Hey Guys! First time post here, but I have been using the forum over the last few days for information supporting my research on purchasing a new ATV for my wife.

After doing a bunch of research, I believe the Polaris Sportsman 500 or 700 model would be best. My wife wants a cruiser, nothing too aggressive (she has had back surgery in the past). We live in the Tampa Area and will not be doing any mudding, etc...just basic trail riding. I will use it for some other things such as tearing up our MX track in the wood to make the track more visible.

I have found a 2008 Sportsman 500 with EFI, and we have agreed to a price below $3k, which I believe is fair. There is a winch, but the owner said it is stuck, waiting to find out more about it. As far as I can tell from the pics (somewhat limited) the bike looks pretty stock.

I am also looking at a 2006 Sportsman 800 twin for about the same price. I guess the trade off is Displacement vs Year? I am sort of gun shy on the Twin, because of the twin everything in the engine (2 pistons, cylinders, sets of valves, etc). I am just thinking the ongoing maintenance would be a lot more expense?

Is these good choices? Other than replacing/fixing the winch what are some other things I should consider?

More importantly, what areas should thoroughly inspect when I go look at it? I am VERY experienced in MX bike, engine work, etc. I hope some of this will carry over to the bike. Oh, and, are we not calling them quads any more?

Thanks in advance!

 

Both are pretty bulletproof engines. I tend to break things if I do my own maintenance so I'm not a good source for that info. Polaris has the most comfortable ride in my mind. Good for someone with a bad back.

 

The 500 should get better mileage than the 800. Maybe 20 miles or so farther on a tank of gas, but I can't really say for sure. If you're not interested in going fast or popping wheelies the 500 should have enough power for you. The 2008 Sportsman 500 EFI is the same quad I have. My only problem so far has been the ADC (active decent control) in the front end breaking. I rode other Sportsman 500s without ADC for 11 years and never needed it then, and still don't. I haven't heard of it breaking on anyone else, so I guess it was just my bad luck. If it ever breaks again I can just turn it off and keep on riding. As I understand it ADC is an electronically controlled braking system that makes it feel like you have engine braking on the front when you really don't. It kicks in on hills at certain speeds when it's turned on.

P.S. The Fuji 500 is a great engine. Many people ride thousands and thousands of miles with no engine problems at all.

 

 

Thank you guys. Well, another one just popped up that look promising. It is a 2014 Sportsman 570 with EPS:

110 hrs, New front differential, New tie rod ends inner and outer, New ball joints, All 4 new wheel bearings, New battery

I figure, for about the same price, why not heavily consider a newer model with a larger displacement?

 

The 570 with eps is also priced at $3000? Wow, that's a great deal. Sounds almost too good to be true. My local dealer has a used 570 with eps and they're wanting $4500 for it with a similar amount of miles on it. Maybe someone really needs to sell it, it does happen. If its a legit deal, that's definitely the best you're going to do for $3000.

 

He is asking $3500. We will see. Even if we split the middle, that would be a good deal. Plus it has an extended warranty!

 

Still a great deal. Warranty is nice too. Most used atvs don't come with a warranty.

 

I would be concerned as to why all those repairs were needed at 110 hrs. I owned a Praire for 16 yrs and used it haed but never abused it. Never had any issues or repairs like you mentioned!

 

My thoughts exactly. 110 hours isn't much at all. Between idling, plowing, and actually riding trails, I averaged around 10 MPH several years. If that quad averaged 10 MPH it would only have 1,100 miles. I don't ride as much as I used to but I did around 1,000 miles a year some years. If it averaged less MPH than that it may have been used to do slow hard work or mudding. If it averaged way more than that it could have been run hard and fast most of the time.