I currently am a Rincon owner who loves my ATV but because of a bad back am looking for a much softer riding ATV for the trails in Northern Wisconsin. My 2 choices are the sportsman 800 & 800 touring. Which one will give me the softest most comfortable ride? I have friends who have the 500, 800 & 850XP and tell me that they think the Touring will be even softer that the Sportsman 1 up. Even with just one person on because of its longer wheel base. I really have very little to no use for the touring. Every now and then I will take my 3 yr old around the house but have a very nice Moose 2 seat for that.

I went to the local dealer to check them out. Did anyone else notice that the seat on the 800 1 up seams softer & longer & maybe even wider than the 800 touring? Also being 6.4 I noticed that the 2nd seat on the touring hits my rear. Feels like the driver's seat is not as long as the 1up? Chances are if I go with the 2 up I will remove the seat & install the hard box anyway meaning this will eliminate the issue or? It has to explain but it almost feels like even when you sit all the way back on the 2 up you still seam closer to the front of the Sportsman then on the 1 up? Any suggestion, comments and or ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Thor

 

I would go with the regular 800. I would think that the touring would be a little stiff in the back compared to the 1 up.

 

I heard that the X2 and Touring are even smoother riding than the regular Sportsman because they have "rolled IRS". The rear suspension is on an angle instead of straight up and down. I haven't ridden one and I hope someone who has them will chime in. The new XPs are supposed to have better rides because they have rolled IRS too.

 

I have an Arctic cat but id say the 850 xp i rode my dads and it has a really good ride just to tell you!!! my dad hert his back on a honda 500 dirtbike and now he rides a 850 and it dosent bother him!!!

 

I'd go with the 800 over the Touring model. The Touring has 120 lb. capacity in the rear while the regular Sportsman is 100 lb. But, this might be offset by the extra length of a Touring. I ride an X2 and it's pretty good on my back and I have a slightly herniated disk. But, the X2 has 400 lb. capacity in the back. It is stiff but not as bad as my son's ATP with a solid axle.

 

The longer wheelbase does help make the ride softer, but the 2 up will have a stiffer spring.
It's hard to know which would be softer without doing back to back rides on the same terrain.

The regular 800 has radial tires which WILL ride MUCH softer than bias ply tires.
I think either or both the touring and x2 have bias ply tires. Check to be sure.

Make sure the tires are properly inflated and not overinflated. Tire pressure makes a big difference on softness of ride.
Make sure the shock preload adjusters in the rear are set to the softest.

Look into one of these. Inversion table info click here
Go read hundreds of reviews on amazon.com link and you will see that this product can really help a bad back.

 

The Rincon has nice comfortable suspension, Polaris's rep for a comfy trail ride has alot to do with the fat cushy seat they put on there Sportsman ATVs I think rather than suspension. Even if your sitting on a Sportsman parked and the motor turned off there more comfortable.

I hear the newer XPs do not have the cushy seat any longer.

Maybe a aftermarket company like "Corbin" makes a softer seat for your ATV.

 

I sat on the new xp and the seat is not as soft. The tank is also not as thick. For a big guy like me I do not like having all that space between my legs when riding. But the normal rider is not 6.4. It is a nice quad though. My buddy has a 09 850 and loves it. He already has over 2k on it.

 

I don't know but could you put the lighter springs from an 800 sp onto the x2 or the touring models? That would give you the longer wheelbase and softer springs.

 

Regular sportsmans ride softer than the X2/touring models.