Happy New Yr to all.
I have a good buddie thats going to be buying a ATV at the end of this month. He is set on the SP400, he will be doing mudding, and trailrides. Thats all. How is the 400. I know its a 425 but its only $300 less then the HO. This is his first ATV and doesnt want to spend the extra 300 bucks, but I think I might just give him 300 so he can get a 500HO. Im also looking at selling my cat. The Cat has been very good but it I get stuck in HO's ruts all the time. Also The cal doesnt have a locking front in liek the Polaris. Sorry if I have been mubbling but how is the 400 and is it a good buy for the money 5499 before tax, lic
Thanks

 

I would personally buy the 500 for that little bit of extra money. The 500 comes with EBS standard, wheras the 400 does not (although the 400 he is looking at certainly could have it). That alone is $400 if he wants to add it later. The 500 also has a few 'little' things better than the 400, also. A higher-output generator, & higher towing capacity, are 2 that just jump into my head. The frame/rolling chassis are the same, however, but $300 is not a lot at all.
Last I heard the 500 had a winch deal for $59 or $69, does the 400? That may make a difference, too.
Weight should not be a factor, as they weigh within 5 lb. of each other.

 

My dad has the SP400. It is as good as the SP500 for the most part. He too, didn't want to spend the extra cash for the HO. At the time it was a $800 difference. He also didn't care for the engine braking. I myself don't think much of it either.

I think it would probably be wise to just spend the extra $300. He'll have a more powerful machine and the EBS would probably be good for him. Not to mention, the SP500 would probably hold a higher retail value in the future. At least compared to its little brother(SP400). Besides, after some riding time under his belt he may realize later that he should have spent the extra money to get the HO. Even my dad has wonder if he did the right thing but would never admit he mad the wrong decision. He is happy with his SP400.

 

FOR $300 BUY THE 500! I rode both and the power differance is worth a $1K differance to me. Resale is easily $500 better.

 

Just my 2 cents- I'd get the 500HO. $300 really isn't that much when you factor in the total cost of the quad. He should look at the Magnum 500 (cheaper than the SP500) too maybe- there is another thread going that discusses the SP500 -vs- Mag500.

 

I would talk the dealer down on the sp400.I have a 425 and have never had a seconds problem out of the engine and it has been riden extremly hard.THe 400 (425)is not as fast but handle just as well as the 500s.Personally i would get a 400 explorer you cant beat a 2 stroker.And for the price of a sp you can set it up to where it will blow a 500 ho for the same price.