By the way, I forgot to put that I have an Arctic Cat 500.

 

That is just the way it is. People like what they have, and to them it is always better than the rest. Even if it is a 1984 suzuki 125. "Its still better than a 2000 honda 90 or a yamaha badger, cause I smoked a honda just the other day" Yeah right! This person would say this, but fail to mention the fact that there is oil seeping out of the heads on his quad, and that he flipped it over 6 times in one day and broke an arm.

Boner- I used to get that crap at school too when I was younger. Everyone had either honda 250's or 200's (not R's or SX's, the utility bikes were what they had). We had yamaha's. A 1985 200 and a 1986 225. The 200 was faster than the honda 200 (not by a landslide, but you could tell the difference), and the 225 was faster than the 250 honda, but they just couldn't accept this. Nobody owned any Suzuki's (they were the real scapegoat! Flipover prone deathtraps!) or Kawasaki's (except one little 84 185cc model that was a blast to scoot around on). All the honda's and then me. My yamaha's turned around a lot tighter than the wide turning honda's and I think they were jealous of this too. I heard that Honda crap all the time, and if these guys had owned Yamahas and I had the honda, they would have been bragging on how second rate the honda was. They could never go anywhere that I could not follow, and I ate them for lunch in tight turning spots. We got that 300 honda in 1989, but I still was partial to Yamaha. I don't own one, but it is still my favorite manufacturer simply because it is what we started out with and I always go for the underdog. If Yamaha was the biggest seller, i probably wouln't like them as much. Another thing that gets me. Look at the quads that are the oldest designs still in production. Big Bear (updated and different, but still originated in 1987), Warrior- 87, Banshee- 87, Blaster- 88, Bayou 300- 86, and King quad- 89 or 90, Honda 300-88. Of those, Yamaha still has 4 venerable quads that still have a demand on the market. They have put out a lot of new machines as well, but their lineup is tried and true.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

Been gone a couple days the thing pooped out on me lost everything,get your stuff backed up.I hadn't now I have a ,mess.Andy I bought FORD DIESEL with super cab it has the 4 doors,i'm sure we'll like that as the one I have now is 95 but you have to put up seats to get in.The salesman just called he thought it would be here today but now monday.Can you believe only 2months.Also stopped by polaris dealer,says he thinks old YELLER will be in next week.YAHOO!!!!!!Other than puuuuter doing it to me it's been a great day.The only thing better would be if this was page 5 here goes.

 

I thought you had ordered a Silverado. My mistake. The super duty is a bad *** truck with the best diesel available. Only thing is you need a stepladder to get in it, and parking garages are out of the question. I wonder how it rides compared to the F250? They ride a lot better than the older fords.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

My old one rides good but new is supposed to be better.I have a 10 1/2 ft camper on it so garage is out anyway.These are supposed to be 3inch higher inside so cowboys don't have to take off thier hats.Bed is higher to I have to build up under camper so it will fit.

 

The new ones really ride good,I have a 10 1/2 ft camper on it so garage is out anyway.Love that diesel,does good job in the moutains,also have new 6 speed tranny.It has more head room so cowboy's don't have to take thier hats off now.Wooope Ding!!!!!!

 

Yea I think that IH diesel is pretty good.I have 6 speed tranny so should do good here in moutains,the old one has 5 speed.2nd is to slow and3rd to fast hope new one is inbetween.

 

Has anyone ever had any trouble with the rear cv joints on a sportsman? I haven't heard of any. The old u-joint sportsmans had quite a few problems, but it seems the change to cv joints has straightened that out.

Another Sportsman question. The suspension will squat some with a rider. About how far down does it squat with a 200lb rider? I don't weigh a whole lot, so I never noticed that it sqatted very much with me on it. A lot of people thought that the squatting was a real point of arguement between the Mag500 and the Sp500, but I always found that even after squatting the suspension, the Sportsman still had a good bit more clearance than the magnum. It doesn't have more than 7". I measured it closer to 6 from the rear gear housing.

Also, I see a lot of comparison on which is better between the Mag and Sp500. I don't see this as a good comparison though. The Mag compares much better to other straight axle bikes, and its biggest attribute is that it was polaris's first shaft driven quad. It seemed more like a 4stroke shaft alternative to a 400 explorer to me, than a choice between straight axle and IRS. The sportsman is really in its own category. If they would drop that manual transmission in a sportsman with a high/low range option, I would really consider it if I was ever in the market for a new quad. I'm not going to trade in mine though on anything. I'm just not a person that trades often. Not with cars or quads or anything really, but its always fun to look at new stuff. Come on Polaris, give us a manual shift sportsman!

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

I plan on getting a Polaris As my next quad also, unless I get a killer deal on a Kodiak or a Rubicon. But like Andy I will not get rid of my Cat, because it is good at almost everything it does(not a very good quad on the mx track, wounder why?).

I will probaly get the Sportsman 500(or bigger) because of the ground clearance and the mudding ablity. Since I only weight in at 151-Lbs I don't think the "squat" will be that much of a problem. I can tell you one thing, it's gonna get a winch before it comes home from the dealer.

 

What do you think about that manual shift Sportsman idea? I think it would add even more buyers for polaris. There are a lot of people that like the sportsman's power and IRS, but still prefer a manual shift.

I would also like to see an update on the racks, possibly to where it could accept a winch a little easier and with a better mounting setup. I wonder what a geared transmission would do to the weight?

We will see FIVE before its over with.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*