Talking with a dealer and he was really pushing the fact that one of the SP 700 he has on his floor is # 82 or 89. He thought this would be a selling point to me, I didnt quite get the point of this. Will a 700 that came off the line very early have better resale later? I was looking more at another SP 700 for the fact that maybe a model that was produced say a month later would possibly have a adjustment or two better than the very first few.

 

Chances are the earlier the model number, the less the resale value will be. This is because if some early production problems come up, that one will probably have it, thereby making it less reliable(maybe) and people will not want to buy an unreliable machine. I would wait for a later production version just to make sure most of the bugs have been worked out. hope that helped



JaMes

Laterz

 

I got my SP700 on Sept. 28 and it is a low serial number being from the first production run. While reading the owners manual it stated that some of the 700's may not have the water temperature sending unit and if so the temperature gauge in the instrument cluster will not function. I checked mine for the sending unit as to where the owners manual said it would be located and it does not have one. I also checked other early production run 700's and they also do not have it. I assume this will be added to the later units and we with the early ones will not be able to tell if the bike is over heating until it is too late. I wonder if Polaris will cover this under warranty if the bike is damaged from over heating since they didn't feel the temperature sending unit was needed on the early units. So to make a long story short, if you can wait for a later model there may be other beneficial improvements. Does any one else have any information as to the lack of the water temperature sending unit?

 

700guy, I have some good news for you, reread your manual, its the oil pressure sending unit switch not the temp switch. If you lose oil the oil icon will come on but it doesnt show pressure. Look on page 53 of your manual.

 

Vegasdude,
I stand corrected and appologize to all for the confusion. I read the manual on Sept. 28 the day I got my bike. When I posted I was just going from memory and my memory must not be what it once was. With that said, my point remains the same and that is later production 700's may have features and updates that were left off of the earlier units such as the oil pressure sending units.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Scramblin500- It's reaaly a crap shoot on wheather the early production units will be better or worse than the sum standard. In some cases paticular attention IS paid at the factory and results in better fit and finnish. On the opposite end is there isn't any feedback to the factory except for prototypes(fine if they used enough exact protos for dynamic testing) about stuff that needs to be tweeked.

 

Hopefully, they will update ours too, since it looks like the engines are ready to be upgraded..........

 

I don't know how else to put it. NEVER, EVER buy a first year model anything! This goes for all makes brands and machines.

 

Undoubtedly there will be problems and recalls with the early production SP 700. My dealer just called to tell me that I will be receiving a recall notice in regards to the fan breaker and to disregard it. The early 700s came with a 10 amp breaker and they are to replace with a 20 amp breaker. Atleast I won't have to take it back in for the recall because they will be doing it while it is currently in for repairs due to a leaking water pump and an innaccurate speedometer. I took it in one week ago tomorrow and they are waiting on parts. I guess we'll see how much longer it takes before a final comment.

 

For the most part, I would have to agree with Mike. They will always find a thing or 2 that needs attention, and get right on the next year model.
But in one case I know of, The first year run was better.
The first year on the Suzuki DL1000 (1998 ?) street bike was faster than the next.
The first year out, the fuel injection map was 2 radical for the street and people were getting hurt because the bike had a nearly uncontrolable low-mid punch. A super snappy motor plus short wheelbase plus the agerage riders abilities was causing wheelies when they least expected it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]COOL
The next year Suzuki flattened out the fuel map, and actually made the bike slower.
Never a good idea.
Polaris is realy good about recalls and warranty work though, so this should only be an inconvenience.
Unlike Yamahas ignored Raptor issues.
Good luck guys.