I am requesting help and advice. I have a chance at a 1995 Polaris Sportsman 400 4x4. 859 miles, 4' snowblade, 4extra tires and wheel for $2500. This will be my first atv and will be riden primarily for hunting in Wyoming and maybe taken camping twice a year. I'm a 55yo male, so it won't be "hotrodded" around. Any comments or advice?????

 

i would look at getting a newer one say a 01' 500 and above. you shop around and might be able to find a good deal on one. just look it over carefuly and can tell if its been abushed and ask about the mantaince records. imo.

 

IMO like stendori, 400 s-strokes good engines,but costly to repair(engine wise) LOOK for later model 500 or even 325/330.Avoid 96-98 Sportsmans ONLY reason is u-joint driveshafts are a problem area and cant up grade to cv driveshafts. Good luck

 

seems kinda costly for that old of a machine..i only paid 5000.00 otd for my 04.5 sportsman 400

 

Welcome to the forum River Rat. I love Polaris and wouldn't want anything else but I'd still pass on an older one like that. I would get an '01 or newer Sportsman 500, because I think that's the year they made them easier to steer. The 500s are all 4-stroke <u>shaft-drives</u> with <u>Independent Rear Suspension</u>. 1995 is the oldest Polaris I can even find a NADA value on. The average reatail is $1,065, and the low retail is only $810, so it doesn't matter what accessories come with it. The price is still at least double what it's worth. If you tell the owner that you know it's only worth that much, you may be able to get a better deal.

The '01 Sportsman 500 that I mentioned is $2,670 average retail value. A '97 like I used to have is only worth $1,595 and is better in nearly every way to the 400 2-stroke. They had 6 sprockets, and three drive chains that need to kept tight and oiled. The 500 doesn't have any chains at all. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Frank

 

What elevations out in Wyoming will you be using it? If you are planing on any mountainous hunts with high elevations you may want to spend a bit more and look for a newer machine with EFI...out in this region you want a dependable ATV that won't give you fuel problems as you get over 3000-4000 ft...although a carbed unit will work fine if properly maintained and setup for the conditions, you probably don't want to be changing carb setups every time you go to the mountains!
An EFI bike will automatically compensate for the elevation and climate changes and in this case be worth the extra investment. You can concentrate on your hunt and not your ride!

Good luck finding the right machine!

 

well, in its defense

I have a 3 chain 6 sprocket 400 2 stroke powered 96 scrambler..
but i paid 2500 for it in 2000

It is a nasty machine, and im in the midst of rebuilding it with a low/high tranny (been a dream of mine)

but it is a maintanance hog.. great if you want to work on a bike every now and than

id had few month runs with no work at all, than somthing goes


it will run like a MF tho
400 2 stroke [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Seems to costly to be worth it if you only use it for hunting and camping maybe twice a year. The 09' polaris sportsman 400 H.O. is only 5699$. Not sure if thats exact but if not its only a few hundred off. I would poke around before you blow 2500 on an old machine like that.

 

That 400 is a fast **** of an engine. One of my friends has a Explorer with shaft drive on the front and chain drive on the back. It has the same HP as a 500 H.O. but it leaves a 500 in the dust every time. I'm not sure how much torque it has but it's QUICK. I would love to have a 400 Sport or Scrambler, but I like 4-strokes and shaft-drives better in the Magnums and Sportsmans. That's just my personal preference, 2-stroke for speed, 4-stroke for work.