Joey, well done, wish I coulda said it that well.

I am old enough to remember when Honda came out with reverse on their three wheel ATV's and then when Suzuki came out with the first four wheel ATV and then suspension other than the low pressure tires and electric starters and so on. Of course I am also old enough to remember when automatic transmissions, AC and power steering in cars and trucks was a novelty, now try to find one in certain models without it.

I'm with you, any advance is a good thing.

 

I think the next big thing you will see from atv manufacturers is Dual clutch trannys such as the on foud on the new 09 Honda Rancher 420 IRS. It acts as a Auto but gives you gear selectability such as a manual plus the usualy have twice as many gear to choose from. (more gear selection to match the bike with the terrain)!

http://powersports.honda.com/atvs/

Read under Whats New section.

http://powersports.honda.com/a...009&ModelId=TRX420FPA9

Lets not forget that PS does not just help with steering but act as steering stabilzer as well (anti kickback)!

 

A lot of good ideas ..... even tho there were a few Jabs! That's how we get the manufactures to improve their product.
Cruise control, enclosed cabs, MP3 players, turning headlamps, A decent built in
GPS with maps. and so on....
Where is this going?

 

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

Countryboy, Before EPS came out we (old weak and disabled) rode 2WD mostly and if we rode a 4X4 we did not ride them very much and did not particularly enjoy it, so I bought a Rhino when they came out. A surprising number of UTV/RUV's are replacing ATV's in this area and they are not all old people. Later I bought a like new Polaris Sportsman 700 to help a relative out and rarely rode it. You could not pay my wife to get on it. Overall it was a really nice bike, but I just did not enjoy riding it due to the heavy (to me) steering and the hand brake control. Yamaha came out with the improved Grizzly in 07, but since I NEVER EVER buy the first production year of anything I held off. EPS is a MUST for me as are independent front and rear braking or a foot brake to control both.



I have no doubt that the Polaris is "to you", everything you describe, but others will differ and are articulate in their reasons why as proven by Joey. If the Polaris was in reality what you describe, in essence the best damned ATV ever to be built to date, then the other manufactures would go out of business, but I don't see that happening. I cannot say the new Polaris is not a good bike as I have not looked at one because I simply cannot live with the braking system due to a disability. I think Can Ams, Hondas, Kawasakis, Polaris, Suzukis and Yamahas are all good bikes for different people for different reasons. Due to my age and a life time of hard work, I can afford to own one of each, but I just like the Grizzly better than any of the others for my needs. There is no such thing as one "perfect bike" and we are not stupid if we disagree with you. The "Country Boys" I know bear no resemblance to you, they don't ridicule other people or their machines.</end quote></div>


All hail Joey, the new Messiah, HIP HIP HOORRAAYY! Doesn't take much to rile up the locals in the Yamaha forum, how silly of me I thought this was the Polaris forum. Fair enough, but in all fairness I beleive I articulated in my write up the reason's I chose the Polaris and didn't like some of the others. The main reason for my response was after reading some of Doge57Hemi's posts, where he does nothing but bash Polaris (in his own polite knife in the back way), and praise Yamaha. I'm not ridiculing anyone for what they buy, it's a free country, I'm just telling everyone what I like, for the same everyone else has done in this thread. I'll bet some of you think the Polaris is ugly. Some information for those that like to claim someone is "brand biased" because they have nothing else to say, a.k.a. Dodge57Hemi, if I were brand biased I'd be driving nothing but BRP products, and wouldn't have went through the bother of test driving anything else. If the great Grizzly was in reality how he describes it, Polaris and everyone else would be out of business.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: joey120373

Why do so many "real men" take EPS as such an insult to their manhood. Every other person I talk to about it including the snotty polaris saleskid's patent responce is " that's just there for the women ". </end quote></div>

Because they have their masculinity wrapped up in the ATV. The same thing happens when you point out demonstrable deficiencies in their preferred brand or model. They take it as an insult to their manhood or questioning their adequacy or size of their genitalia.

It's not just ATVs. You see the same thing with automobiles. You point out that while his chevyforddodgeorwhatever might be quite fast in a straight line and sounds extremely impressive, it handles like a pregnant whale and has a fit and finish comparable to a communist era eastern European tractor and they take it as if you insulted their manhood.

You find much the same thing with firearms aficionados. It will be deer season soon here and hordes of people who shoot once or twice a year will trot out to the countryside with their 7mm rem mags, 300 win mags, 300 Remington ultramags to shoot at deer. If you tactfully point out in very kind and polite terms that they might want to switch to a more mild round because, not only are they closing their eyes before they pull the trigger but they're flinching like they've been bit by a snake, they take it as an insult to their masculinity. They're a man dammit and they can shoot any round with absolute precision and recoil doesn't concern them in the least. Only women and kids fear recoil. They don't. After explaining this they'll be able to regale you with endless stories about their 400 and 600 yard spine and head shots they take on deer all the time and the only reason why they're missing is that the scope must have moved or they got a bad lot of ammunition. You know, that same box they told you earlier in the conversation they've been shooting from for 10 years because they just shoot one cartridge for every deer they take.

The song remains the same, just the lyrics change.

 

I'm secure enough in my masculinity that it doesn't matter what I ride, drive, or shoot. A guy at work always used to say that guys with big guns all had small penises. I asked him whan that meant about me since I own an NAA Mini so small I forgot it was in my pocket with my change? Then I told him to bend over and we'd find out if there was a correlation between the sizes. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Go ahead and make all the jumbo frank jokes you want. I can take it.

And some people say the same thing about guys with fast cars or big ATVs; You all have tiny penises. Or you're all a bunch of stupid, macho, jocks. Or both. But I know better. I like what I like for my reasons. You guys like what you like for your reasons. I don't need power steering but it's not because I'm macho. I'm one of the least macho guys I know. The least macho <u>straight</u> guy that is. Having power steering doesn't make you a wuss either. I just don't need EPS. Yet. But maybe it would make my bi-lateral carpal tunnel syndrome a little happier at the end of the day. It REALLY hurts when I whack a stump and get a "stinger".

No ATV is best for everyone under all conditions. I can only afford one ATV so I need one that does everything I need it to do, and do it well enough to get by, not one that does one thing exceptionally well and isn't worth a d@mn for anything else. For me it has to be a liquid-cooled 4-stroke 4x4 with IRS and enough power to plow a ton of snow every winter. After that I narrow down my choices by what else I need and want.

As a former American manufacturing plant employee I like to buy American to help out the lucky ones who still have a job making things here. But that's far from being the only thing I look at. It's like this; if two ATVs would suit me equally well and one is American made and one is Japanese or Canadian or other, the American made one is going home with me. I've had a severe migraine for hours and it hurts so bad I can't think straight. I don't know if I'm making any sense or not.

 

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

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: joey120373



Why do so many "real men" take EPS as such an insult to their manhood. Every other person I talk to about it including the snotty polaris saleskid's patent responce is " that's just there for the women ". </end quote></div>



Because they have their masculinity wrapped up in the ATV. The same thing happens when you point out demonstrable deficiencies in their preferred brand or model. They take it as an insult to their manhood or questioning their adequacy or size of their genitalia.



It's not just ATVs. You see the same thing with automobiles. You point out that while his chevyforddodgeorwhatever might be quite fast in a straight line and sounds extremely impressive, it handles like a pregnant whale and has a fit and finish comparable to a communist era eastern European tractor and they take it as if you insulted their manhood.



You find much the same thing with firearms aficionados. It will be deer season soon here and hordes of people who shoot once or twice a year will trot out to the countryside with their 7mm rem mags, 300 win mags, 300 Remington ultramags to shoot at deer. If you tactfully point out in very kind and polite terms that they might want to switch to a more mild round because, not only are they closing their eyes before they pull the trigger but they're flinching like they've been bit by a snake, they take it as an insult to their masculinity. They're a man dammit and they can shoot any round with absolute precision and recoil doesn't concern them in the least. Only women and kids fear recoil. They don't. After explaining this they'll be able to regale you with endless stories about their 400 and 600 yard spine and head shots they take on deer all the time and the only reason why they're missing is that the scope must have moved or they got a bad lot of ammunition. You know, that same box they told you earlier in the conversation they've been shooting from for 10 years because they just shoot one cartridge for every deer they take.



The song remains the same, just the lyrics change.</end quote></div>

Very well put. This the exact reason that the outfitters in Alaska carry 30.06 rifles for all the idiot people that come to hunt Alaska and they bring the biggest gun they can buy just to find out thay can't hit anything because of too much recoil. My standby gun has allways been a 30.06 but my main gun now is a 280 and it has taken just about every kind of animal in N. America.

Same thing goes with atvs I have ridden just about every big bore out there including the Renegade and though they are all GREAT machines including Polaris (why I own one) but I feel you dont need the biggest to be the best. And as much as I hate Mazda this is there exact thinking they did with the Miata, and the exact reason Chevy came out with the Solstice (sp) and Dodge has been doing for years with the Dakota now guess what every other MFG excl Ford has a mid size pickup and by the sounds of it Mazda will have one soon too!

The best thing I come up with with my way of thinking or atleast here in Co is the guys that buy a one ton dually truck to pull there pop up tent trailers it just makes me shake my head in amazment. I just can't wait for the 1500 diesels to start ariving as then I will have my dream truck.

 

CountryBoy,

Understood and I don't think we disagree in essence. My friends had bad experiences with the early two stroke chain driven Polaris bikes and I would not have bought one if it had not been to help someone out. Much to my surprise it was a well built, powerful and smooth riding machine and I absolutely loved the engine. As mentioned, I cannot use the hand brake and the foot brake was worse than on an old Case back hoe. I tried for over a year to adapt to the bike, but couldn't so I decided to sell it and get a new one. Due to my age and disability power steering was a must. I don't really need a 700 (who does), but the only other EPS at the time was an air cooled Honda 500 and I won't buy another air cooled ATV and the Yamaha 550 is the same size as the 700. For reasons given, regardless of all else I simply cannot ride a Polaris, so I didn't even look at one. And by the way, I think they are really good looking bikes. I took my 28 year old son with me to buy my Yamaha and our instant reaction upon seeing it was, "Damn that's an ugly thing." It is humpbacked and looks so uncomfortable I wouldn't even get out of the truck until I had him get on it and he assured me that in spite of the looks, it was comfortable. I am in no way "brand loyal" and I will never knock anyone's choice of ATV. My Yamaha fits my needs and in spite of being able to afford to buy what I want when I want it, I usually keep vehicles for a minimum of ten years so this will probably be my last one. Oh and that is one reason I have the money. Bottom line, buy what fits you best and I think they are all good machines. Heck, I ride a Harley in spite of the fact that just about anything else will out run it, out handle it and is far much more mechanically refined. Don't know if any of this makes sense and if not too late. Good riding whatever it is. It's not what you ride, but that you ride.

 

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

CountryBoy,



Understood and I don't think we disagree in essence. My friends had bad experiences with the early two stroke chain driven Polaris bikes and I would not have bought one if it had not been to help someone out. Much to my surprise it was a well built, powerful and smooth riding machine and I absolutely loved the engine. As mentioned, I cannot use the hand brake and the foot brake was worse than on an old Case back hoe. I tried for over a year to adapt to the bike, but couldn't so I decided to sell it and get a new one. Due to my age and disability power steering was a must. I don't really need a 700 (who does), but the only other EPS at the time was an air cooled Honda 500 and I won't buy another air cooled ATV and the Yamaha 550 is the same size as the 700. For reasons given, regardless of all else I simply cannot ride a Polaris, so I didn't even look at one. And by the way, I think they are really good looking bikes. I took my 28 year old son with me to buy my Yamaha and our instant reaction upon seeing it was, "Damn that's an ugly thing." It is humpbacked and looks so uncomfortable I wouldn't even get out of the truck until I had him get on it and he assured me that in spite of the looks, it was comfortable. I am in no way "brand loyal" and I will never knock anyone's choice of ATV. My Yamaha fits my needs and in spite of being able to afford to buy what I want when I want it, I usually keep vehicles for a minimum of ten years so this will probably be my last one. Oh and that is one reason I have the money. Bottom line, buy what fits you best and I think they are all good machines. Heck, I ride a Harley in spite of the fact that just about anything else will out run it, out handle it and is far much more mechanically refined. Don't know if any of this makes sense and if not too late. Good riding whatever it is. It's not what you ride, but that you ride.</end quote></div>

Makes all the sense in the world. You are a true veteran of the sport and a well spoken one at that, TripleR for president.

Despite previous descriptions of mine that may have been a tad over the top, all manufacturers put out decent ATV's, it all comes down to personal preference as everyone has said. Weight is often used as a basis for comparison, but to claim that a certain brand is superior because of a lighter weight is the true definition of ill informed. Comparing the sportiness of a Yamaha Raptor to a sport/utility machine is like comparing a Dodge Challenger to a Ram 1500 Hemi. The Challenger is most definitely more sporty, but I don't think one could say the Ram wasn't sporty enough in it's own right, and should be used for "work" only. ALL sport/utility ATV's are heavy whether they're 600 pounds or 750. I've got 500 pound snowmobiles and they're heavier than hell. At risk of exposing flaws in my perceived masculinity to Red Green/Captain Quint, weight is irrelevant once your over 400 pounds, you're not pushing any of them out of a mudhole or snow bank without help. For those that insist weight remains the universal statistic for camparison, swap stock wheels, tires, skid plates, engines, etc and the final #'s are a lot closer than you think. ATV's also vary in size, which also makes a difference. Fit and finish is also a commonly used criteria when making comparisons, the differences I noted between brands was so minimal they weren't worth mentioning, and in my opinion was certainly no better on the Yamaha than any of the others. Each to their own, these are my opinions only, not everyone will agree. Thats it for me on the topic.

Speaking of Harleys, I'd like to have one some day too, and wouldn't be riding it for top speed bragging rights or the masculinity trip, the sound alone would be reason enough.... well..... it might be a "slight" bit masculine, lol. Thanks for the insight TripleR, happy riding.

 

All I will say is a Victory motorcycle (Polaris) has you covered! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]