I CANT DECIDE WHICH ONE TO BUY, I HAVE ALWAYS RODE POLARIS BUT THE GRIZZ 700 LOOKS GOOD TOO. ALSO WHAT IS THE GOOD AND BAD OF A LIGHT AND HEAVY QUAD? WHICH IS MORE DEPENDABLE AND CAPABLE THANKS FOR THE REPLYS

 

The Yamaha is MUCH more reliable and dependable. I'd never buy the Polaris...it weighs around 750 pounds dry! Polaris ATVs are known for being unreliable. The Yamaha Grizzly 700 has power steering and EFI...both great features. Get the Grizzly!

 

The griz is the more superior machine... lighter, more reliable and EPS

 

I would also have to vote Grizzly. If Arctic Cat didnt exist, id have a grizzly[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Or you could actually shop around, look into some real owner info and found out other than new model spiffs to work out the sp 800 is rock solid and actually is reliable, I wish I made the money to add one along side my 650i. The Grizzly's around this territory have not proven to be any more reliable than the average, alot of people say "i beat the griz to death it keeps goin bla bla lol" I say how many miles you got there? 2150! Big deal, put about 4000 more on there and then come back to me. That said yea it is overall plenty reliable enough, but so is the sp 800 which will easily win power, towing, mudding, overall ride, and yea lose out in the handling and weight category, but im not a puss so the eps dont matter much to me. Or you could just go get yourself a rocketship 650i hahahaha lol later

 

I had to repost this from the other thread since this seems to be a hot topic on here. This seems like a good comparison to get in on, couldn't resist. The Yamaha is good all the way around as long as you're satisfied with the okay power you get from it, and you're comfortable with the quality of Yamaha, sometimes I question it. The Polaris puts out about ten more hp though and the Outlander is even more at 62 but feels like it has twenty more than a Polaris. The engine braking is better on the Can-Am than a Polaris, and the Can Am provides even better engine braking going down hill in 4wd than a Polaris that doesn't actually work in 4wd at all unless the rear wheels are spinning whereas the engine braking works in 4wd on the Can Am as long as it's in 4wd. I by no means think the visco lock is a bad setup in comparison to the other two. Think it works pretty good actually. The power steering is nice on the Grizzly espicially negotiating very technical terrain, but I hate how wishy washy the steering feels on a Polaris. The only real nice thing about the Polaris is how smooth of a ride it gives, and the closeable storage. I think both the Can Am and Grizzly aren't far behind, in providing a soft ride they're both almost as comfortable. The only complaint I have about the Can Am is lack of under carriage protection that Polaris and Yamaha already have covered, and the slightly higher price tag. If the steering system on the Polaris was better I would have more support for it, and if the Yamaha actually had the power of a 700 I would feel similarly about the Yamaha. As is stands, aside from the price tag of the Can Am, I think it's a better machine.

 

Here is my thoughs:

POWER: sp800 puts out 54hp at the motor and griz700 49hp at the motor
TOP SPEED: Both should run about 70mph
QUICKETS TO TOP SPEED: probably close but sp800 will get there faster
STEERING: Equal. Even though the new griz700 has the EPS, the sportsmans have been the best riding and steering atv for many years.
TIGHT TRAIL RIDING: Griz700 should take this b/c of the lighter weight
TOWING: The griz700 should have plenty of power to tow whatever you need, however the sp800 should win hands down here b/c of the weight and more hp.
MUDDING: Both should be equal
REALIABILITY: Yamaha might have an edge, however polaris has come a long way and to judge something from only the past is being narrown minded. I have heard of great things with polaris and not so great. Just pick you quad brand and don't bash others b/c each manufacture will have a few lemons, even honda.
4WD SYSTEMS: polaris AWD is great and easy to use. Yamaha's front diff locker is very good too. This is just a personal preference b/c both will lock the front in and not leave you stranded with 3 wheel drive.
CVT: Polaris was the one to set the standard and has refinded theirs to be bullet proof. However, I think the yamaha system might be the best currently out there b/c how the cluth engauges.
WEIGHT: This all depends on what is your main riding style and what you will used the atv for. If more for utility, go with the sp800 and if more for the sport/utility side, go with the griz700. Both will do utility work and sport/utilty riding very good. The sp800 suspension is so good that you don't realize it is heavy. Only when you get stuck is when you notice the weight of the machine, but having a 2.5 or greater winch solves that.

The griz700 seems to be a great machine and the sp800 has a proven record. To me, it really just comes down to what is your main use. GO GET SOME SEAT TIME ON BOTH. That is your best test.

 

You're kidding aren't you? Both of them are under powered, the steering is awful on the Polaris, and the Griz is innovative and a poor excuse for a 700. While it has it's good points, I'd say it's good points and bad are only slightly out weighed by the good on the Griz. Hence the power sterring. Without a doubt I'd get an Outlander assuming several hundred dollars didn't mean being able to buy one or not. Then again, you could probably buy a 500 Outlander cheaper and still beat a 700 Griz. Forget about comparing a 650 to a Grizzly, that's like comparing a 700 Raptor to a Honda 400EX. I just finished watching the free DVD comparing a Griz to an Outlander, and other than complaining about the lack of skid plates on the Outlander, and their claim that the Visco lock isn't as good as the lockable Grizzly's differential, all they mentioned was that the power is far on an an Outlander. Even in a very bias comparison they couldn't claim the Grizzly is much better otherwise. Do yourself a favor and ride someone's Outlander first, if not get a Grizzly over a Polaris. By the way, I asked a Yamaha dealer what the rated HP was on a Grizzly, and was told 47.5 I think it was, compared to an Outlander that puts out 62, that feels like it's 30HP more!! Think about it.

 

I've had seat time on both the Outlander and the Grizzly. The engine on the grizzly is adequate. Nothing more, nothing less. The engine on the Outlander is fantastic. One of the two best features on the machine. However, if I was choosing between the two I would pick the Grizzly. Why? Because power isn't the be all and end all of a machine. I find the Grizzly to handle better on the trail and in difficult off camber terrain than the Outlander. Some of this is due to the power steering on the Grizz and the overall good design on the suspension and the weight distribution of the machine. The Outlander handles good to in part due to its rear suspension but it is crippled by the visco-lok. The more I used it in my riding the more I determined it wasn't all it was advertised to be. If you're using at slow speeds to crawl over logs or though tight trails in the woods or negotiate rough trails like many of the trails I have on my place the front differential is constantly locking and unlocking. This is bad and can sometimes be quite dangerous. If Can-Am had provided a simple over ride switch for the front differential to manually lock the front end I'd probably own one today. As it is the next ATV I buy will most likely be a 700 Grizzly. It's just better on the trails. Yeah, the Outlander is faster and more fun to blast around on playing with all that throttle but when it comes to actually working it on the trail you forget about that 800 and start cursing the visco-lok. I do anyway.

 

I don't understand the problem with the Visco Lock. To each there own I guess. I ride on extremely rough washed out, rocky trails, with some horrific sized ruts and just put it in low range and crawl over anything in 2wd no less. I guess if I wanted to create problems going over obstacles in 4wd drive I could, just by purposely stopping my momentum just before negotiating obstacles and getting it into situations where only 4wd lock would get me over, but I don't purposely stop in situations like that and instead power over obstacles, in fact, very, very rarely do I ever need 4wd unless there is some seriously gooey mud I'm trying to get through. I guess you just have to know how to work with the system instead of depending entirely on the 4wd locking abilities, oh wait then again on a Grizzly, you're either in 4wd lock or you're not, I guess that means you have to stop first whereas I just leave mine in 4wd, no additional switches or levers to worry about turning on or off so there is no need to stop my momentum before attempting to crawl over extreme obstacles. By the way, I like to feel the machine accelerate when I hit the gas instead of feeling like the machine is too heavy for the motor to move itself forward. Now, please don't get me wrong, I think the Grizzly is a a fabulous improvement, but, I'm through hoping Yamaha's dependability is all I can hope for, and question how tough they're built to begin with. I'm tired of seeing them re-use the same motors over and over in different designs and give it a different name and swapping features around from one model to another just to have yet another so so quad to sell, to only wait twenty years for them to improve on something. Yes the EPS is a great idea, yes the Grizzly rides nice and is very comfortable and by using an under the seat mounted gas tank improved the center of gravity, which they had to in order to make it at least comparable to others. If you want an oversized, underpowered 4wd, that's easy to steer then the Grizzly will compare favorable to a Can Am 400 or a Polaris 450 maybe even a Suzuki Eiger. In all seriousness, the lockable 4wd might come in handy if you don't know how to ride a quad in the first place. Coming from someone who is use to a 660 Raptor who has gone over almost anything a 4wd can, (with the exception of deep mud) riding a Can Am in 2wd is more than adequate and the Visco Lock 4wd isn't ever really necessary anyway, let alone having a manual locking 4wd that you have to stop to lock and unlock it. Forget about Polaris, that system doesn't compare to either of them in my opinion.