I asked Several service guys as well which quad would stand the test. They did indicate that they see more Polaris than Kawasaki but they were quick to point out that Polaris is the "name" in quads and many more Polaris quads are sold each year than Kawasaki. If your guy is reliable he may shed further light on the subject. He may allready be taking that into consideration and may still choose the Kawasaki. i would be intrested to know.

Thanks

 

The reason more Polaris's are worked on is that Polaris out sells Kow's 20-1 . i have been an avid 3 and 4 weeler now for almost a couple decades and the 500 polaris has no equal in the same price range, and possible no equal at all. Met very few Kow riders. I have ridden and liked the KDX but no 4XKows.

 

Since you mentioned the Prarie 400 or Sportsman 400/500 I will keep my opinions between these 3.

400 class Prarie vs. Sportsman
Sportsman has better ride, more ground clearance. Performance seems very similar. Has selectable 2wd/4wd.
Prarie is lighter in weight, which should mean better trail handling characteristics. In practice, though, the 01 Polaris machines have much improved steering (lighter effort) than before, so now I think the edge would have to go to the Sportsman. Reliability should be about equal provided you maintain both properly. Keep in mind the Sportsman has a bajillion zerks to grease (just kidding, but there are quite a few) and the Prarie is more of a park it and it should be ready for next time sort of thing.

Prarie 400 vs. Sportsman 500 - all of the above except the 500 will have more power/better performance/go faster.