I am not a puller, but I am an engineer, I can tell you that the hitch height has a lot more to do with being a good puller than the average guy understands - especially if hooking to another quad. Try letting any other quad raise their hitch point about 3" above a Polaris hitch and see how the tug of war changes.

As Shotgun knows as being an experienced puller it will dramatically change your results.

I have ridden an AC and they ride very well. They are not as sporty feeling as a Prairie, but more sporty than a Sportsman. I feel the ride is at least as good as the sportsman. I only know one guy who has a 650 but he has not had any problems with it. My father in law has a 4 year old 400 ac that he uses for work so he puts at least 30 miles a day on it and it has never been back to the shop. The guy I know who has an AC 650 rides with a guy with a SP700 and they have the same tires so they ride in the same conditions and the SP 700 has broken a couple of CV joints, but that could also be the rider.

 

As far as service goes - it really depends on your dealer. If you are only saving a couple hundred just buy it from your local dealer you will make it up in the long run. If you beat the guy on price and then buy one somewhere else, they will be less likely to cut you any breaks in the service dept. ( a good dealer will). Dealers make a lot less per unit than you think, the make it up in accesories and service dept.

If you live in a large town, which it sounds like you don't because of the access to machines, it usually is not a problem. Small towns tend get a little more hung up on things like that becuase they sell so many less units, when someone buys one out of town it doesn't make them happy. That also tends to make some small town dealers try to jack you on the price because they think you have to buy it from them. Polaris factory has the least amount of incentives and kickbacks for their dealers so the small dealers have to be a little more stringent on their pricing, especially if it is their only line.

 

Here's the deal. My best price locally for a Sportsman 700 is $7000 plus sales tax. The dealership in TN is $5899 out the door (no sales tax due to me living out of state). Be honest, is that worth the 10 hour round trip and the potential service issues?

 

i preffer the sportsman 700 over the prarie 700. just my $.02

 

Won't you have to pay sales tax to register it in your State? That is what we would have to do if bought one in a neighboring state that does not have sales tax. Unless you have acces to another set of tabs for your state [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] , but that also causes a hassle when you go to sell it if it has never been registered in your state. I am assuming you have local ORV tab requirements.

The dealer you are driving to may have 10 of those and is seeing that he has a bunch of EFI SP 700 on the way, so is actually taking a loss just to sell them. Flooring units can add up in a hurry, that may be why there is such a difference in price. Make sure the local dealer knows you are serious, you might be able to get him down another $200 or get a helmet or something as a perc.

 

Good question - I'll have to find out.

 

The dealership in TN says that it does not need to be registered unless I plan to ride it on the road. Does that sound right?

 

We have off road vehicle tags for all our stuff in WA seperate from and license. You would meet a seperate set of rules to ride one on the road. Does NC have a title for quads? If so then you probably have to pay sales tax if/when you try to get a NC title. Check with your local department of licensing, it would be the same as if you bought a used bike, if you have to pay sales tax when you transfer it to your name, then they will want sales tax if try to obtain a NC title ( same principal).

 

We do not have to get a title, we get an MCO - Manufacturer's Certificate of Ownership (I believe).

 

If you found a polaris 700 new that is for $5899 hell yes thats a good deal.Mine 02 was $7200.And shotgun I dont know atv pulls like you do but here at the Missouri state fair last summer 6 out of ten in the 1200 class were polarises and I took 3rd on my 700 and 1and2 were polaris 500 but they were moded like yours there was no open class just 1000 1100 and 1200 pound classes.And trust me when I layed into it there was no slipping of the front tires.And that was with a 14 inch hitch point.Ive had alot of fun doing mud running but after do that pull I must say pulling is more fun....