My friend cant deside wether to buy a Sportsman or a Magnum.He said he is worried about the extra maintenance on the Sportsman because of the independent suspension.He says he can get the magnum $500 cheaper than the Sportsman.What do you think?

 

Those were my same concerns, after reading a article in a atv magazine, dirtwheelers, the author of the article pointed towards the magnum. Not having any Polaris experience, only Yamaha, I went with the magnum, slightly lighter, I liked the solid rear axle. I've only had my magnum for three months, about 200 miles. So far it's been really nice, don't know that the sportsman wouldn't of been either. I went through the entire thing after about 50 miles, changed everything. Took about three hours, that included greasing the zerks, of which there is plenty even on a magnum. The only thing that shows on wear is the throttle cable started to be a little loose over this past weekend, I will tighten it up this week. The ride is great compared to my Yamaha timberwolf, of course it's a much nicer atv. I was really looking at the grizzly, but my friends is like riding a oven. I just think a water cooled engine will last longer than a strictly oil/air cooled. I know the Yamaha folks have added more heat shields to the grizzly, but the engine still has to be hotter than a water cooled one. Good luck.

 

Kagey is the guy to talk to about magnum,he has one.Myself I like the sportsman,don't really understand all the fuss about maintenance.Any thing needs taken care of,If you have greese zirks and you keep them greased it won't wear out as fast.Also makes you keep better eye on machine,if you dont keep eye on things you will have trouble guaranteed.It really boils down to type of rideing you do,I ride in the mtn's and ride alot of rough stuff so really like the positive feel of the independant,if thats not important, then the magnum will do just fine.Either way you can't go wrong!!!!
COB

 

This is an excerpt from a post I made last week in another thread that belongs here more than it did there. My apologies to those who’ve already read it.

On the subject of Sportsman vs. Magnum, now that my wife has a new Magnum 500 I plan to post the differences from an experienced perspective when I have the time and some more miles with it between me and the trail. Initially there are a few things that surprised me. I guess I’d always thought of the Mag 500 as a Sportsman 500 without IRS. Wrong! Since this is our second “shaft ride” Mag (first was a 325) I’m very familiar and impressed with the drive/suspension system for its quality and durability. There’s also less maintenance than the IRS in both the lubrication and ease of cleaning departments. But I must say, the Sportsman leaves the Mag behind in several areas. The clutch housing intake is about 7” lower on the Mag and in a position that appears to make it more vulnerable to sucking in things it shouldn’t (although it hasn’t yet). It has a smaller fuel capacity by 1.5 gallons. The front CVs aren’t as well protected. The motor is positioned MUCH further forward, giving the machine completely different balance than the Sportsman.

Now don’t think I’m getting down on this machine. The little I’ve ridden it it handles beautifully, far more nimble than my heavy Sportsman. That 500 motor in the lighter chassis makes it feel like a 2-stroke compared to what I’m used to. After trying some log-hopping with it last weekend I will say that the IRS on the Sportsman gives a far superior ride in very uneven terrain, as one would expect. The longer travel rear suspension doesn’t hurt it any in this area either. Others have told me they prefer the solid axle because it gives them a better “feel” of the trail. I guess my hiney is spoiled by the IRS and “feeling” the trail a little less.

These are just my initial impressions after one weekend’s ride (110 miles) and I’ve not ridden it on a challenging trail yet. Once it’s broken in (if I can get my wife to swap machines!) I’ll post a more comprehensive comparison.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

Well they warned you I was coming so here it is. I have the Magnum500 I love it. It has been trouble free thus far. I bought it because it seemed like it was going to be a low maintainance design and so far it has been . It had 9 grease fittings on it verses the 23 on the sportsman. Nothing wrong with the grease fittings as long as you remember ot use them. I have riddin both machines extensivly and the sportsman does seem to deliver its power to the ground a little diffrently than the Magnum. Example the Sportsman will spin the rear wheels on a dirt road almost until you finnaly let off the gas. The magnum seems to not want to spin like that. I was told that the diffrence is due to the design of the magnums rear suspension. It makes the magnum hook up quicker but to me the sportsman does feel like it is a little more of a hotrod when I ride it. The magnum is no slouch . It has lots of power and rides better than any other quad out there except the Sportsman. The handling is great turning is very precise esspecially after I put the goodyear mudrunners on it. I chose the Magnum because I felt like it would be a better machine servicewise 4 or 5 years down the road . I was looking for a quad that I could keep a while and just felt that having less componants on it to give trouble might make it the more reliable machine only time will tell but so far so good.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

You may want to consider also that the 2000 Mag does not come with the EBS. The dealer I spoke with said its about 200 to 250 installed. Kinda narrows down the price gap!

 

Kagey,

I don't agree that the with you on the ride of the Magnum. After riding a 99 Xplorer 400 I would say it rides better than your Magnum, but even the 400 doesn't ride as good as my Arctic Cat 500, even the polaris owner said that.

Arctic Cat 500, The 2nd fastest cat, death to the cheata

 

Well Well , must say I,m not surprised at that, you must run some really low tire pressure in that cat. The 500 here that I get to ride occasionally gives me the sensation that I,m about to fall off of that narrow seat when I,m riding it. AS for the explorer 400 yes It does ride good what do you expect its a Polaris as for the cat riding good you have either changed the stock tires or let a lot of air out of them because this 500 cat that my buddy Todd has rides like a WAGON. Even He says that and he paid for it. Its still a nice quad though regardless. I really like the bullet proof suzuki Engines that they use. But who knows maybe you,ve got a ringer thats got some good shocks on it.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

I bought a 2000 Sportsman over the Magnum because my wife didn't like the green plastic on the Magnum. So mine is obviously red. It cost me $200 more for the Sportman but I am happy with the purchase. The salesman also said that for 2000 the Magnum didn't have EBS. That feature is also worth the extra money.

Before I bought the Sportsman I test drove a Artic Cat 500. It was pretty nice. The Sportsman has more features, plus it is a bigger machine to haul me around. I am 6'5" tall 240 lbs. I have always liked Polaris because they are a bit bigger than the other bikes. The maintenance doesn't bother me and I have yet had any problems with any three of the Polaris' I have owned.

 

Well isn’t that interesting. As we were negotiating the trade of our damaged 2000 Mag 325 for the “new” ’99 Mag 500, I was looking in the 2000 Polaris brochure at the specs and it didn’t list the Mag 500 as having EBS. Then we get the bike, and sure enough, it has EBS. It appears that Polaris put EBS on the ‘99s but no longer does on the 2000 model. I just checked the specs for both years on the Polaris website and it seems to confirm this. If you want EBS that makes the ’99 a better buy in my opinion. Get one while you can. It surprises me that a manufacturer would remove, rather than add a feature for a new model year. I guess that depends on whether you consider EBS a valuable feature. I’ve had it on my last two Sportsmans and wouldn’t be without it. My wife loves it on her new Mag. Just our opinion.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River