IMHO there is a difference between being cheap and being light weight. The Japanese quads are cheaply made in compairison to say the new Bombardier Outlanders. The Outlanders use very little in the way of aluminum, yet achieve their (relatively) light weight through innovative design. This is what I was hoping for from Polaris. But NOOOOOOO! All we get is "bold new graphics" for 2004.

Don't get me wrong guys, I'm not bashing Polaris. I probably cheered the loudest when the new Predator beat all of its competetors in the latest ATV Sport shoot out. And I still am the proud owner of one, but come on Polaris, you can do better than that.

 

I agree they could stand to shave a little weight, especially in some non-critical areas.
However, for TRUE utility and farm use, the weight really isn't an issue, but I would have to say, if you can build it as good, and as strong, but lighter due to improved design, why not? I guess one reason would be to keep the price down. Have you ever seen aircraft components? They are 'skeletonized' so to speak, where the mass isn't critical for strength. Of course, if I remember right, every ounce of weight saves a gallon of fuel per plane per (I think) year. Plus, the extra labor involved is easier to absorb in a $19 million jet than a $6k ATV.
What I don't like is the way some machines got so light. I have heard bla-bla-bla lighter than yours bla-bla-bla not a fatso like you Pork-Laris bla-bla-bla. Then I ask how his machine pulls a trailer (I just happened to have my home-made trailer I pull with my Xplorer handy). He couldn't show me, because his utility machine had no hitch (but it was lighter). Later that day, we were doing some off-roading, and he got a flat over some brambles I went right over, no problems. Seems his lightweight machine had knobby potato peelings for tires.

Now I am NOT trying to insult other machines, and like I said, less weight is better, but NOT at the expense of things like a hitch, or decent tires. One of the SMARTEST moves Polaris made is to put real tires on the Sportsmans. Makes a heck of a sales pitch to someone on the fence. Showing them how you can shave $400 off the price because you aren't going to have to buy real tires right away does make a difference.

I am just guessing, but I would guess that the steel whell & Rawhide tire maybe weighs 10# each over an aluminum wheel & light tire. That takes care of 40# or so, right. Also, we have 'scaled' several machines, and the Polaris listed weight, is what they weigh, ready to ride, and the Japanese are ALWAYS heavier by another 20# or sometimes more, even with stock tires (I am guessing they list SHIPPING weight, with no oil or gas in the machine, but just a guess). That cuts the 120 - 140# difference by about half, to 60 or 70# actual weight of the machine more. That isn't a huge amount, but if Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki can all build a reliable machine that much lighter, you would think Polaris could shed at least a FEW pounds. Enough on that.

Have you checked out the new Polaris ATP? The dash shows the usual speed & distance, but also has an hour meter, gear position indicator, low voltage indicator, and (drumroll please) has a FUEL GUAGE listed as standard equipment!!! For a guy like myself, for whom an ATV is used 90% for actual work, and only 10% recreation (unless you call having fun while working recreation) it seems like a heck of a machine. The box may look small, but I can't tell you how many times I have heard other farmers/ ranchers say (and thought myself) how the rear racks on ATVs are just a tiny bit too small in most cases, and how some sort of box to keep miscellaneous stuff from getting lost would be great, especially one bigger than the tiny little cubbyhole you usually get. I think they really listened to what true utility users wanted in a machine. This will be a 'niche market' unit more than a 'mass market' machine, but I bet they sell the gangbusters out of them to farmers & ranchers unless they are priced too high.

 

The instrument cluster is all digital, It show speed in MPH or KPH including the odometer. The gas guage is still mechanical in the gas cap. No clock. It does digitally show what mode you are in, Turf, 2 wheel driver or 4 wheel drive. Most improved part besides the extra storage is the ability to lock or unlock the rear end with handlebar mounted switch.

 

Farmr,

Interesting thing when they had the shoot out in ATV Sport. The Raptor weighed less than the Predator when dry (who rides a quad dry?), but add the fluids and the Predator weighed less than the Raptor. HMM.

 

Did they list all the wet weight of the shootout? What were the weights of the Raptor and Predator?

 

GE 4x4,

I think they used the manufacturer's numbers for the dry weight and then used their own scales to measure wet weight. The scales weren't bathroom scales either. They used Intercomp (same as used by NASCR) scales to measure all four wheels and weight distribution. The weights were as follows:

Bombardier DS650

470 lbs. dry

516lbs. wet


Cannondale Cannibal

375 lbs. dry

395 lbs. wet


Honda 400EX

375 lbs dry

399 lbs wet


Kawasaki KFX 400

370 lbs dry

410 lbs wet


Polaris Predator

415 lbs dry

444 lbs wet


Suzuki LTZ 400

372 lbs dry

410 lbs wet


Yamaha Raptor

398 lbs dry

451 lbs wet


Yamaha Banshee

386 lbs dry

425 lbs wet


Remember these are their numbers, not mine.

 

Mike, do you have anything like that for utility machines? We weren't doing anything 'official' when we weighed, just using a digital platform scale. It probably wasn't exactly precision, but it gave us a baseline to work with. My Xplorer, and friends Magnum weighed within 10 # of what the book said, ready to ride (probably within the scale's margin for error) and the Hondas all gained 30# or more. Subtracting the 10# the Polaris 'overweighed' for possible scale error, I came up with 20+ pounds over spec. One of the Foreman's with Mudrunners was over 80# over, almost 90#. I just wish we got a print-out of the weights, for future reference. I didn't have a notebook with me, and the scale owner lets us weigh stuff for free, just to read the display, but charges $10 for the printout, so we didn't get it.
We weighed each machine 3 times, and the display was always within 5# of the other readings for the same machine, so even if the weight wasn't exactly right, we still had to be close. We got the 'official' weights out of the owner's manuals.

Farmr

 

Farmr'

No, I got the weights from the April 2003 issue of ATV Sport.