Polaris vs. Honda?
 

i am trying to ge my first four wheeler and almost got a polaris sportsman 800...but a mechanic my grandpa knows said that polaris is a bad atv compared to honda. so now my dad is very skeptical of getting a polaris. which is better in your opinion?

People who ride Polaris love Polaris. People who ride Honda love Honda. Test ride them both and decide for yourself.

Also, do a search in these forums and you will find no shortage of opinions. These matters have been covered extensively.

Honda does get the nod for reliability over Polaris but at the expense of features, all too often. Honda's Rincon, their flagship, doesn't even have preload adjustable shocks in the rear and doesn't have a full locking differential in the front. Every other maker has these simple features. Polaris has outstanding on board storage options, the industries most comfortable ride, and great ground clearance. Honda's main claim to fame is reliability. That's not to say they have never had problems. If you maintain any of the modern mainstream (not Chinese) quads you will have a great time, period. There are also a lot of people who want the Honda automatic over the CVT transmissions. Personally, I've never burned out a belt. It's how you use it. If you put a modern CVT transmission in low range when going slow, through mud, through snow, steep rocky climbs, etc. you probably won't ever burn out a belt. You'd be more likely to dig four holes in the ground if you can't go forward or pull whatever you're trying to move. I had this happen when I was trying to pull a Ford Mustang out soft sand on an incline. They couldn't back up. I dug four holes in the ground trying to get them out. The same quad, I had at that time (Polaris Sportsman X2) pulled an industrial sized wood chipper up a wet grass hillside that our trucks couldn't pull because of traction issues. Hooked it up to the quad and went up with no problem at all. That was with a 500cc engine.

My next point is, as Wilson said, to try them out. Honda is a pretty sporty ride in corners. They have less wheel travel than the others and are a bit lower to the ground. Polaris does alright too. Also, unless there are no local dealers where you live, take a look at the, Yamaha Grizzly, or the Suzuki King Quad. Also good quads. I don't know much if anything about Arctic Cats.

well i have driven a 2005 yamaha big bear 400, 2004 honda rancher AT 400, 2010 honda rancher 420, 2006 honda foreman, and a 2001 polaris sportsman...all of which were good rides to me personally.

i did some looking around today at two local dealers and looked over the honda rincon, honda foreman, and honda rubicon. i also looked at the polaris sportsman, a suzuki kingquad, and a can am outlander just to see how far apart the prices were on the newer models.

i have had alot of bias people telling me which one i should get (whether it be honda or polaris) and honestly im torn between the two because in my opinion, both are great machines. dad wants a honda i think just because of people saying that the polaris has problems, and i cant really argue that i want a polaris because well its his money.

If it's his money, you may have to defer to him one way or another. A gift quad is better than one you have to pay for!

haha yeah...and well your supposed to honor your father and mother! and yeah a gift quad is definitely better!

Sounds like a honda is in your future. ;)

If you're getting a new one, just about any brand is safe. If it's used, you're at the mercy of how well the previous owner took care of it.

If the honda does wind up in the shop, try not to tell him you told him so. :p

haha ok i will! tanks for the advice :)

looks like i might possibly get a 2012 honda rincon 680! not sure yet, but the price is pretty good. its never been used and is at a local dealer...so hopefully he will say yes!

that's kinda like saying "the water in the atlantic ocean is wetter than the water in the pacific ocean :rolleyes:



x2 @ wilson

nothing against your father, but he's ill informed by his mechanic.
the atv game changed big time in 2005- people who havent been in the atv scene since the 80's or 90's really have antiquated opinions.

every atv is going to have issues- no one brand has more issues than any other. It's the classic "chevy vs. ford" bias your father is getting from his mechanic- and it's BS.
I've owned two fairly new honda rincons and both had tranny issues. I've also owned a couple polaris atv's and they were not problem free either (one of my polaris's actually could defy gravity! I couldn't keep the wheels on the ground no matter what :o )

honda might have an "o-ring issue" in the tranny, polaris might have an "oil in the air box" issue, can-am might have a "dps " issue, suzuki might have an "ecm & charging" issue, kawasaki might have a "jetting" issue.... :blahblah:

polaris makes one of the nicest atv's on the market today - tons of features and refined ergo's. the rincon 680 is also a nice atv, but both have very different features, strong points and weak points. don't let your dads mechanic sway you, and your research on the subject. This topic has been discussed a thousand times in these forums.

like wilson mentioned, research both in these forums and try to get some seat time on both before making any purchase.

yeah i have spent many hours trail riding on both machines, and to be honest...i like the way both of them ride. but i just wanted to see what the opinions on here were about each atv because im sure yalll know more about them than i do.

Like all Hondas 4x4 there weak points is there Straight axle,rear drum, lower power per cc due to being the only ones using a OHV motor vs a higher reving OHC motor and they have no true AWD option like most 4x4s have.

A 550 Sportsman has the same 40 hp as a Honda 680 Rincon. A 800 Sportsman twin with 54hp is in another category.

yeah, that is one major issue we found with honda, the 4x4 is crap. we are actually goin to look at a sportsman 800 today!

Get a Polaris. You won't regret it.

yeah thats what ive heard

I have been around atvs for about 20 years now and i look closely at every feature each machine is given. Ive watched closely to all brands ,engine size, and 4wd systems work on all of them. I now own my 1st polaris product and has been a blast for the past year. I also own 2 Hondas...except they arent atvs. I own a Honda lawn mower and a Honda log splitter. For me, all machines have their place and a honda atv just would not keep up to MY expectations due to lack of components others on here have mentioned. This is a personal choice of course.
Selecting an atv will depend on its use just like anything else.
so if your working a farm,hauling a trailer,checking fence,and an occasional trail ride,ect...Honda would get my vote. The reliability is there on a Honda.
If im using an atv for hunting,trail riding,mud, and occasional work,then any other brand would be my choice. It simply comes down to features. Which features do you need or want then you break it down from there. All will have issues sooner or later but keeping the maintenance up will prolong anything as you already know.

yeah that is one thing that many dealers are telling me, that it depends on what i want to do the most as to what fourwheeler to get

IMO
Honda is reliable but very dated design and is only 3 wheel drive.
Polaris quality is the worst of all manufactures, but there features out weight there piss poor quality. Believe it or not but I do own a RZR and it's been pretty good.

This is Roadiestar's usual careful driving up a rock that was very steep and about 6' high. And he wonders why stuff gets broken.

What you talking about Moose ? LOL That was a easy rock climb even a Honda should be able to make it. Maybe ?

haha wow thats crazy... and a honda has no chance of getting up that lol

got a call from a polaris dealership and talked to dad about it and he is calling back tomorrow and we might possibly be owners of a brand new 2012 polaris sportsman 500 ho le orange madness!!!

lol- yeah-
roadie thinks everything is junk if you can't drop it from a plane at 500' or drive it of a 60' rocky cliff and still drive it home :rolleyes: :p

cncpro in the red shirt and I come into frame at :14

considering what he puts his rzr through- I'm amazed it still rolls!

Now you understand the way things should be............... Beergut aka TIPPY is worse on his stuff then me . His quads are always upside down. He dont even need tires there never on the ground for very long.

oh yeah? well....

some may consider that as being a "leader" :nod: :D

so- THERE! :go crazy:

Oh, I thought you said, "bleeder". My mistake... :p

this may be a personal question...but do yall all know each other? or did yall meet through this forum? haha

Both. We started going on ATV rides together after we met on the forum. We constantly needle each other. Yes, we've hijacked your thread... :D We pretty much know each other's idiosyncracies. Or is that, idiotsyncracies???

haha i think that would be awesome! to be able to meet new people and just go riding whenever!

Yes every one here is good people. Feel free to bust balls.

ok, ill keep that in mind haha

x2 on above- don't take anything personally ;) we all met here in the forums and just happened to all live within an hour of each other ;) roadie was supposed to be our pet mascot, but he didn't respond well to the training and he only liked the shock therapy- go figure :huh:

haha wow i love how close everyone seems to be on here!

Just don't get to close to Beergut he just may start humping your leg. He gets excited very easy. Once he mounts your leg look out.

Beergut when we going riding? I haven't seen a good crash in some time. Seriously anyone riding this weekend. I might be going to Oct mountain Saturday with Roody and his dad.

where are yall from?

Ct for me

yeah i live down south...GA

Attachment 6618got a 2012polaris sportsman 500 HO!

congrats ;)

enjoy!!

Congratulations.

congrats and ride the hell out of it