here's a link TLC to a reputable website that mentions a tranny upgrade and engine position

Polaris Upgrades ATVs, UTVs For 2011 | ATV Magazine Online

 

thanks for the link Djk it had a lot of info! I am excited to test ride the new quads at the Rum River grass drags in Princeton MN. Yamaha, Suzuki, honda, Arctic cat, Cam-am, and Polaris will have ATV demo rides on a pretty cool obstical course that usually has a log pile, mud hole, rock climb and a wooden bridge... it's a pretty cool track.


Aug 27th-29th
http://www.outlawgrassdrags.com/index.shtml

 

While at the 2011 introduction I rode an 850 EPS 2-up and thought it was quite nice. It rode nice and carried 2 people with ease and it was very comfortably, I thought it was a nice ATV.

I drove a RZR S and thought it was nice too although too wide for my liking.

I liked driving the Ranger Diesel too, probably because it was different. The Ranger EL was like driving a golf cart and didn't appeal to me at all.

After riding the 850 EPS 2-up I was stunned when I rode their 850 XP, it had 499 miles on it when I climbed on it and it only took a few miles to realize that this one was a pile. It had so many rattles and quirky little problems that I would have been embarrassed to have it as a demo. We both told the Sportsman product manager that it needed some attention before taking it to any moire intros. I don't know what was its problem was but it felt loose, tired and ready for the repair shop.

I really don't care for any SxS but then I have no use for one. The Ranger Diesel was the only Ranger I liked driving, oh and the Ranger RZR S but I don't consider them Rangers.

I don't mean to come here and diss Polaris, they are the only manufacture that really has anything new to offer for 2011 so kudos to Polaris and they do listen to their customers. They have made huge improvements over the last few years.

Out of everything that I did ride I felt the 400 HO was the least desirable ATV there, I actually couldn’t wait to get off it and ride something else.

 

And besides my Rubicon this sits in my driveway too.
It was delivered without the hood so don't ask me what happened to it.
I think we have almost 200 miles on it already.

 

That looks cool , love it. LOL

 

Did anyone at Polaris explain the marketing reason why the "new" 400 HO wasn't renamed the Sportsman 450? Considering Polaris's past model history, this new move is going to cause a lot of confusion even amongst the brand faithful - let alone anyone else.

I fully understand why the Sportsman 300 was dropped from the model line. I bought my wife a 07 Hawkeye LE, and it's had a number of small quality control problems that required two warranty trips to the dealer. Now at 1600 miles, I have to take it apart to fix the noisy belt cover/clutch bearing issue. (do a forum search, it's the worst noise you've ever heard from any ATV) Beyond that, my wife really enjoys the smaller mid-size machine. (IMO) - the mid-size Sportsmans were a great product, but spoiled by "hit or miss" quality control.

Based from your comments on the test XP850 and new SP400 HO, it sounds like the "hit or miss" Q/A nature at Polaris remains. We will have to watch and wait to see what happens to Polaris build quality after the move to Mexico.

I'm not trying to bash Polaris, as I also own a 07 Sp500 EFI which has been flawless. But I do not believe buying something as expensive as an ATV should involve a quality control "dice roll".

 

Well put polaris needs to get their heads out of the clouds. I personally think their customer service blows and only a 6 month warrenty proves they know that they are sending junk sometimes and dont want to cover it and cut cost.

 

They usually don't have anything brand new or anyone with even the slightest amount of knowledge. Last year they had the CanAm tour or whatever they call it and they didn't have a single 2010 or any info on them. The locals that came out of the booth had stories you wouldn't believe. You would think the Outlander sprouted wings and could fly over the obstacles anywhere you would encounter them. LOL

In the atv pull, the XP 850 right out of the box showed up the Outlanders rather easy.

 

I don't recall them talking about marketing strategy, they just talked about "new" for 2011.

The 400 HO I rode I really thought it has a serious engine/trans problem. On decel at low speed it made a terrible banging/slapping noise that I was later told was normal. I find the trans housing sticking out so far on the left side to be really annoying too.

When you talk quality control it scares me to think what will come out of Mexico.

Without question the 850 EPS 2-up was the nicest ATV I rode.

 

I was told that the "Mid-Size" class was not build by polaris... I was told they were outsorced and made by a subcontractor. Now that the sportsman 400 is back in a "Full-Size" chassis polaris is making it back in Minnesota...
This was all info I got from a local dealer, not sure how relevent it is but thats what I was told...