The more you pay the better your product does. Simple as that. Don't think all the songs you hear on the radio are being played just because they are good! Same concept.

 

Make sure you guys read my disclamer at the bottom of the post

"Just a bit of reading for the interested, don't bash me thinking I made this test or agree with all the findings but I did enjoy watching the show."

I enjoyed watching the show for what it was. I already own an 05 Grizz so ya I was rooting for it. I also chuckled at how bad they bashed polaris haha

I didn't take much stock in the findings because non of the quads were set up right, nothing was modded or personalized. Not only that the machines wern't tested side by side and wern't even tested at the same time. The findings mean basically NOTHING (except how bad Polaris sucked, that was spot on)


ahahahah

 

Everybody pimps their brand or their buddys brand or what uncle joe said about some frikken brand he heard about second hand. magazines and tv are worse and your an idiot to believe what any of them say about anything. I had two honda 3 wheelers let me down 25 years ago and I'll never look at another honda long as I live because of them. My buddys always slowed me down 15 years ago on the trail to work on their polaris rigs so I never considered buying one ever. I beat the living crap outa a 1985 3 wheel yamaha. The throttle would always stick and it had no brakes and I couldnt kill it or me so I stuck with yamaha. Not very scientific. I don't care where anybody ranks any atv, don't mean nothing to me. Have fun!

 

for starters where can you watch ATV television? is this like a cable tv show or what? I also don't agree with the reviews or shootouts for the most part. you have to put a line somewhere and that line is where we as customers/buyers of these machines make our own decisions. the best thing to do is figure out what features you want in a quad and what you expect to get out of the quad. then look at all the different brands and models and start test riding. any good dealer will pull one out for you to ride. I have had a few dealers say well lets start some paperwork and then we can test ride one and I say have a nice day and walk out of the dealer. the dealers also make or break a customer and can sometimes be a deciding factor in when buying a new bike/atv. I went to a place called great lakes powersports and actually went in to buy a wolverine or grizzly or a rubicon and I was talking to the salesman and he was showing my wife and I the different quads in their warehouse and then walked away for a minute then 20-25 minutes later I couldn't find him and none of the other sales guys offered to help so we walked out and went down the street to the local polaris dealer and that is where I found the new 2004 700 EFI which I ended up buying two of them but at a different polaris dealer. this experience ended up being good because I absolutely love my 700EFI and am glad I bought them. I looked at all the top contenders and before making my final decision I looked at all the machines IRS systems, 4x4, trans and engines, and overall style and looks and I found that the polaris sportsman series atv's had everything I was looking for and after riding the 700EFI at the local dealer I fell in love with the comfort, handling and awesome power/torque of the machine. It is all about personal preference and no magazine or tv shows reviews/shootouts can tell you what sort of style or expectations you as a rider will like or dislike.

 

The Outdoor Life Network and the Outdoor Channel each have a show. One is ATV Television the other is ATV Magazine Television. Both are good and bad. It depends on the sholw. I tend to lik ATV Television a bit more consistently.

As of you conspiracy theorists, read the articles and listen to the reviews. You are correct that just looking who wins and loses will not give you enough information. There are some consistent themes throughout all of the reviews.

Brute Force -- the fastest and meanest of them all. It is also very tippy in stock configuration and tends to be hard to handle. Radial tires and aftermarket shocks help alot.
King Quad --- the best all around of the big bore. Not as fast as BF, but not far back. Has the best handling of the bunch. Very stable and great ergonomics.n Still tops out above 70 mph.
Polaris "Beheamoth" Sportsman 700/800 -- The 700 can't quite keep with the bunch. The 800 has tons of power and is very stable. But it is a freakin tank, weighing more than 160 pounds than the others in the class.
Artic Cat -- the new 650 is supposed to be very good, stable and handles well. It doesn't have the oomph of the BF or KQ.
Honda Rincon -- Plush, the best ride of any quad. Different transmission (you either love it or hate it). Power is lacking compared to others, but still plenty quick.

On a side note, ATV TV tends to favor IRS and Lockers over other configurations. You can count on points dropping without those items. I have not found lockers to be a factor for 95% of my ATV riding. I have a SRA and like it just fine. Perhaps IRS would be more cushy on the trail, but mine rides fine.

The best advice that I've seen is to get one you feel comfortable on and ride the heck out of it. They are all very good machines and anything over 500 cc is plenty fast for the average joe. Beyond that you just add quickness, top speed and some bottom end power.

I ride with sport quads and seldom find that top speed is much of a factor. They tend to outride me based on quickness, width, light weight and overall handling of their machines. The lighter sport quads are just easier to maneuver. On the fire roads, we all pretty much stick together. On the tight timber trails, no one gets much of a speed going. In the dunes, its not even a contest, but I still have fun. In the snow and mud, I kick their butts! But at the end of the day, we all have fun. Buy what you want and ride it a lot.

 

what dont they like about the 4x4 system on the 700 efi?

 

Pakrat - did you auctually read anything I wrote? I even made another post incase those who were reading comprehension impaired could have a second chance to see my disclaimer.. I will yet again post it for you perhaps 3rd time will be a charm
garrett5462 - The show is a few days old in my memory now but I do remember extensive bashing on how the 4x4 system worked in conjunction with brakes and engine braking. They hated how engine braking was rear tires only even while in 4x4, couple that with single level brake system makes going down steep hills uncomfortable when compaired to other manufacturers system. I don't remember too much bashing on Polaris 4x4 system other than braking applications.

I do agree with ATV Television on the single level braking though, I can't stand my Dads Polaris and it's single lever brake when going down hills, I can make it work fine but thats not the point, and sometimes things get a bit hairy.

 

I dont know if anyone has noticed but atv television is sponsered by suzuki and honda i wonder y there always at the top of the list in everything. The guy that runs that show is stupid all they do is rock climb and drive on dirt trails i havent seen one yet with them going threw mud or up steep hills, maybe i just missed that episode. What i do know is that i have a polaris 500 h.o. and i have friends that i ride with that have 660 grizzlys, 650 prairies, 500 hondas, and suzuki vinson 500. What i have seen of all of these machines is that after the day is done i'am starting to hear man i wish i had a polaris. I dont see whats wrong with the breaks if u have a problem with the breakes then your just not a good atv rider with the machine that u have. the grizzlys are great machines they have power a good 4x4 and speed but the only bad thing that i can see with them is there real top heavy and i have seen them role a few times. The praire wow its a fast 4x4 it can shoot out of the hole like crazy, but it has a ruff ride but a safe one with its low center of gravity and not a very good mud machine. The honda and suzuki honda is slow and its power feels weak at times the suzuki is quick but not very good in mud with its 3X4 like the honda has. Over all im not trying to say nothing bad about the atvs there all great for different experianced riders but the polaris has a easy 4x4 just shift when needed and its locked in with all 4 tires has a smooth ride like a cadi and is a quick machine as well, its no 650 prairie but it gets it done.

 

~BigShep

The problem with Polaris brakes doesn't become obvious until you are a good rider. A good rider doing technical decents will see Polaris brakes as being a problem, even diehard Polaris fans will even make excuses and try to tell you how they deal with it "just give it a little bit of gas while you decend then the front will lock too" yadda yadda whatever. Why do I wanna mess around with it. The brakes suck nuff said.


So you don't like ATV Television's review of the Polaris and it's braking system? Fine how about ATV Connection magazine? Do they give good reviews?


Check this Link : Dummying Down the Sport


This is a classic example what Polaris is trying to do, they are making brain dead anyone can drive machines. I am not a beginner rider nor am I brain dead so I choose a machine that has more riding options. Here is some good quotes from that article


I also liked the part about putting Grizzlies in front of the Polaris machines to use them as a "block" to keep the Polaris's from skateboarding down the hills lol

 

So what you are saying is that the SP700 paid them more money than the SP800???? How do you figure that. Isn't the only difference between the 700 and 800 the engine size???? The 700 engine scored well, it was the "package" it comes in that scored soo poorly.

On one of the first big "group" rides I went on 4 years ago there were 13 Polaris ATVs and one Honda, mine. Today, the group has changed, 6 Rubicons, 1 Grizz, and two Vinsons (500?)

Polaris offers a lot of really nice features, BUT!, they have the worst engine braking and "single lever" brakes on the market. IMO