well in three weeks I'm gonna buy a new bike, I have it down to a SP 500 or AC 500. Please If you know one to be better or worse let me know. Im new to this and this is my first bike, Please dont let favoritism out way the true winner. Your input will help me out alot. Does the the SP500 have any reliability issues? That would make it a 2nd choice? If you had it to do over again which would you buy? Please be honest.

 

Sly- Glad to see you are about to get something. I really don't see how you can go wrong with either of these bikes. The Polaris does weigh a little more than the 500, but that could be helpful and not so helpful given the situation. With the AC you will get the 2000 lb winch for $100 extra. The AC has a very nice area to mount the winch also. It is almost unseen. The Polaris has the true 4wd system and already comes with boot guards. The AC has boot guards, but they are nothing to speak of. They are very little and could easily let a stick or rock puncture the boot. They are indestructable though. My cousin beat them with a hammer for some time and they never bent. You can get a $35 pair of Oxlite boot guards through Dennis kirk. These are very good and fit right over the other guards. With the polaris you get the pod light on the handle bars. The Polaris is also going to be faster. Yes I have heard of the 500 Polaris having reliability issues. You won't read much about them on here unless you ask Bill. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. Good luck on your choice.

 

ATV'S ARE LIKE ANYTHING ELSE,GO LOOK AT AND RIDE
THEME ALL.BUY THE ONE YOU LIKE,IF YOUR LUCKY YOU
WILL GET A GOOD ONE.EVERYBODY BUILDS QUALITY ATV'S.



GOOD LUCK
TRUCK

 

I cant comment to much on the AC.The Sportsman?I did happen to get a bad one.I have had numerous problems with it.In December of 99,all my problems were repaired by another dealer.The quad is performing as expected now.My original purchasing dealer repaired many things incorrectly.Would I buy another one?Absolutly.There are just far to many happy Sportsman owners out there to call the entire line of Sportsmans junk.I ride with two very happy owners,and know of many others. Outer tie-rod ends seem to be the biggest flaw on the Polaris quads.I sold the Sportsman to my brother John.I ordered a 2000 400cc 4x4 Xplorer.I desired to loose about 100lbs off the Sportsman[697lbs] compared to 588 on the Xplorer.The Sportsman is going to give you a super comfortable ride.The AWD is second to none.Liquid cooling is great.Top end is around 55-57 mph.The front springs could be a little stronger.There needs to be a re-call on the Tie-rods.All in All?I'd buy one again.====BILL

 

Bill your definetely more loyal than I'll ever be. You have stuck with Polaris through thick and even thicker, but stuck it out and now you will hopefully get a good bike. Sly don't let Bills misfortune steer you off Polaris.

 

Bigbadcat,I have evaluated my choices for some time now.I dont like the Grizz very much.Honda does'nt appeal to me with its non switchable 4x4s,low ground clearance, drum brakes,and air cooled 4x4s.Nobody hardly ever rides the newer ACs or Suzuki 4x4s at my local riding area enough for me to get a good evaluation on them,I only read about them in here,and I have been keeping a watchful eye out for them while riding.The Traxter?Well lets not talk about tanks,I just sold one.[Sportsman]I desired a 4x4 that was about a 100 lbs lighter than the Sportsman,had a little snappier acceleration to it,would supply me with power to all 4 wheels,liquid cooled,and disk brakes.The Xplorer meets all the above.I'll just have to tell ya what I think after I have it for awhile,so far,my only question is?Will I like giving up the IRS?====BILL

 

Sly,
I ran into a similar problem with choosing a bike. My decision was between a AC500 and a Polaris Expedition 425. I went with the 425 Expedition. Reason?, I test rode both bikes extensively(took two months to decide), both the bikes I was looking at were priced fairly the same. I already have one Arctic Cat, a 400 4x4. My wife rides it and except for some minor problems the bike has done very well. I decided on the Polaris because of the 2 wheel drive option, the true 4 wheel drive, and to just try a different bike. Now here is my review after taking the 425 Expedition trail riding. The 425 Expedition has a more comfortable seat(although I was told AC has put a new softer seat on thier newer bikes), It rides much more smoother than our AC, and you can slide the bike around with ease because of two wheel drive option. The Polaris has a lighter feel on the trail even though both bikes weight close to the same. I did not consider a Sp500 because of price and it is an automatic. I don't know how the Sp500 compares to the Expedition. I have nothing against automatics, but I just prefer manual transmissions. I did have the tie-rod ends replaced on my Expedition. The mechanic told me that most of the newer Polaris have had this problem, but Polaris was sending Heavier Duty ends to replace the factory. Other than that the Polaris has done very well. I cannot make your decision for you, but probably the best advise I could give, is test ride both of them and read as much as you can about them in test reviews. I hope all this info will help you.

AC 400 4x4
Polaris Expedition 425
Ken