I got my 700 (it's the camo M4 version) for $6600 out the door, and the shop 'forgot' to charge me the taxes.

That is nearly $1000 less than the closest big bore from anyone else. The Brute Force 750i for example was a $7400 quad at another dealer. Most of the big four and Polaris were well into the $7000's for big bores, and none were the camo versions which reach nearly $8000.

Paying $6600 for the 700 is less than the MSRP for the 650!!!!

For what I paid out the door on the 700, I could only have gotten more like a 500 of the other brands. True, this is due to the shop and everyone's mileage is going to vary- I've heard alot of people say that Cats are expensive.......well not at my shop!

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: v2rider

Ok. They have more problems than 3 atv brands put together. That AWD is crap. And polaris puts a 1 1/4 inch reciever on the machine because it cant handle anything that needs a 2" reciever. Also, I don't recall steel skids being better than ACs skids, which come Standard on ALL AC quads, as they bend when hit, and dont bend back. Who the hell keeps the stock tires on a quad for more than a year? Lots of storage on the cheap plastic racks that shatter on impact. Cool.</end quote></div>

Well v2rider, I am going to have to jump in here on this one. Both machines are very good and both manufactures are top notch. I comes down to what you want in a machine. As far as the AWD system being crap, cmon they have been around forever and have worked flawlessly. Look at all the mud bogs down in Texas and Louisiana where the polaris sportsman quads shine.

And as far as the 1.23" receiver hitch they use, that is more for law suits protections from idiots who would hook up a 10,000 lb trailer to it and gets hurt. They just choose to use that receiver hitch rather than the 2", although the 2" is a better idea b/c you could use it from your truck right to the atv.

And for the skid plates, you are correct. The stock steel plates bend and the plastic plates will flex and usually go back into place. The problem with plastic skid plates is the rivets will tear out. If one spends the money on a heavy duty aluminum or SS ski plate, that would eliminated almost all problems except the ones that some drives do when they think their quad can go through a rock wall or a building or etc, etc.

Looking at both, i would purchase either. So it comes down to what one wants in a quad.

POWER: sp800 wins no problem although the 650h1 is very strong on the low end.
TORQUE: same as above
4WD SYSTEMS: Both are very good. It really depends on what you want.
GROUND CLEARANCE: AC has 12" and sp800 has 11.25" which are very close.
MUDDING: Both are equal
FAST RIDING HANDLING: About the same
SLOW RIDING HANDLING: About the same
FAST RIDING COMFORT: Polaris hands down. The ac650h1 is great, but nothing beats a polaris ride and almost anyone who as ever ridding atv's knows this.
SLOW RIDING COMFORT: same as above
TOWING: Both will tow a lot, but the sp800 has more torque & hp = tows better.
RELIABILITY: Both are now top notch. I do like how AC has backed up my friends problems with his new prowler. They gave him a new one after the problem couldn't be solved and the new one is great.

 

Wow, you got an awesome deal on that cat. If I had a dealer around here selling them for that I would be all over it.

I don't see the big deal about the rack material. Plastic, metal, whatever. As long as it holds the stuff I put on there, its good. I owned a Kadiak 400 and then a 660 Griz. I bought both new and after one year I needed to repaint the racks because they were starting to rust a bit. I used bed liner on them and they were good for quite a while after that. It's not a big deal at all. I'm getting a polaris 800 in a couple of days and am looking forward to the no-upkeep needed plastic racks. I don't trail ride hardcore, so I'm not worried about busting them on trees.

It's funny when people get brand loyal and put on the blinders. All the quads are really nice these days, you guys have it easy now. When I started riding we were happy to be able to switch from 4wd to 2wd and vice versa!!! Now lockers, digital display, IRS, etc are standard on mid-range quads. It's a great time to be an ATV rider. The tech has come a long way in just a few years.

 

One thing I would consider is what your local dealer is like, if you have one. I would hate to travel a hundred miles or more to get parts or repairs I couldn't do myself like some people on this forum have to. I am lucky in that I have local dealers for everything as there is so much riding right out our back door, no closures like other places.

When somebody asks my opinion on which quad to buy, I am far from biased....that's just not fair. There are a lot of differences in all the quads and some are definitely better than others. To say polaris is junk is just plain ignorant and shows your lack of intelligence. Conversely I would not say another atv is junk. Some people have bad experiences with some quads. I would suspect it was a maintenance issue but I'm sure there are some lemons out there just like cars.

There are two main reasons I bought two sportsmans:

1: Made in the US and offer grant money to preserve riding areas for all of us!

2: Like I said before, I have local dealers for nearly every manufacturer there is and I see 80% of the riders here on a sportsman! They have nothing bad to say about them and they ride all year round using them on the ranches and riding in the woods, plowing snow, etc.

 

I saw this same argument all the time about sportbikes. Someone always asks "what's the best 600?" and it's pages of everyone chiming in on why they alone know what's best.

In the end, they're all about the same. They're all close in price. All the manufacturers offer deals to compete with each other.

If you want a new Cat at the lowest possible price, the shop I go to is Kash's Motorsports here in Colorado Springs. They also have an ebay store and will ship quads anywhere. I give them plugs not only for having low prices, but basically it's just a bunch of ATV and snowmobile enthusiasts.

Lost the flag off my daughter's quad and asked for a new one- they're like what? 5 bucks? And the guy pulled the entire mount and rod off another quad to give me. No kidding. They even offered me more on a trade in than I asked.

 

Has anybody compared the gear reduction for low gear position in both quads? I ask because the 500 Cat I own has a substantially lower gear than the 700 grizzly of my cousins. Lower gearing will give an advantage to a machine that has it in certain situations.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: v2rider

Ok. They have more problems than 3 atv brands put together. That AWD is crap. And polaris puts a 1 1/4 inch reciever on the machine because it cant handle anything that needs a 2" reciever. Also, I don't recall steel skids being better than ACs skids, which come Standard on ALL AC quads, as they bend when hit, and dont bend back. Who the hell keeps the stock tires on a quad for more than a year? Lots of storage on the cheap plastic racks that shatter on impact. Cool.</end quote></div>

The only problem I have with my Polaris quads it that people like them so much they keep stealing them from me. Maybe more Polaris quads gets stolen than any 3 other brands put together, but that's the only problem.

The 4x4 works great. You can engage it at 50 mph if you want instead of stopping and switching it and holding levers like some other quads.

It will out-tow any quad I've ever compared it too. I put a 2" ball on mine and it tows the trailer that I haul it on like it's not even there.

I've bashed a lot of stumps and rocks and never bent the steel skid plate, but I have seen broken pieces of plastic from other quads lying around.

Who keeps stock tires on their quad? 7 out of 8 people who answered the poll when I checked a little while ago. That's almost 90% and you act like it's 0%. If my quad had crap for tires I'd get rid of them but I've put 4,000 miles on stock Polaris tires and they looked like they would be good for at least another 10,000.

I've crashed mine hard enough to go to the emergency room with broken bones but the plastic racks didn't shatter. If you crash into something hard enough to shatter the plastic racks you should be glad you have them. The racks absorbing the impact is what's keeping you alive and able to walk away from an impact like that.

Have you ever even owned a Polaris, or are you just making up all this stuff with no basis in fact?

 

so pretty much your infering that all the sucky riders should buy polaris so when they wreck the quad will break instead of them

WOOOOO!! lets go buy polaris because they meant to put plastic racks on there as a safety feature

there you go polaris were meant to break

 

come on buck, whats with the attitude, its not like any giving you crap cause u ride an eiger.( Although, I'm surprised they haven't) I've had polaris sportsmans for 10 yrs , and I gotta say i've never had a problem with the racks. Personally, for what I use my for they work fine.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: buck1992

so pretty much your infering that all the sucky riders should buy polaris so when they wreck the quad will break instead of them



WOOOOO!! lets go buy polaris because they meant to put plastic racks on there as a safety feature



there you go polaris were meant to break</end quote></div>

I'm an American by birth, and buy American by choice. Obviously all juvenile, sucky riders should stick with their foreign crap and bash everyone who supports our economy and keeps Americans working. And mature, non-sucky people should ride whatever brand makes them happy.

I'm saying that if you hit anything hard enough to shatter the racks you'd be lucky to be alive. After working two decades in the auto industry, including time as a safety rep, I know a few things about accidents, crumple zones, and energy absorption. Anything that smashes up like quad racks or car fenders absorbs a lot of energy. If it didn't break, you would. I'd rather break the racks, the frame, and everything else, and walk away, than have the quad sit there without a scratch, and me in a hospital or a body bag. My life is worth living. It's not up to me to say if yours is or not. Do what you want with it. How many Polaris racks HAVE you shattered anyway?