Wanting to purchase either the can am 800 XT or the Polaris 850 XP. The choice is on those 2 makes b/c of great dealership support in my area. Only aftermarket things that would get put on the new machine would be 28" Mudzillas & a snow blade. Has anyone test drove both. Like/ dislike of either machine. Been a Polaris guy all my life, but thinking a change could be good. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

If you were a polaris guy all along then you will love the new 850 XP the only thing the 800 XT might be tops in is top-end speed.

 

Well this is the POPO forum,lol.
IMO ride both yourself and then decide. Everyones opinions are different, I will say though I know someone on another board who has an New Outty800 and an 850(must be nice huh?) and he likes the 850 better hands down. If I had to pick 1 thing that makes the 850 a better machine it would have to be the AWD system..not a fan of visco-lok.
Alot of the little things that used to make a Outty seem more refined have been rectified on the 850. I loved my 800 but I have to say the 850 is a completely different machine. Smooth as silk,sounds great, power for days,all around very comfortable and enjoyable to ride. The outty may out top it but who cares it's only braggin rights anyway. I've had my 850 to 75 and it was still climbing,it hit 67-68 very quickly. Plenty fast enough IMO.
As for the tires,you may want to check clearance on the rear of the 850 depending on the width and if you intend to run stock wheels. There is about 1" of clearance to the sway bar on each side. I run 27x11's in the rear on SS212's, I think the 11's will fit with the stock wheels. No clerance issues up front.

 

amishdonkeys,

Ride both and you tell us!

The Outty800 looks like one very well built ATV. How much does it weigh?

 

I looked at both. I took the XP easily. A 08 800 XT CanAm was the same price as a 09 XP. That price did not include the 3 year warranty from CanAm. I got a free 2 year warranty with the XP.

 

I bet they are both great ATV's. I've heard mostly positive things about the Can-Am. It's also tough to beat some of the new features on the XP.

As mtpockets said... ride them, and pick the one you like.

 

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

I looked at both. I took the XP easily. A 08 800 XT CanAm was the same price as a 09 XP. That price did not include the 3 year warranty from CanAm. I got a free 2 year warranty with the XP.</end quote></div>

Roofer maybe you could elaborate since you looked at both? You know people like the details. My dealer sells both and I have never done more than look at the CAN-AM. Sweet looking machines for sure and I love the idea of a ROTAX motor for the power to weight ratio, but all I needed to see was that guy's video on Youtube comparing the Visco-lok to the Polaris AWD climbing a small wall near the beach and I knew I wanted nothing to do with a CAN-AM.

 

I went to a dealership one day and looked at the CanAm and Kawi's. I was set on buying the CanAm the next day. They had a red XT and a price I was willing to pay. That day I took a drive to the biggest Polaris dealership in the country (Mies). This was over an hour drive for me, but they said they had XP's, so I went. All I had to do was look at the XP and I had my mind made up. After the test drive, I made the deal. Drove back again the following day and picked up my 850. No doubt the 800 would have been a good machine, but the XP just had more to it for the money....AND it is American made, not made in Mexico with an outrageous price tag like CanAm.

Both need CV guards, but the CanAm would require full skids as the XP really doesn't. AWD is a big one for me also. Speed, not so much, but it's still nice. I bet they are very close.

Soon, some CanAm owners will also have XP's. That's when the truth will come out. For me it was an easy choice.

Look at them side by side, you can see that the CanAm is just kinda plain compared to the XP. Ultimately you have to choose for yourself though.

 

I had can-am 650 max xt last year.....Major concern for me was the LOW GEARING was NOT very low. The machine was not for working. My seat melt after 4 hours only. This machine is for running at fast pace...not slow crusing.....Speedometer quit fast, you have to rocker back and forth the quad to shift your gear, shock up front collapse very fast ( and allways bottom at speed ) , no bottom protection under the quad, tire are balance stock ( but very off balance at speed ). All parts was made cheap by manufacturing at the cheapest price........I had it only one year only.....Good by CAN-AM...nerver again any money from me. The ONLY point I like from CAN-AM was the trottle response.....BUT now the XP 850 is there......

Have a try......you won't regret it[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

amishdonkeys,
How about an update??????????[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]