Hello,
Yes I have ridden an XP 850 and while it seemed to be a very nice and comfortable quad, it did feel HUGE to me. The physical size is detrimental to the riding that I do. After looking at the specs comparing my griz to the XP I see more advantages to the griz than the XP. The XP is longer, wider, heavier and more expensive than the griz. To be honest about it, I also bought a 450 Grizzly that my gf rides and if it had EPS I would prefer it over the 700 just because of the size and manuverability in the woods. She is able to manuver much better than I can, and it has all the power that I would ever need. I see that the XP has more horsepower, but I am not convinced that the horsepower advantage that it has would be enough to compensate for the additional weight that it has. Regardless of any of these numbers the experiences that friends of mine have had with Polaris kept me from considering it as a viable option for me. To all of you that purchased Polaris and are happy with them, that is great. I am very glad that they have put some of their problems behind them. When I made my purchase of my Griz, I did so after having numerous conversations with mechanics and other riders and arrived with my decision to purchase a Grizzly. I am happy with my purchase just the same as those that are happy with their purchase of the XP. It all comes down to personal choice and the quad that best suits their needs for the type of riding that they do. My original post on this topic was only my feeling towards EPS, which again is like comparing a truck without power steering to one with.

 

I think what makes the XP's feel huge is the narrow seat wide fenders. Coming from Honda I did not notice that because honda is the same. The only diff is that the XP has taller fenders compared to my Honda's so it feels like your in it instead of on it.

 

HO - the Bighorns you installed on your XP - are they the 26x9Rx14 front and 26x11xR14 rear? I'm looking to put a set on one of my XPs & I just want to confirm the size (yes, I am a bit **** [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] )

 

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

HO - the Bighorns you installed on your XP - are they the 26x9Rx14 front and 26x11xR14 rear? I'm looking to put a set on one of my XPs & I just want to confirm the size (yes, I am a bit **** [img][/img] )</end quote></div>

BMQ- I'm currently running XTRs..but yes those are the correct sizes..

 

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

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: DODGE57HEMI











I was not defending my choice I was making a statment to the fact that the XP is the best quad on the market! Trust me I am not knoking the XP as comptition is a good thing. Allways has been but when all you read about are these people who swear up and down by one machine there is something wrong! The ones that believe there is only one brand of ATV on the market are missing the bigger picture and francly I feel sorry for them. Kinda like Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge LOL get over it already!!!!!!!</end quote></div>





This was not about the BRAND..it was about a paticular model..you brought the brand into it..the guy said that the Polaris 850 XP is the best ATV on the market..that is not a statement about what is best for Dodge57Hemi.. if you consider majority opinion I would venture to say he is right. Could that change at anytime? Of course it could..but right now you have to admit the 850 XP is top dog...you may like your Grizz better,and I am glad you are happy with it..but that does not mean it is a better machine..In my mind the what makes a better machine,other than the obvious quality stuff,is how many people rate them as the best machine..you know a majority vote. Now obviously I do not have hard numbers but I must say the XP is getting ALOT of attention..way more than the Grizz ever has. There are some die hard brand X guys dumping their machines to get an XP...brand loyalty only goes so far..these guys are not doing this based on "hype" they are seeing the machine in action and riding them for themselves and they know a winner when they ride it. Next year could likely bring a machine/brand that de-thrones the XP..and I hope it does if Polaris can't keep the XP ahead of the pack..like you said competition is a good thing. But for now a guy could be pretty confident in saying the Polaris XP is the best utility ATV on the market..</end quote></div>

This funny as the name of the thred is "850 XP are they really all that?" IMO no they are not! What makes XP so much better than any other quad? Big HP? Big tires? It all depends on what you want in a quad I guess . I was offering my opinion to the question and my opinion stands I am happy all of you on this mainly POLARIS dominated site like yours but in my experience and by what I have been reading from new XP owners there sure seems to be a few,small but quite a few issues with the XP .

In all my years of riding I have owned or known someone who has owned every brand of quad under the sun and it always seems that the Polaris have more issues than any other brand this is not to say I would never own a Polaris again but it sure makes it hard to go back after a great ownership in a good quality brand that stands behind its products! I know allot of you will jump on me but I really don't care. I also really don't care what you ride and I would ride with any of you no matter what brand you ride! I am sure you would do the same!