I am needing an ATV for plowing snow and playing around, both of which are important. I know I want a 4X4 and a full auto. Reliability is also a major factor. I have just started my search on ATV's and plan to buy by the end of summer. I don't know much about them, but I definitely want to make sure I get the right one. I have heard about many reliability problems with the Polaris. Can anyone relate to or defend this. Also, the other ATV's I am considering is the Honda Rubicon, Yamaha Grizzly and Kodiak, and the Arctic Cat Auto 500. Thank you all for your input.

 

Eaaicf,

Polaris, very reliable machines. Some say not so in the beginning, but today they seem to be very good. We have a '97, 2 -'98s and a '99 in our riding group and they have all been trouble free. Regular maintenance, lubrication and oil changes.

All of the machines you are considering are good machines. Test ride, test ride, then test ride some more. This is the only way you will find what is right for you. One rides better than the other, one has a cool new auto trans, one has more shift ranges that the other, one is switchable 2wd/4wd, one is the brand your buddy rides, one has the best dealer for servicing, one has a dealer in your area, one suits your riding style better than the other, etc etc etc. They all have good and bad points. There are many factors that have to be considered. Honestly, there is no single best machine. They are all so good that it comes down to what you like.

Most here would agree that the best machine out there is a combination of all brands. This guys frame, that guys engine, this guys transmission, that guys guage set, that guys 4wd system, this guys brakes, that guys suspension ... you get the idea.

I chose the Sportsman for the ride. It is the smooothest riding ATV I have ever owned. I chose it for its physical size. I am 6 feet tall and am tired of sitting on a machine with my knees banging on the handlebars (my old Honda 4-Trax). I chose it for the switchable 2wd/4wd and the true 4wd that locks both front wheels automatically when required. I chose it for the disc brakes. I had many other reasons but they are my reasons. Ride all of the machines you are interested in and decide for yourself.

You will hear it said that Honda is the most reliable. Maybe once but I doubt it today. They are all pretty damn reliable. If they are not built in America, most are assembled in America. Read all of the appropriate brand areas here and you will see praise, as well as problems. No brand is without unique problems.

I have an '87 Honda 350 4-Trax. It is absolutely bulletproof. It will start at -40. It has been through hell and survived. On the other hand, it has drum brakes that have never really worked well. It has a horribly stiff ride that has been likened (rightly so) to a lumberwagon. It is hard to steer with its full time 4wd. The ground clearance is not great. It has eaten its share of front bearings, and is on its 4th fuel pump! Would I buy another Honda? Absolutely, when they improve the ride and add some of the modern features that the other manufacturers use. The Rubicon is physically a bit bigger than my old Honda so maybe my 6 foot wife wouldn't look like an adult on a kids toy when riding it!

The Honda of today looks pretty much identical to my '87. They have not changed much over the years. This adds to the reliability if you never try anything new. The Rubicon transmission is the first big innovation from Honda in a while. Looks like it is a winner. The last innovation was ES shifting. Once the bugs were worked out, many liked it. Many of the other manufacturers are not afraid to be innovative and give us new machines and options from year to year. This is what makes the others stand up and pay attention. This is what gets the engineers back to the drawing boards to get us better machines. If the innovation is a winner or a flop, we win in the end with better machines down the road. If all manufacturers sat back and gave us the same machines year after year, they ought to be damn reliable, but what a boring ride it would be. Lumber wagons for all!

It is a tough decision when spending that kind of cash. Test ride, test ride, test ride. Consider what YOU are going to use it for. I love utility machines, you may hate them.

Good Luck!

DJ

 

I owned a '98 Sportsman 500. Some of the problems I had are:

-fan motor went bad, had to replace
-cheap plastic awd switch that is mounted on the shifter lever went bad, had to replace with a new one. The new one was much heavier duty as there had been an engineering change on this part since
my quad was made.
-temperature sensor/switch mounted in top of radiator went bad, had to replace.
-lost an O-ring in both the rear master cylinder and the rear caliper assembly. Was able to buy a rebuild kit for caliper assembly, but had to buy the entire rear brake master cylinder because a rebuild kit wasn't available, and I couldn't match the o-ring up at any hardware stores.
-the very first ride I went on I was coasting to a stop(before I added EBS braking) and the PVT made a huge noise, and it seems somehow I shredded a little piece of the belt off. I don't know how it happened but I continued to ride without any belt problems.
-battery died within a year of purchase. Replaced it with one from Wal-Mart and had know more problems for the next 1 1/2 years from the battery.
-I replaced the solenoid, but in hindsight, I think it was a troubleshooting error on my part as the battery replacement fixed all of the electrical oddities that were going on.
-AWD system went out on me once in the woods. Rode it out in 2wd which was not too much of a problem except on the steep loose rocky hills. This turned out to be a wire that had ivadvertantly pulled loose from the poorly designed terminal board under the front panel. I plugged the wire in and it worked fine.
-I went through quite a few sets of brakes. This machine eats them. The addition of EBS definately began to pay for itself by saving on the brakes.
-constantly had to re-adjust the shifting linkage so that tranny would slip into gear. I'm not sure why it kept getting out of adjustment....the magazines blame the frame flex....but I'm not sure. I just know I had to adjust it about every 5-10 rides.
-light bulb blew....not a big deal but I'm on a roll.
-I also had a constant problem with it backfiring. The dealer made an adjustment by the thumb throttle that helped it, but when I added the EBS, it came back as bad as ever. Pretty scary when riding through the woods in deer season. It would backfire and all of my buddies would duck.
-tie rod ends went bad. Traded it before I replace them.
-one u-joint in the rear, and two in the front were getting very sloppy right before I traded it. This probably was brought on by lack of maintainance on my part. I would grease them about once every two months. It seems I should have done this every ride. My mistake.
-this is a weird one....the IRS(independant rear suspension) seemed to have a flaw in design. At least on my quad, and my friend's identical quad, and even on my other buddies Explorer 400. When fully compressed the inside of the spring actually rubs the shock itself, causing a scraping. After several times of doing this, the spring does not return to it's original position, which is centered over the shock(not touching it). I talked to my dealer about this(actually two seperate dealers) and they told me this was common. They said Polaris reps had been made aware of the situation....my quad was out of warranty.....and basically sorry about your luck. Although they would be more than happy to sell me another set of shocks, but couldn't guarantee that the same thing would not happen again. Never a problem with the front struts.
-I broke the fuel valve(petcock) while trying to take the fuel line off once.....it is the first one I had ever encountered that was made of plastic. My fault.

I'm not sure if there were anymore, but this is all I can remember right now. I've said it before, when the thing was working, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Nothing could stop it. I just seemed to have the one built on a Friday just before vacation, or something. My friend has had a few problems with his, but not quite as many as I did.

I've looked at the Sportsmans in the showrooms and notice little changes here and there. I think they are trying to fix the reliability problems....and maybe the 2001s are much more reliable than the '98s.

I personally got tired of it and traded to a Honda Rancher. I gave up alot of performance for what I hope turns out to be reliability. Knock on wood...no problems yet, but it is still early.

I realize a Rancher probably isn't heavy duty enough for what you are looking for...but if I were to buy a big quad today, I would either look at the Rubicon because of the Honda reputation for reliability, or the Grizzly because it is simple in design. Some call it outdated, but I call it proven. I like the air cooled, basically tuned down engine it has. To me, this makes for super reliability. So what if it loses a little bit of power when it gets really hot....it still has plenty left. The ride if rougher, but there are not a hundred grease fittings to worry about on the rear end every time you go riding. Simplicity=Reliability.

My last thought is this...you can get more performance with technology.....but I still question reliability of newer technology.

Go Simple.

 

Deej told you like it is, ck them all out, find the one that suits you. As for the sp500, mine has over 1100 miles, it is a 2000, only problem has been tie rod ends. These were updated on the 2000HO. Just my 2 cents worth!

 

Eaaicf,

If you do some research, you'll find that nearly all of the problems listed by exmxer, have been since redesigned. Electrical, brakes, tierod ends, AWD switch, all have been improved. As for the springs rubbing on the shocks, mine does that, and everyone I know of does it too.

Dave

 

Wow, Deej's response is probably the best non-partisan response I have seen on this board, very well stated.

My needs in an ATV were similar to yours, plowing snow for me was the item I needed to do more than anything else. I looked at several makes, and had no biases except a desire to buy a Suzuki product since I run a Suzuki auto dealership. If you look at this forum, there is a huge difference in ATV popularity....Honda, Polaris, and Yamaha are the top dogs. What this tells me is: These machines are the best when it comes to parts and aftermarket support, reliability, innovation, and the ability to produce machines that people want. This also translates into better re-sale value when you decide, or if you decide to upgrade.

I also looked at the shifting, going from reverse to forward constantly and easily was a huge factor for me, since I spend hours (joyful now) plowing two 750 foot driveways.
I bought the Sportsman 500. It is heavy, stable, has low range, and plows snow like a champ.

My needs are utilitarian, so i will be selling it after this winter to buy either a Kawasaki Mule, or preferrably the new 4 wheel version of the Polaris Ranger.

 

My 2000 SP 500 has 1800 miles and not a single problem. They are very reliable i do not know a single person who has had any trouble what so ever. But not every single one is bullet proof I could go on and on about the Trouble I had with my Honda 300 4x4 but why? most people have no trouble with them also my Warrior don't even get me started then again most people have great luck with them. I personally did not. Polaris has been the best to me the two i have owned went without trouble at all. Very good machine well built and the ride on the SP is second to none. Polaris is the best out there right now.

 

If reliability is what you are the most concerned with, don't even consider the Polaris compared to the Rubicon or the Grizzly. If 4x4 performance is more important, then consider the Polaris. I've ridden with other Polaris quads quite often. They perform real well, but seem to have ALOT more problems then any other quad I have ridden with. They are also very hi maintenence. I would pick the Grizzly, there is no substitute for power!

 

I considered the Sportsman, but ended up with the Rubicon. i liked the Sportsman, but 2 things really kept it out of my garage:
1: Reliability-I have heard and read hundreds of posts about the improvements made every year and a lot that were made for 2001 models. Maybe they are now bulletproof, but I want to wait a few years and see how these 2001 "improved" models hold up.
2. Maintainence- There is more of this on a Polaris than on most other utility quads, 20 or 25 grease zerks (some of which are very hard to get to), Belt that will need replacing often if you don't keep it in the low range in certain situations, Hub oil needs changing, etc. I am just the kind of guy that wants to ride, not tinker a whole bunch, but to those who don't mind the tinkereing, more power to them. They probably get a better overall appreciation for their quad than I do. Maybe that's why Polaris owners are labeled as "****-like" in their pride of ownership in other forums. They just are more in touch with their machines. To Polaris Owners:Please don't take it as an insult, I mean it as a compliment!

 

GottaMax,
Hey man where do you live in Newberg?! Thats where I live. What do you ride? Where do you ride?

Rick