i gonna go this week and buy me a new bike but no to sure which polaris to get...i have just reciently got to know polaris.. i had got a 96 sportsman 500 and love it...i had rode a prarie 650 for about a year and it was ***** 2 the wall...but i quality of the bike does not compair 2 polaris.....hows the 700??? i need some help cuz the dealer does not let anyone test ride nothin new

 

If your going to get a big bore 4x4 then I would go with either the 08 800, or the new 2009 850 XP. If you want to stay in the 500 size then you won't find one better than the 550 XP.
IMO the 850 XP even though there have been some questions raised about it, (I'm sure you have read the other threads about the XP's) is still the best Quad on the market today!
You can probably get a really good deal on the 800 but it's not as good a machine as the 850 is!
Keep in mind that you will probably want to add storage space to the XP if that is the way you want to go! (not cheap!)
Let us know what you get![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
rancher.

 

... a running one LOL.

My first 4x4 quad was/is the 2005 Sportsman 800 EFI... it is a tank, a veritable beast and I love it. I'm glad I went with the 800 instead of something smaller.

 

Yeah regardless of the threads about possible 850XP issues it is an AWESOME machine IMO. Best ATV I have ridden thus far. I think alot of the threads about possible problems stem from 1st year bugs paranoia (I'm guilty) and hopefully the rest are isolated problems that could happen on any machine.

The 08 800 and 500EFI are sweet as well....but fav has to be the 850/550 without a doubt.

 

I agree with everyone above. I would see what kind of deals they will make on leftover's. However, they are offering large kickbacks on the new ones, so maybe a leftover isn't as enticing? Maybe check smaller, rural dealers, too, if you know of any. One of my buddys just bought a brand new sled leftover from 2006, yes, 2006, from a rural polaris dealer in northeastern oregon for thousands less than new! Sometimes it's worth a few phone calls!

 

SCRAMBLER ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Here's how I look at it:

I could have bought a new bike but chose to go second hand through a dealer. The bike I got through the dealer already had most of the mods done to it that I wanted. (an additional $3,600 in products) So instead of paying 13,820 for a new machine I paid 5,480 for a machine 3 years old.

I did have a couple issues (electrical and front left universal (??? not sure if it is a CV)) with the used machine but the dealer said they would take care of them for me.

Any quad that is cost effective .. bang for the buck.

 

it all depends on your buget and what kind of riding you do and how much power you want. 500 thru the 800 is nice. i would get the efi model.

 

Every time I got a new bike it was my favorite but this new 850 is just so much more than I expected,hands down as the favorite of them all.

 

If you're gonna get an 08 I would lean to the 700 over the 500. It was only a couple hundred more.