Hey Padog, the Sportsman is a great quad. Strengths include: great storage and racks, great rock climber, great mud machine, second to none comfortable, metal skidplate underneath, fantastic ride, and also some of the best towing and toting numbers. I have a bad back and find the Polaris to be the most comfortable ride for me. The 800 is up near the top of the heap power-wise, gets about 15-18 mpg (depending on who you are talking to), and is a great puller. Weaknesses: weight; Polaris' tend to run on the heavy side. I can get my 500X2 in a power slide on a decent trail, but it requires more work than a sportier quad. Other than weight, I can't think of anything I dislike about them. But that is me. I haven't ridden too many others so I can't speak for them. The one gent I talked to that had the Grizzly 700 with the power steering loves it.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Moose.
You know.... the one thing about the Polaris that sticks out that I don't like, are the racks (lol). I'd rather have a typical tack than the plastic system they use, but that's just me. The dealer said they are verstile.... like an AC's racks I guess.
If the Polaris didn't come with so much already on it, the choice would be more apples to apples than what it is. Although Yamaha is offering a winch, too, for 69 bucks I thnk.

 

I was going to point out that I felt the rack system on the Grizz I just bought was lacking. I love the Polaris lock and ride system. It also has far more storage built into it than the Grizz. If you look at all of the lock and ride accessories, you can customize your Sporty anyway you want it. I have the front rack extension, the rear compartmentalized rack (holds my 5 gallon gas tank on left, winch kit and repair kit in center and cooler on right) and the windshield which I have yet to use. The front rack has decent storage underneath and the back has a glove box arrangement that I keep my air pump, plugs and other necessities in. I also have a tank bag to keep things like spare goggles and camera in.

 

I don't get away much and just have 13 acres, so it's not like I need the storage for work or play. True, it's nice to have though.
The reason I like the Grizzly's racks are I can look at them and figure out how to tie something to them. I don't know how to do that with the Polaris' plastic system. Not without buying ad-ons. Aside from that rail that runs around the rear plastic anyway. From what I've read carrying extra gas would be pretty much a necessity if you take it anywhere....