They should have because it is better. Dollar for Dollar it is hard to beat. I spent my hard earned money on one and it is well worth it and price wise it was even better.

 

Are you sure you read that right Tim, Kawi has high-low I believe & I know Cat has high-low-superlow, that's 3 ranges not 1.

 

I think ATV Magazine gives the most creditable --real life -- reports. Sometimes there's an error but that's humans for ya.

 

the sp did not beat the ruby by a large protion. I don't know what you are talking about there.

I have seen no biased testing. THink about it., they give the expeditiuon great articles, the sp, and frankly I have to agree with them that in all of the other parts of the atving world polaris is far behind. their 4by 4s are very strong, long suspension and very comfortable, and they have many good features. but bottom line is that machines like the scrambler and such can't keep up with the competition. You can't have a machine in the same class that weighs 150 lbs more than the other winning a sport shoot out.

also, they had some very good issues when they gave the explorer last place. maybe you should go back and re read the article. bottom line is that they are not a biased magazine, they just say what they like. you are stretching the truth so you have something to complain about.

 

Mag500,

If they aren't biased, why did they say (several issues ago) that the Wolverine would be more competetive than the Scrambler in the GNCC? This is a prime example of not knowing of what the hell they're talking about.

Fact: In the GNCC there are three utility classes. Utility Stock, Utility Modified and Utility Unlimited. There used to be only the first two classes. Do you know why there are now three classes? Because the manufactures, rather than up grade their machines to run with the Scramblers, complained that Polaris had an "unfair advantage" and wanted to make a different class for Scramblers. Out of these three classes the only class Polaris Scramblers can now run in is the Utility Unlimited. If the Wolverine were a better race machine (even with mods), why does the AMA still think Polaris has an "unfair advantage"? For that matter, why do they post faster lap times, too?

Fact: Just count the number of sentences they use to belittle Polaris quads in any given shootout (even the ones that Polaris wins). I wouldn't be surprised it didn't equal the same amount of praise for their favorite Japanese amchines.

Fact: Why do most of these magazines insist on compairing apples and oranges? In my mind, there are four classes of ATVs. Utility, Sport/ Utility, Sport and High Performance. Would it be fair to compare a Sport machine to a High Performance machine? No. Is it fair to compare a Sport/Utility machine to a Utility? No. But they still insist on doing it any way. In the above mentioned article, they compared two Utility machines to a Sport/Utility machine. In any given catagory (which was extremely biased towards the Utility class) the Sport/Utility machine would give a poor showing. Sport/Utes are kind of a "Jack of all trades, master of none" type of machines. They can do everything well, but nothing great.

When a new machine comes out, they sugar coat it to the point that I feel like brushing my teeth afterward. An example would be the Sportsman 335. They couldn't say enough good about the machine, yet when it came to a shootout they gave it the "beat down". Granted, someone had to lose, but why did they sugar coat it in the first article and then trash it in the next?

In summary, all of the leading magazines ARE biased is some way towards the Japanese manufactures. ATV Sport and ATV Magazine are about the fairest as far as their coverage goes. The two Hi-Torque rages are just a bunch of xenophile crap

 

Everyone knows I ride Polaris and I know I sometimes seem biased toward Polaris... But, in this instance, I disagree with you guys. I have owned a Suzuki 2504X4 and I have ridden the Polaris 250 4X4. If it were up to me to judge the two, I would recommend the Suzuki. I know it is not as fast or as powerful, but it has an incredibly smooth ride. It also has a granny gear that will allow you to pull a house. It has 2wd, 4wd, and 4 wheel locker. It also seems to be well built. I know it is in many ways inferior to the Polaris, but once again, it all comes down to what is important to you. If you mud all the time, the Suzuki brakes will be a problem. If you ride fast and hit jumps, the Suzuki is once again, not the way to go. But, if you want a smooth riding reliable, low maintenance trail bike, the Suzuki is a very good choice.

Greg

 

I think we may be misunderstanding each other. This is not a "Polaris never wins cry". What some of us are saying is this:

Let's suppose that the DWM staff used a QuadX and a QuadY in a shootout. All the way through the shooutout DWM feels that the BrandX is the best. QuadX wins in suspension, braking, ride, handling....etc

As the reader you're thinking, "Since the QuadX is winning all the tests, it will obviously be the winner, right?" Maybe!!

More times than not, if QuadY's mfg has loaded DWM with big color ads, it will be the winner at the end of that shootout. Regardless of how much better QuadX actually tested.

So no, we're not bit**** because Polaris rarely wins these shootouts. They do sometimes as some of you have pointed out. Anyway, if you really read the articles, Polaris is rated amoung the best in many of the catagories tested.

The gripe however, is how often the results of the "shootouts" and "reviews" are not supported my the actual winner.

In my experience, the shootout vs the results are often contradictory. No matter which brand.

I'd be willing to bet that if Honda and Yamaha (I use their names because I see their ads more than any other quad mfg in DWM), pulled 50% of the ads they run in DWN, we'd see a dramatic decrease (half) in the number of shootouts they won.

 

Has anyone sent a letter or e-mailed Dirt wheels about there biased writing?? has anybody gotten a answer as to how they come up with a winner??

later
jon

 

What would be really interesting is if polaris would put more ads in a atv mag. than honda for just one issue where there were a few shootouts just to see what happened. This would prove for once how biased they are to the better advertizing manufactures.

 

Greg,

I got a chance to ride a LT2504wd several years ago. Granted it was used, but still the machine was so slow it almost had to be timed with a calender, the brakes were nonexistant (thank goodness for extremely low gearing) and the suspension was harsh in compairison to my Trailblazer.

On the plus side, it didn't need brakes when going down a large hill, just put it in super low. However, it couldn't even climb with my 2x4 Trailblazer. The TB would get a good run at a coal pile and make it up easily (usually spinning the whole way). However, try as he might, he couldn't get the LT up over the hill, even in 4wd with the same run at the hill as I had. Mind you this hill was at a greater angle than 45 degrees (as they used in the DW test). I imagine that if the Xplorer would have been around back then, it would have beaten both of us.