I have an 03 vinson auto. I am from a very shiftable background, but thought i'd try the new technology. I love mine so far.

as for the old quad thing, your right. My dad has two 230 suzuki's, an 85 and 86. he just got the 86 last year with the original **** on the tires. That 85 went through 4 boys that were always in the woods and riding with our buddies. in the fall it worked as our tractor does now, pulling and dragging logs out of the woods and bringing in game and firewood. When the bike would spin out we just put more slack in the rope and another guy on the rear rack and hit her again. It has never been in the shop and has had one set of rear tires which need replacing again. it still runs and will continue to be a worker till it dies, if ever.

 

I've had my vinson 5 speed for a couple months now and I really like it. I have no brand loyalty because I never had any kind of bike, ever. I can tell you that I have ridden with two different guys with polaris bikes, (one 600 and one 700) and they do not impress me that much. Their Independent rear suspension doesn't impress me much either. Before I got my bike, everybody said 'you ought to get something with ind.rear susp.' It sounds good and all, but like I said, I'm not that impressed. They didn't go anywhere or do anything that I coudn't. I'm sure certain situations call for it, but it seems like more maintainence to me. (more moving parts, more maintainence is a good rule of thumb). The thing that made me happy the other day, is that I drag raced the 600 twin bike and I beat him. It was a short drag but I was WAY better off the line. After that, the guy came over and said "what the @$&@## is this bike anyway?" He must have thought no one could beat him.
Good Luck!

 

hell yeah suzuki's RULE!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Uh, did you ever stop to think an elk was maybe a little over your rack's capacity?

 

Rack capacity has nothing to do w/ it. Polaris's are top heavy especially combined w/ irs as all the weight will shift to the down hill side on an off camber trail.

 

why don't you just buy a 700 twin if its your last quad......its really nice and has alot of power....it can't be that much more then the 600 twin, so you may as well get it.......

 

Here is my $.02. I can only compare my Eiger (smaller version of Vinson) and my buddies 500 H.O(smaller version of the 600).In our group there is 4 quads; 1 500 spotrsman, 1 magnum 330, 1 magnum 325, and my eiger 400. We use our quads for 80% trail riding, 10% hunting, and 10% work. All of the polaris quads are very reliable the 325 doesn't like to start in the cold weather but it always does. The trails we ride on are 50% dirt road, 25% logging trails, and 25% trails that we cut (lots of turns and mud, very fun to ride). On the road the sportsman is great because it is faster. On the logging trails with a some hair pin turns and ruts the sportsman keeps up with us but he is not able to ride as hard as we do. We believe the IRS and the weight makes him a little less comfident. On our trails we reach the end and start BS'n and then he'll show up. Some will say it is driver experiance but the guy on the sportsman has the most experiance. As far as hunting goes my 5sp seems quieter that the autos thats about the only differance. Work wise they all have performed great.
Which ever one you decide on could be your last quad. Pick the features you want in a quad and buy it.

03 Eiger 5sp

 

I used to own a 325 Magnum and started it without a problem when it was -10.
Never had a problem with it in 3 years.
And the thing about the elk, You were way over the limit, it's not the damn quads fault it rolled. You cant go over the rates by a couple hundred pounds and expect it to perform perfectly.

 

Ok, yah, you're right, an elk on the rack of any straight axle quad would have been fine. Get real. Unless this guy's a cradle robber, I'll figure his elk weighed in at least at 300 pounds, likely more. Put one half of your weight on your shoulders and then try walking on a hill. Don't you think you're a little more likely to fall?

 

Nicely said.