The confusion mounts, still looking to buy a new Quad. Currently own a 2000 Wolverine. Looking for a more powerful Quad. I love to hill climb, looking for a quad that will arrive at the top with power and speed to burn. I am really leaning towards the sp600. But the stumbling blocks I have are:

(1) Weight 740lbs
(2) Belt driven
(3) Reliability

In other forums I keep hearing about how bad the belts are, burning up, slipping. How are the new belts?
Also in those forums they rip on polaris reliability. Are they referring to the "Polaris of yesterday" on both these issues? I don't want to spend $6000+ and have reliability problems 2 years down the road or sitting next to a creek waiting for my belt to dry.

The other Quads I am looking at are Suzuki Vinson, Honda Rincon

I really like the look of the Polaris, but to tell the truth, I am really worried about the concerns above.
I would love to hear from Polaris owners with models from 2000 to now. THANKS

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]Ihave owned Polaris atv's since 1987(still have 1987 250 Trailboss )and have had no major problems yet.Also own 1999 Sportsman 500 (5400 miles)2000&2001 250 Trailblazers and 2002 Sportsman 700 (1850 miles)we have yet to have a belt slipping problem.We cross rivers over the wheels without a problem.As far as relabilty i wish everything I owned was reliable as my atv's!!! P.S. My Polaris atv's are serviced regulary.Personally I do not think you will go wrong buying the Sportsman 600.

 

Mine are all 2x4's, but have been in deep water crossing streams and such. Never had a belt slip except the time I went too deep and drowned one out real good. If a belt drive wasnt good, you wouldnt see other brands running it. Heck the prairie is heavy and has a big torque motor and a few of us guys are running 80+ HP with no problems. If you get one with high/low range, just use good sense on when to use it. You wont find other ATVs with a plusher ride. It's easy to get on them and ride all day with no problem. People that dont know about them or have heard their cousin's friend's neighbor talk bad about them might not like them, but those who have them and like them wouldnt have anything else. It's good your just buying yourself a new quad![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Bubba

 

On the belts I have never had any real trouble but I change them out every couple years.On reliability Polaris has come a long way.Mine are both older and the only real bitch I have is the 3 chain 4x4 and after I found an easy way to tighten them thats no big deal. Going from a Wolverine to any Sportsman will be a huge improvment on power and ride.You wont reget it.

 

Most of the reliabilty claims are pre 01 models. In 01 there were a lot of up-grades to the line up. I've had 99 sport, 00sp500, 02sp500 and now have a sp700 and a Predator and have not had a single problem with any of them. But you will here some that have had many problems with theres, but most of them are pre 01 models. Where I live, its hard not to hit a hill, and my 700 climbs them with athority, and even tho they don't have 4-wheel EBS, after a couple of times down steep hills, you will know how to handle the 700.
As far as weight goes, just compare the 600 next to one of the other atv's your looking at, and you will see why. But to just give you a idea, the stock tires and rims on the 600 weigh 46lbs more then on a Grizz or any of the others, I know I weighed them. And with the power of the SP, you don't even feel the weight.
Now the belt drives. They are way better then they were before, and many of us have put many miles on them with no problem. A lot of belt problems you here about are the ones who ride in high when they should be in low. So all in all, the atv's that your looking at are all good, so I would ride them and make your dicision, but try to buy the one from the dealer that will treat you the best. A bad dealer can make a great atv look bad.

 

I like Polaris and I think a Polaris ATV will treat you just fine (as the Honda and Suzuki would too). To be honest, I like the belt design. Never had any problems. Super simple. Super cheap. Has the right power and torque for every speed you go automatically. Furthermore, to add to what somebody else said, most of the auto quads are belt driven. And ALL snowmobiles by ALL makers use that same belt design. The belt / clutch is very, very old and a proven design. Now, if someone ever had a problem with a belt squealing, chances are it was due to some fault or issue with that particular clutch. Maybe the clutch was not set up or tuned correctly, maybe it was not aligned correctly, maybe the person using that particular quad never used low range while going 5mph over a boulder field.

The one thing I notice about Polaris (in my opinion) is that they are MUCH tougher and more ready to work. They have very high ground clearances (especially the SPs), super tough tires and rims, stainless brake lines, probably the best plastic, TONs of torque from the motor. I would not look to a Sportsman if I wanted a "sporty" ATV. But, if you want a proactical and super tough, very reliable, lower maintenance ATV, go with the SP 600.

 

Have you considered putting a big bore kit in the Wolverine? the Four Stroke Tech 435 kit would greatly increase power and torque, and you would still have a light, auto clutch 4 wheeler that would hill climb and run with the big boys, and may even be cheaper than trading in on a new wheeler. I merely went .040 over, and liked the modest power increase, a big bore kit would really wake it up, then there is the 400 stroker kit from Alba racing, runs about 1200 bucks, and makes for a very strong bottom and top end power output. Not running down Polaris, just giving you other options,check and see what the trade in costs would be, if you are going to pay 2000 or more to boot for a new wheeler, engine mods would be half of that, and you would still have your Wolverine, but with a lot more power.
Just my .02.

 

There is no comparison between the models you are considering. The 600 is in the Grizzly, P650 class. The performance of the Honda is average at best and the Suzuki has a limited slip front end and far less ground clearance.

The Japs put thin / cheap light-weight tires on the machines to keep the weight down. Polaris puts quality Goodyears which weigh more and out perform the other tires hands down. If you put the same tires on all the machines there is very little weight difference.

I have never had to replace a belt on any Polaris I have owned. We have five Sportsman 500s and none have required a belt change. A friend had to change his belt on his Sportsman after 1800 miles of riding (3 years) so durability is not a problem.

The 600 is a great machine and will be my next purchase.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: weedy


[The Japs put thin / cheap light-weight tires on the machines to keep the weight down. Polaris puts quality Goodyears which weigh more and out perform the other tires hands down. If you put the same tires on all the machines there is very little weight difference.]

So let me get this straight, the 4 goodyear tires weigh 35 lbs. more per tire than the tires on the other machines? Are we talkin solid rubber? 20ply's?

 

Thank again for the replys. Thats what I was hoping to hear. As far as beefing up the Wolverine, I did consider that but I could not do that kind of engine work without help. I wish I knew someone that knew how to do that work and wouldn't cost me a fortune.

My wife would like me to keep the Wolverine but I feel I am just ready for a change. The Polaris would be a big change for me. I was thinking about the 650 praire but I just don't like the looks. The Rincon for the price just dosen't have the goods. The Vinson is my other choice, I like the styling but when you sit it next to a sp600 it looks like a 250. Prior to buying the Wolverine I had a Timberwolf 250. At that time I thought going up 100cc would be fine, but since all the other big quads came out the Wolverine got left behind. Now you see why I want to go bigger than the Vinson. What about the grizzly, not sure, I am just tired of Yamahas. I keep coming back to the Polaris. Anymore feedback would be great. Thanks