Good evening everyone, my name is Paul Lindemann and I am new to the forum. I am currently involved in Search and Rescue in Thurston County WA and I use my truck for searches. I am looking to purchase a ATV for use on the trails, the one I am looking at is a 2005 Polaris Sportsman 700 Twin EFI. Can anyone tell me anything positive or negative about this ATV?

Thanks,
Paul Lindemann
SPSMSAR.ORG
Mobile-17

 

Hi Paul, I had an '05 700EFI and overall was a very nice bike, lots of power/torque. I did have to replace my water pump twice. The coolant overflow bottle sits fairly low and has a vent hole on top. I ride a lot of mud and I dirt would get into the system and ruin the pump seal. I modded the bottle cap by adding plastic tubing that ran up to the headlight pod. Didn't have a problem after doing this. You can see that Polaris has now added this to the factory 2008's. Other than that, I loved it.
Good luck and thanks for your services.

 

Sportsman ATVs are known for their traction (due to a heavy weight), very strong frame (cause of heavy weight), and comfortable ride. I have a slightly herniated disk that gives me problems when walking, standing, or even sitting for too long. On the Polaris I can ride for a good long day. It's that comfortable. The 700, while not the most powerful quad out there, is more than powerful enough to get you anywhere the clearance will allow. It will also out-tow almost every quad out there. I even towed an industrial sized wood chipper up a hill that our trucks kept losing traction on. It weighed somewhere around 2500 lbs. That was with the 500cc engine. Hope this helps.

 

I've had mine since new and have had great luck with it so far....It's a very reliable machine with plenty of power...Hopefully the previous owner took good care of the one you want and kept up with maintenance...The only downfall imo is that the 700's and 800's are pretty thirsty when it comes to fuel consumption...I didn't buy mine expecting great mileage so I am ok with it...If you're going on a long ride make sure you take some extra fuel.....I'm sure you won't be disappointed...Have fun and let us know how you make out...Oh and welcome to the forum...It's a great place with great guys........

John

 

Welcome to the forum Paul! There's a lot of good information on this site and a lot of good guy's too!
Questions and different points of view are always welcome here!
Let us know what you decide to get!

 

Paul, I owned a 2005 Sportsman 700 for about a year and a half before selling it to my son in law who still has it. I don't like the controls on Polaris, but that is just a personal thing. Overall I liked it, but did have some problems with the lack of front wheel engine braking, so on steep downhill sections the rear wheels would skip around quite a bit and since the bike does not have a separate brake lever for the front and back there was really not much I could do about it. The 05 has some "lash" in the drive-line, but that is just the way it is built and does not hurt the reliability.

The bike is comfortable to ride, handles well, has lots of power and I love the AWD system. I don't think you can go wrong with it as to serviceability and you can usually get really good deals on them.

Thanks for your service.

 

Thank you everyone for your feedback.

I did purchase the ATV on Friday and I am loving it, I have already taken it out twice. My wife now wants one of her own. The only issue I have seen on the ATV is the speedo is not working, so I am going to search the forums for some answers. Thanks again everyone.

Paul Lindemann
Mobile 17
SPSMSAR.ORG

 

Congratulations on your new bike, I know you will enjoy it and it will serve you well. Of course now comes the expensive part; accessories...

 

Congrats on the new quad and welcome to the forum Paul.


Frank

 

What's up all. I know I'm juming into this conversation over 4 years late but this was the converstion that Google gave me when looking for reviews of the quad so Im gonna run with it. Im also in the market and Im considering the Kawasaki Brute Force, Yamaha Grizzly or the Polaris Sportsman. I want something over 650 cc's and have done extensive research on each quad. I like each of these quads but have individual issues with eash so Im looking for input from those who own/ride any of these ATV's and their opinion on how each of my issues effects real time and everyday use. I'm not totally in the dark as a rider since I used to ride sport quads about 7-8 years ago however utility 4x4 atv's are slightly diff beast. Anyway heres my concerns for each

Polaris Sportsman -
PROS:
1. Affordable
2. Comfortable
3. Lots of torque
4. good storage on the later models
5. IRS
CONS:
1. engine braking is only applied to the rear wheels and makes the a$$ chatter down hills. Unstable and hard to control when I think about my wife trying to negotiate hills.
2. Im told that bike is heavy and it takes high rpm's to get it moving as compared to the other brands jumping forward at the slightest throttle push.

Kawasaki Brute Force
PROS:
1.same as Polaris but slightly more expensive
2. extremely reliable
3. Engine braking to all 4 wheels
4. IRS
CONS:
1. Yellow 4x4 engagement lever needs to be held in when using 4 wheel drive? Really? I guess that would be considered a variable locking diff as you can adjust the amount of diff lock by how far you pull in the lever?
2. Storage.....is there any besides that really small bin on the left front fender

Yamaha Grizzly 660
PROS:
1. Everything really. Full time 4 wheel diff lock at the push of the button.
2. All the PROS of the other 2 brands
3. Engine braking to all 4 wheels
5. IRS
CONS:
1. Not the most powerful options as the other 2
2. Expensive as hell
3. Little storage

OK, there ya have it. Im open to all comments about how each one matters OR doesnt matter. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me out to make a more informed and educated purchase.