I recently purchased a 660 grizz and my brother in law purchased the Polaris 700. We're great friends, and while 'racing' isn't what we do in the mountains, we had to give it a shot. In high range my grizz was about a hands length behind the 700, in low range, the grizz spanks the 700. We've rode each other's machines and both agree that they are pretty close in all regards. Out of personal preference I still choose the 660 and he still chooses the 700.

Just my two bits.

SilverBear

 

Bermbanger400, It seems obvious to me by the statements you are making that you didn't read the post very well.

I was speaking from my experience only and I thought I made that very clear. I even went as far to say that I wasn't trying to provoke a conflict with the owners of Polaris ATVs!!

You are the one out of line by making a discussion of personal opinions a discussion of who can bad mouth who rides what machine on a personal level. I myself have made the mistake of taking things said on this board to personnally.

Alot of you guys need a wake up call. When someone says something about someones machine, unless they mention your name,IS NOT a personal attack.



KNOWSALOT.

 

Anyone complaining about the Polaris 4WD system either hasn't ridden a Polaris or doesn't understand how it works. Equal power to all 4 wheels is superior to any other kind of 4WD and the fronts kick in a fraction of a second after the rears start spinning, much too fast for you to ever notice it. Why would you want the fronts pulling when you're on flat ground and don't need them?

Grizzly owners should realize that its the Sportsman that has pushed Yamaha to make such a good new quad. You now have IRS, switchable real 4WD and a powerful motor all in response to the Sportsman. Until they get their act together though, reliability on the Polaris' is going to continue to be a question mark.

 

Hey Knowsalot,

Maybe you should tone your postings down a wee bit. We are not all idiots so don't come across like we are. We are dealing here with machines that in the most part are made by humans and yes humans are bound to screw up now and then. I don't care what machine you buy, if you don't maintain it, use it like it was designed to be used, and most importantly have a good dealer who can fix something "THE FIRST TIME" then yes your machine can become a POS in a hurry. Regardless, atvs have come a long way in ten years and some things out there have not had the test of time. We are all benefitting from these techno breakthoughs, and yes, sometimes grief comes along with them. I'm sure there are many here that would not be riding if all we had were undersuspended big bears to ride ( I know, I've got one) If manufacturers were not constantly upgrading their machines then surely they would probably all be bullet proof by now. And yes, we would all be driving around in 3 wheelers with NO SUSPENSION. Machines are usually as good as the owner and dealer who take care of them. I've seen ATV's put together and PDI's done by students at minimum wage. I've also seen mechanics do things that I would NEVER dream of doing. Sloppy workmanship at the factory or at the dealer level can affect ANY brand of ATV regardless of how much engineering has gone into it. To think that buying Japanese over another brand will cause you less headaches is quite a dream!

Darryl

 

Well, I owned 2 polaris quads. 1999 Xplorer 400 (new) and a 1995 Scrambler 400 (used). I can only shrug my shoulders and say that I spent way more money keeping them running, than I did with my LT250R, 400EX, Raptor, YZ426, CBR929 combined.

I commend Polaris for being on the front line of technology and taking risks. They are innovators. Gotta give them credit. They just need more time to perfect their reliability.

As for the polaris 4wd system, assuming they are using the same systems as they did in 99 and 2000, the drive shafts to the front are always spinning. Their 4wd engagement is in the hubs. When you switch on the 4wd, the electromagnets in the hubs turn on, and when the shafts spin faster than the wheels, the hubs lock together until the pressure is released (let off the gas). This system is ultimate in a mud hole, or snow, and for general slippery condidions. You really understand how this system works with studs in the tires on a frozen lake. (The scrambler kicks all other machines in this environment!) Good = on demand full 4 wheel engagement, normal steering feel when not slipping. Bad = Not always engaged, and no way to lock it - this is especially noticable when you are trying to go down some boulders slowly, and the front is freewheeling. The Suzuki Quadmaster has 4wd lock, and is the best in this situation.

For the most people, the Polaris 4wd system rocks, and is very, very good. For the 'boulder enthusiasts', it won't do.

That Grizzly doesn't have anything to be ashamed of. I really liked riding it. It has a different feel than the Xplorer/Sportsman, and it seems pretty light. I think you would make a pretty good choice with either of them. My 2 cents.

RM

 

I rodewith a 700 all weekend and we switched bikes a few times and the grizz is faster on the trail and quicker 0-50 and feels like it has more punch both bikes were stock and the 700 has had alot of overheating problems after 3 visits to the dealer they finally fixed it but now when the fan comes on the battery light comes on

DanimalFL
Grizz 02

 

I bought my Sp 500 three years ago and if it was for this Forum, I would not have bought any Polaris product ever. In 98/99 reliability issue /Polaris/ was a daily topic here.Constantly negative.Since Polaris was basically the only quad with IRS I bought it. I took my chance. 5000 miles later, no mechanical problem at all. Abused, burned belts,flipped over,sideways,.. no mods, reg. maintenance only.
My wife had 3Polarises lately , all fine. No mech. problems.

I bought Yamaha Grizz.660 three months ago, 900 miles,noisy /knockin' on deceleracion/ from day1,nobody can fix it. 2 dealers said it was OK......no problem found...I called Yamaha customer service and they told me, if the dealers can not find a problem, than there's NO problem.......!!All those problems we have with660 don't exist......we just made them up....according to Japs.

My 2 cents to reliability issue.

Joe

 

My brother has a 2000 trailboss, three rear hubs, dead starter, dead battery, rear axel splines stripped (new rear axel now), rear shock dead (completely dead), what little bit of ***** it once had are now gone and front end steering that feels looser than a 10 dollar....you know what. If ridden easy and lightly trail ridden I think this quad would have been fine but riding with guys on Raptors', 250R's and quadracers in a sport enviroment they don't stand up to the abuse. Have another friend with a 400 Scrambler and it's a nice ride but once again it is in the shop every other week and on top of that they always keep it for a week or two trying to fix the damn thing. My brother in-law has a 400L sport and has had great luck with that one only problem he has had is he broke the chain on a small jump. The Scrambler also broke his chain on a small jump but was unfortunate that it tore apart his engine case. What is with the chains breaking on small jumps they said it is common with them?



RaptorRider