have ridden the 5 speed but it did not seem to shift as smooth as other brands. Does anyone have knowledge of these machines or any information on transmission problems?? Will most likely buy Polaris but have not decided on atuo or shifter.

 

Hi nogrip, I own the expedition 425. It seems that the longer I drive it the easier the shifting works. I have noticed on mine and hear about it, about alot of new polaris atv's, is that they need
a pretty good warm up time. Once I got used to shifting, it seems smooth to me. There have been quite a few times when it would not go into neutral so it could be started. Just holding the handle bars while on the machine and shaking myself forward and backward was enough to get it to go into neutral. There was a time when I was worried about that. Not any more. I hear that all shifters are like that. Its common. Im shifting ok
now. After the break in period and a flush and fill of the tranny, and keep the fluid level full.
I no longer consider shifting a problem any more. I can actually shift as fast as you would ever want. thats all I can say. as far as speed. I weigh 160 lbs. The fastest I have had it too was 57 mph. I dont know if I fully pegged the throttle
or not because I was getting a little nervious about going that fast.

rangerchet, polaris expedition 425 cc 5 speed.

 

You may want to consider a brand that has more history with a 5-speed tranny. What about a honda 450 or 350 rancher? I drove the expeditions and ultimately bought the rancher, in my estimation it is a much better machine. I can't rip on the Polaris because it isn't a bad machine, I would condsider others before making the puchase.

 

Well.if you use Rancheres concept of sticking to a brand that has more of a history on a 5 speed tranny than Polaris,than I guess if one was to ever concider an automatic transmission quad ,he would surly want to stay away from the new Honda Rubicon.After all,with quads,Honda has no history of auto trans either.====BILL

 

I think Bill's point is a valid one. I wouldn't be one of the first to line up for the Rubicon, and as respects the autos Polaris has had them mastered for years, and does a good job at it. But I do think Polaris's 5-speeds leave something to be desired. Just my two cents.

 

With all new things, someone has to be first. A few of us were not afraid to buy something new for
polaris. We all seem to be happy with our machines. thats all that counts to us. People that
watch us on our machines have also been impressed.
For me, several times, some one has watched me ride this atv and they want to know more. Frankly,
concerning any atv. Im getting a little tired of the people that seem to have that one remark stuck
in there pocket that: honda's are the most reliable atv's. That comment may have had some merit 10 years ago, but I dont live in the past. Here in minnesota, there are allot of polaris atv owners. I dont here any more complaints then with any other brand. As a matter of fact 1 family that
I run into grouse hunting where the family owns 4 atv's so far. 3 polaris and 1 honda. The dad owns the honda and he stated that he will have a polaris atv by next falls grouse season. I will see what he bought then. I have another friend that has a kawasaki 98 prairie 400 and he likes it and he said that he would not buy a polaris or a honda. My cousin owns an old polaris 250 and my dad has a 94 polaris 300 - non named atv's. They are on the road. Common Sense Please!

rangerchet, y2k polaris expedition 425 cc 5 speed.

 

I also like my Xped and dont have any problems with shifting now. Ive learned where to sit so that I can just flex my foot up to shift. Im pretty tall so if I sit too far forward, I have to lift my entire leg to shift, these are the only times Ive experienced difficulty shifting.

I hear the Rancher is a nice machine too so do alot of shopping and comparing.

 

Nogrip;
I've found the shifting on my Expedition to be smooth and trouble free. This is my 1st Polaris after 2 Honda Foremans. I miss the electric shift of the Honda ES, but the ride comfort and relative quiet of the Polaris more than makes up for that. I really don't understand why the Expedition you checked shifted with difficulty. Every review I've read on the Expedition has agreed with my experience; shifting is easy.

 

How about that. Three of us in a row here. All expedition owners, and happy with our machines. I know of a 4th. to but he has not posted. I know that when I first jumped on my expedition. It was not perfectly smooth for me either. It was me, not
the machine. As time went on and the machine got broke in, then it was fine. My 16 year old son and
my 18 year old daughter and my 20 year old daughter all drive my atv with out help.

 

How about that. Three of us in a row here. All expedition owners, and happy with our machines. I know of a 4th. to but he has not posted. I know that when I first jumped on my expedition. It was not perfectly smooth for me either. It was me, not
the machine. As time went on and the machine got broke in, then it was fine. My 16 year old son and
my 18 year old daughter and my 20 year old daughter all drive my atv with out help.