum I believe. I will have a cooler and tent on the back rack so the internal compartments listed will have little to no value to me. I might hide a beer in one for when I'm done working. ;-)

All that being said, I think I'm stuck on the Y, the AC, and the Zuki. All of these sound like they have the features that mean to most to me. Now I hope none of you get offended because I have been very fair in my observations. I have given each atv mentioned a fair review. I think the Can-Am is an awesome looking machine with tremendous power but not the brute worker that I need, I think the Honda is a very reliable and tuff ATV but does not lock in and lacks some suspension and clearance. I am not a mechanic and don't want to have to add after market parts (with the exption of tires and tools) and the step-up to the rubicon is not within my price range. Same with the polaris. Great looking machine and when it comes to review time it really shines in a lot of areas. In every review the Polaris shines, but the "AWD" is not what I'm looking for.

Now, for the ones I have narrowed it down to (y, ac, zuki and not in that order) it will probably come down to the test drive and dealer price. I will get the most for my money as my money does not come easily. A few people have mentioned that I need to test drive a machine in a real world situation. How?

Sorry for the book, but I needed to address a large number of replies and I think I hit most of em. Thanks again for your input people...it has def. been a learning experince. And to those who have thanked me for "what I'm doing"; thank you for caring, but go shake the hand of a Veteran as they have paved the way so that Soldier's such as myself can be successful. They are my hero's.

 

hope you return home soon and safley..... as far as test riding go to a riding area and hang out for a while when you talk to people tell them you are wanting to buy a bike and this is one of the ones you are considering most of the people i would ride with would not object to a test ride you can also get feed back from them also good luck... be safe

 

Battlegun,

For utility work you just can't beat a Sportsman. AWD on the Polaris is awesome, it is a locked 4WD system when engaged, no slip, full lock on all 4 tires, you can't get any better than that. It also is easy to turn when the AWD disengages. All this happens without the rider having to do anything. Like everyone said ride them all and see what you like.