I seen the new XP and Just had to have it!!! Best looking ATV on the market!!!

 

Looks of the machine.

 

Bought a used 2003 700 Sportsman with almost 3000 miles on it. Wow, money pit is correct. But I purchased the machine worth the money, so I could spend a few hundred dollars. Well, here it is a month later and I had to replace the following: rear left inner cv joint, all the wheel bearings, ignition, wheel speedo sensor, all the brakes, clean shifter housing, painted frame and racks, wrap in camo wrap, replace themo sensor in raditator, new seat, new tires, changed all fluids and filters and rebuild rear brake caliper. Almost $1,700. My idea was to replace what needed replaced so I knew what I had. I now have about $4,000 in it all told, but I have a machine that should not need any major repairs for awhile or at least until Hunting Season. I could have purchased a machine for $4,000 that was in good condition, but you still don't know what repairs are in front of you at purchase.

 

can't tell you why I bought it, but I can tell you why I sold it

 

It's a shame that some people just buy a machine, beat/neglect the hell out of it then toss it aside for a new one. But on the bright side for consumers like us that refuse to buy a brand new and take a hit on the sticker price, there are deals to be found. Fix'em up right and do the prior proper maintenance and then you got something that should last. Neglect anything long enough and it will turn to s#!t. MAINTENANCE! MAINTENANCE! MAINTENANCE!

 

^^^Very Valid point Redymixer169^^^
It so easy for people to talk trash about a brand but not so easy to admit that they never preformed matinance and most the problems were self inflicted

 

I got my 1988 Trailboss 2x4 for free, from a friend who had it sitting for over 10 years. I have since put a few hundred dollars into it (including top end rebuild and replacing the crankshaft bearings after I got nailed out on the trails with a broken piston skirt).

I have had more fun than I honestly expected, both playing with the machine out on the trail, AS WELL AS pulling it apart and fixing it, and learning about engines etc in the process.

Well worth the hundreds I have put into it

 

I think Polaris has the best package overall. Yeah a can-am 800 will pry out do my sportsman 800 in speed but who the he!! cares? how often are you using your complete top end on the trails? Sure Polaris will weigh a bit more then the competition (Except Cat) but look what you get... you get a tough ATV that doesn't need skid plates to protect everything down below and a frame that has some strength instead of a frame made of 1.5"X3" tube (can-am). Also the 4x4 is second to none! It doesn't even compare to the competition. We all know there isn't one PERFECT ATV out there, each one has its pros and cons but at the end of the process it boils down to the best overall package. POLARIS WILL GET YOU OUT!!!

 

haha- I have more photos of me pulling sportsmans out of mud then anything. Spent 2 weeks in canada riding with a small group- I lost count how many times I had to back track to pull the sportsman and ozark out of the same mud hole my outty just walked through. I got stuck once, out of the dozen time the popo did. Same rider experience also. In my album you'll see me pulling a polaris out of a mud hole all day long.
I've owned two sp 800's and 4 can-am outlanders (650 - 800)... I'll take the outlander any day over the sp. sportsman's are great on a farm or as a working quad- Case in point- I've been through this bog a dozen times since on my outlander- never needed a winch out... first time attempting it on my sportsman 800, had to get winched out by a grizzly (who made it through). I've found the fender design of the sportsman turns it into a plow as debris and mud start backing up under it, the mud has no where to go- unlike the outty fenders that channel the debris away from the tires (but also covers the rider- but I'd rather be covered in mud, then stuck in it )

a few weeks ago, I also had to pull a new sp 500 out of a grassy mud hole- that my outty and troys grizz walked over no problem...

also- I punish my spar fram over rocky terrain and jumps- never an issue with the spar chassis-

just saying- wouldn't be so quick to knock a can-am... you never know when you'll be getting pulled out by one

 

here is one for you (talking about Can-am) My sportsman 700 made it through in 2wd!!!! It's all in rider and judgement...