I have been watch this forum the last couple
of days,and its been very helpful.I am a dairy farmer,and I use the quad for daily trips back forth to work.Every morning 4 a.m. and back and forth all day long, so I need a quad that can handle these short half-mile trips without much hesitation.Or spitting and sputtering.The 4 stroke I think will do the job. Dealers tell me I could get a coolant heater, was wondering if thats needed in 10 to 20 degree weather? Next thing is the spray boom attachment.I am very interested in that.For spot spraying fields, could save lots of money. But have doubts on the sportsmans indepentent susp. Will it squat down and handle funny with a heavy load? Would the magnum be better? The only reason I favor the magnum is,its cheaper and I dont think I really need the EBS. I have a dealer down to 6000 for sportsman 500.Anybody find anything better than that. He said he could get me acc. at 20% off.Any other opinions would be much appreciated!! Need to make a decision soon, my 400 sport cant handle this cold weather at all.Gone thru 6 plugs in 2 weeks,and I need a tax write off this year anyway. Thanx for all your help

 

What ever you get, maybe you should have them
replace the factory springs right away with heavy duty longer springs to handle the loads
better. I have a polaris atv and I have noticed that they do need a pretty good warm up before taking off, especially in the winter. Since money is a concern to. You might want to check out what I have. The year 2000 polaris xpedition 425 cc 5 speed. Its gear ratio gives you allot of power for hauling, pulling, what ever. In the winter, I add a little isophropol in the gas tank to and that really helps. I got mine on sale for
$5200 base price and I paid more because I added some extras on it. Its sold as a heavy duty atv. Just something you might want to look at.

rangerchet, polaris xpedition 425 cc 5 speed.

 

Get something that was built for working, get a Yamaha, when i want to haul i don't want to have to worry about breakage or maintenance. The Grizzly starts good in the cold and is very powerful and does not break. So is the Kodiak 400. Its up to you, i don't like spending money for nothing that is why i got the Grizzly.
Take care

 

I have heard that the grizz could overheat if you work it hard at slow speed. I would go with something liquid cooled. The kodiak would be a great choice. Between the sportsman and the magnum, I would take the magnum cause of the rear solid axle and cheaper cost. EBS helps extending the life of the brakes.

 

Cowman, I think the Magnum 500 would be the better choice for you. If you pull a trailer often, the Magnum with its solid axle in the back, won't squat with a lot of tongue weight from the trailer. The tires support all the tongue weight. I want to add one thing about the Sportsman 500's rear suspension though. It is preload adjustable, so if you regularly haul stuff where it squats the back, you can tighten the shock springs up, making it stiffer. But I still think the Magnum is the machine for you, plus it seems to be one of the more reliable quads Polaris makes, more so than the Sportsman.

 

Cowman; As one farmer to another, I have the Magnum 500 and I am extremly satisfied with it, the power is excellent esspecially in low range. I just came in from hauling up a load of firewood with mine, a chore that I perform several times a week with it. I also have a spray rig for mine that I use to spot spray with. It holds only 15 gallons so the rear ens squat is a non issue to me the whole outfit only weighs around 140lbs loaded. I also find the quad handy for taking soil samples and other such jobs as scouting for insects and weed problems in crops. Both machines are nice but for a pure utility machine I feel you would be very satisfied with the Magnum 500. It is a good solid built machine with a short but very good track record as far as maintainence issues go ,they are numerous here in my area(as Chicken man will attest to) and none of them have ever been back to the shop for any type of warranty service. The sprtsman is a great machine which you might consider if you also like to trail ride and are in rough country where the IRS would really pay off.

------------------
Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

Again, one farmer to another, both are good workers. DONT get a Grizzly, that thing is hot after riding a little bit. Short trips periodically would make it a moving furnace.
The Magnum would be a better worker, I think because it is a good, solid utility based machine with a solid axle. The Sportsman has an awesome ride though. Could be handy after about the twentieth ride to the barn.It is a good, solid quad also but it has the IRS. But it won't "squat" unless you put way over 235 pounds on the rear rack because I sit on mine all the time and it doesn't move very much.Heavy tool boxes, ice chests, a few deer here and there, and other things really don't move the rear end down at all.If you're going to pull a lot of heavy trailers you might opt for the heavier Sportsman-big time pulling traction. You might want to test drive a little also.
Any way, I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz.

 

Cowman, I too weighed the differences between the SP500 and the Magnum. MY decisions were based on cconvenience and of course workability. I chose the Sportsman because it had a bigger fuel tank...5 1/4 gals. vs 3.7 gals., the EBS works great instead of braking all the time, and the ride was marvelous. I didn't know anything about suspension until I rode the cadillac ride of the Sportsman, and it is impressive. She can haul a ton of gear, and I'm not sure what the difference in price is, but I would opt for the Sportsman. Otherwise, there identical.

 

I forgot to add that we have a large gravel pit that we like to play around in. Do you think the magnum would perform any better. I mean speed isn't that big of an issue.I'm a little leary about sportsman speed after reading all the complaints.I dont want to buy a 6000 dollar dog!! We like to have some fun when theirs time.Like when we tear out to check the hay or check the dry cows.We always end up wondering off into the woods or drainage ditches.Will the magnum have a higher "fun factor"

 

Since the Magnum and the Sportsman share the same engine, the Magnum will be the same thing in the speed department.

As far the price. That is the lowest price for a Sportsman that I have seen. The local Polaris dealer wants 6800 for his Sportsman 500s.

I feel that the cadilac ride of the Sportsman and the EBS will pay off.
1, A comfotable worker is a more productive worker.
2, If you pull heavy loads the EBS will save you money on brake pads in the long run.