Everyone bashes Polaris but Polaris has done the ATV industry a favor by coming into the market. ATVs have always been a major source of revenue for the manufactures but the amount of research and development for new machines has always lagged (main emphasis is on motocross bikes) until recently. Year after year we see the same quad with new stickers and an increased price! (Example: the Kawasaki Tecate) With Polaris passing up Suzuki, then Kawasaki, and Yamaha in ATV sales and now approaching Honda, it forces manufactures to come out with new (better) models to keep up with the new competition. Polaris is a very inovative company committed to gaining market share in the ATV industry. Polaris is the #1 sowmobile maker in the world and they may be the #1 ATV maker someday if the Japanese manufactures do not continue spending the $ for better ATVs.

 

Weedy, there are many different choices in this field. I have selected Polaris for my current machines...but I have friends who swear by their Hondas, Yammers etc. We all love our machines, it seems.

I agree with you, though, that Polaris has done the world a favor. Their ideas fit for my intended play uses better than any of the other machines I considered. I am sold on Polaris ATVs. And I looked, listened and shopped hard.

It is laughable to watch the other brands adding automatic/snowmobile clutching, after reading their initial response to Polaris PVT.

I LOVE the travel on Polaris machines...

I haven't had more fun on any machine I have ever owned...and I am late 30s with a decade as a Suzuki, Arctic Cat, Kawasaki and Hodaka dealer under my expanding belt.

 

...until Honda comes along with the Rubicon and went their own way with an automatic.

 

i also agree. until this year i never considered buying a polaris. i see polaris makes improvements to their atv's every year, whether it be something major, or just a minor improvment. i see the banshee hasn't changed since 1990 when they went from the j-arms to the a-arms. don't get me wrong, the banshee is an awesome machine. and some may say... why improve something that is already a great quad? i agree with that also, but come on, 9 years, and they haven't been able to think of one thing that would make the banshee better? yet you still pay more money for one, a few $100 more every year. i guess its what they call inflation. there's an answer for everything. but still, all-in-all it is nice to see polaris keeping other manufacturer on their toes. honda definitely did a good job with the 400ex. well, i can't wait to get my scrambler 400. should be at the dealer tomarrow, or so they say. hmmmm, i'm not counting on it. i just know how things go with waiting for anything that has to do with an atv.

 

Isn’t it GREAT to live in the USA and have all these choices of different quads! In a (mostly) free and competitive marketplace the consumer is the winner. And it’s wonderful to have so many choices so we can each match our different riding styles and preferences to an appropriate machine. Even Polaris detractors must admit (if they have a brain) the innovations Polaris has introduced have had an effect throughout the industry, just as innovations by other brands have had their own effect.

I like Polaris machines and continue to buy and own them. I’ve test-ridden and considered owning others but they’ve always come up short for my priorities and preferences (so far). I will say though, I’d sure like to try out the new Yammy Kodiak for a weekend and am looking forward to throwing a leg over the Rubicon!

It makes no sense to bash brands. The fact that there are so many and that they’re thriving is what’s giving us all the choices and improvements we enjoy.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

I also would have to agree. Arctic Cat, Suzuki (same thing), Yamaha, Kawasaki, and now Honda, has an automatic in their lineup or is going to. This is all because of Polaris's success with them. I think that concentric drive system is just a great idea that they came up with. I have no idea why the first ATV that was made wasn't made with a concentric design like that. While the single lever brakes I never really liked, Arctic Cat went that way when they introduced their first quad, the Bearcat 454. Also, Polaris's On Demand true 4x4 system is another thing that's making the other manufacturers coming out with new designs, like Arctic Cat, Bombardier, and Honda.

 

Hold on a second Rooster. Arctic Cat and Suzuki same thing. Whats do you mean. Sure same engine, but AC does a lot of improvement on everything. Body- looks nothing alike. Ride- Arctic cat a lot better. I want to know how you get the same thing out of these two bikes.