ya know the originator of this topic wanted good reviews and all you guys on here are bashing everyones personal opinions about who they think has the best ute. the truth is, is that what ever we own is what we are gonna tell people is the best. Yes I own a polaris 700 EFI and it kicks *** and has plenty of *****, never gotten it stuck(knock on wood) but ya know there is gonna be a time and a place where we all get pulled out by something else or beat in a straight race and then we all think they have a better quad. a utility is for woods, trails and work. we should all be talking about performance, comfort and handling not speed and who did best in a huge mud pit. I'm not tryin to bash you but we are all into utes for a reason right? reason being we love quads and somewhat revolve our lives around them and maybe try to fit the old ladies in where ever they'll fit. ha ha. so come on guys lets give the originator our personal reviews of our quads and let him choose whats right for him.

my personal review of my 2004.5 700 EFI- good handling, nice padded comfortable seat, plenty of foot room on the floor boards, good light in the dark(after headlight mod), awesome suspension with the independant front and rear suspensions. the EFI works great other than a fuel pump going out at 11 miles. now it's fixed and runs great though, the EFI starts up everytime in less than four revolutions and is nice cause you don't have to deal with a choke and a gas on/off valve. the styling is nice and sporty looking too, even on the mossy oak(camo)EFI. I picked the EFI cause it was only about $250 more than the carb model and is supposed to start right up during winter and I won't have to dick around with a choke and letting it idle. I got the EFI cause I plan to plow snow during the off-season. I also picked my polaris 700 EFI cause of the on-demand 4x4, when switch is turned to 4x4 it only engages when the rear wheels spin 1 1/2 revolutions faster than the fronts. then the four wheel drive is engaged. I almost bought a yamaha wolverine until I found out it was all time all wheel drive.(awd) I did not like the honda foreman cause of the electronic shifter. I did not want to deal with it. I would have prefered a quad that was manual foot shift wether it be clutch or semi auto and have on demand 4x4. the polaris worked well for me so that was what I got.

 

silverbullet,
you on the money!!!!!
thanks for the review, I am printing these out as i find em for future ref.
(so far your's is the only one really worth printing).
THANKS,

 

thanks for the compliment. just tryin to keep things civil in our atv world ya know. let us all know what you decide to buy and why. even if it's after the first couple of rides. good luck shopping for what ever brand and model you choose.

 

i agree but i am just saying polaris is more american then the others.


and i am american so i buy american

 

You're absolutely right. As a matter of fact, Polaris is the only major ORIGINALLY-American manufacturer at all. However, like I said earlier, in this case American means absolutely nothing except more shop time.

 

thank you.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] lol

 

So you're in the Army and you're deployed. Well I'm in the Air Force and have the up most respect for you guys on the front lines. I haven't been to the sand box yet but have many friends there and am leaving next year if we're still there. With that said here's what I think.

I have lots of friends with Polaris and they all love them but from what I've seen I don't think I would have one. For one the gear shift on them seem to be a pain and the down hill engine breaking is non-existent. They are also 100+ pounds heavier than most other machines and lastly their prices seem to be a little steep but depend a lot on the dealer. Now like I said other Polaris owners love their machines and will swear by them but this is just my opinion.

I think Suzuki makes some of if not the best ATVs out there and their prices will beat any other dealer for the most part. Before I made my purchase I did months of research; checking out these forums and reading all the magazine reviews (shootouts). I don't know what kind of riding you are going to do but the Vinson is the best SPORT utility out there. I ride with bigger 700 quads and it will keep up and climb with the best of them and it has a very sporty feel to it. I am stationed in Alaska and I can tell you the terrain here is very extreme and this machine will take it all and will go every where the larger quads will...you will not need anything bigger unless you are going to pull lots of heavy stuff.

I would think the Vinson (500) for you and the Eiger (400) for her.

You mentioned getting them maintained together. I'm not sure about dealers across the states but the Suzuki dealership here is the only ATV dealership that makes appointments for maintenance. This way you know when you get your quad back. All my friends have different brands of quads and none of their dealerships provide this service so when they take their quads in they have no idea when they will get them back. Some have even mentioned to me that it takes up to three weeks sometimes before they get them back. Suzuki guarantees same day or at least next day depending on the type of service.

Don't take my word or anyone else’s word on what to get. Do your research and make your own decision. What ever you decide I'm sure you will be happy. All quads have good and bad points but most of the new ATVs are pretty good so you can't hardly go wrong. All I'm saying is don't rule out Suzuki.

Good luck on your future purchase and stay safe.

Oh yeah I almost forgot don't forget to get a winch. It's saved my bacon many many times.

 

Right on the money, most definitly suzukis produce more bang for your buck. But I say get matching quads the weight difference isn't an issue on the suzukis so why not get her a vinson to.

 

Hey, found this thread from a Google search, read everything from begining to end, interesting group,liked most of the reviews and comments, just thought I would put in my 2 cents worth ( thats about a buck in Canadian money). Bought brand new in 2002 Polaris SP H.O. 500 ,although it only had 6 mo. warranty I drove the living crap out of this machine, hoping to find the week spot, however the week spot did not surface. I continue to ride this machine hard,only part I have put in was a primary clutch bushing. (about $20 CAD.....$3 US). However I have recently purchaced a 1998 Polaris Scambler 400,great little sport machine but had it out on the long weekend with a buddy and broke the rear swing arm, these things will happen I suppose. Rode the new A/C 650 loved it great power ( sure roasts my 500 anyway ) course that was on a staight road, in the skeg it was fairly close with the calculation of power and clearance in comparrison. I have rode the Honda 450, Grizz 660, KVF 650, KING QUAD 500, and to tell you the truth I don't think in this day and age you can buy a crappy Quad, typically on the trails in these parts you will see the majority of Honda but when you ask the owner why? the bulk of them will say " Honda last forever" , personally I don't plan on having my 500 for ever, I plan to keep up with the technology and whoever has it at that time.I don't know what it's like in the states but when I bought my 500 they let me take one for the weekend, as well did Honda, so pick the two or three you like the best take em out and that way you'll know for sure. However do take a Polaris out, I really don't think you will be dissapointed.


be safe , good hunting, if you ever make it up this way let me know I'll take ya to the crap

 

Hey, thanks for serving!

I have a Sportsman 700EFI, and really like the bike. My wife rides a Sportsman 600. She has had a Trailblazer 250, and a Trailboss 325.

If it were me, I'd take my wife to the Polaris Dealer, AND the Kawi dealer, and have her ride the Prarie 360 (Nice bike, my wife liked it) and the Magnum 330 at the Polaris dealer. You can adapt to whatever you buy, I've owned Honda, Yahama, and Polaris, each has there strong points.

I like the Fuel Injection, and the easy start, plus GOB's of power, blinding accelleration, and very good low end grunt on the SP700. My wife likes the SP600, she says it steers easier than mine....must be the tires.

Anyway, you can't go wrong with either choice, just have HER make the decision, as I said, you will adapt to riding a Kawi 700 or a Sportsman 700. BTW, Polaris has a 10,000 dollar quad that is in service in Iraq right now, SP700 with Two winches, one on either end. Pretty cool.

Again, thanks for defending our freedoms over there. Where in New York do you live? I live in Jamestown, just north of the PA border, close to Lake Erie.