Trying to decide

[Wade Joseph]

I was wondering what input some of you might have as far as things that influence a decision you are trying to make. For example. I am looking to purchase an ATV. I need one for trail riding, plowing snow and dragging my ice fishing stuff. Not able to afford a new one at the moment I have been looking at the used models, the thing that I have noticed that makes me wanna steer clear of them is that every dealer I go to seems to have an overwhelming majority of Polaris ATV's in their used inventory. This would lead me to believe there have been alot of unhappy Polaris users who have "upgraded" to another brand.

The Bombardier (Can-am now) and Honda's seem to be the scarcest models on the used lot. This would lead me to reason that those models are a little more reliable and there owners are happiest with their machines.

The other conclusion one may draw is that Polaris sells 10 times more machines than the others therefore they have more on the used lots, but I seriosuly doubt this

[sparkyaber]

I think both of your assumtions of polaris are correct. You bet there a lot of them out there, and everyone that I know that owns an polaris has some degree of problems with them, most are fairly easy fixes (you will have this with any machine) but a few of them have put them in the poor house, and still the problems have not been figured out. I think that the bombardier situation is that there are not a lot of them out there, hence there are few used ones. Honda is a whole other beast. These quads have a huge reputation for quality and duarability. They are a no frills get the job done quad. My opinion is that most polaris riders do a good share of trail riding and maybe a little less work with them and hondas are mostly a work horse, with a few hours here and there logged on a trail.

Now, don't forget the other brands, Especially yamaha- they make very good products. I am not just talking about 4 wheelers either. Motorcycles, sleds, outboards, their name is usually synonomous with quality. Also Suzuki, and Kawasaki are both good machices.

One other thing to think about is having a good dealer close to you.

I have a kawasaki (which I love) and have a hard time doing business with the two dealers that are in my vicinity. One is too expensive and the other is incompetent.

Your best bet is to find a quad that you really like, (research, research, reasearch,) and then wait for the right price on that quad to come along.

hope this helps, and if you get any more specific question, or even general question, don't be afraid to ask. There are a lot of smart guys, and gals, on this site.

[LMITOUT]

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This would lead me to believe there have been alot of unhappy Polaris users who have "upgraded" to another brand.

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The other conclusion one may draw is that Polaris sells 10 times more machines than the others therefore they have more on the used lots, but I seriosuly doubt this

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I think you're correct on both counts. You're going to see a lot more of them here in MN because of brand/state loyalty (for some dumb reason), but the big question is how many are repeat owners? You know the saying....fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me....fool me three times, I must be a Scandinavian.

Never owned a Polaris and never will.

[Macgyver55]

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The Bombardier (Can-am now) and Honda's seem to be the scarcest models on the used lot. This would lead me to reason that those models are a little more reliable and there owners are happiest with their machines.

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In my experience I agree. I can only speak for myself (well maybe 6 people) that we the group I ride with most, are all very happy with the reliability of our Hondas. We ride alot together and generally keep our ATVs on average 3 years. Hey, that reminds me, this one is 4 years old now and I'm not even looking yet because I still love it. Each one of the eleven I've sold has been to family, a friend, aquaintance or word of mouth. Only one time did I ever have to advertise and back then it was a three wheeler.

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The other conclusion one may draw is that Polaris sells 10 times more machines than the others therefore they have more on the used lots, but I seriosuly doubt this.

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Nope, Honda is and has been the number one seller of ATVs in the world for years. Other brands may sell more of a certain model or category, but no one sells more overall units.

[LMITOUT]

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Nope, Honda is and has been the number one seller of ATVs in the world for years.

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How about in MN? I'd be surprised if they were #1.

[Macgyver55]

Can't tell you state by state, only worldwide, and you are probably right about Minnesota. I'd be real surprised if Polaris doesn't sell the most here.

[jltimm]

Great post Lmitout! "Never owned a polaris and never will." unlike me who owned one polaris, and NEVER will EVER again!

[SomethingFishy*]

I have a Polaris and I love it, great ground clearance, pulls and plows, and it's a nice trail machine. Combined family has had atleast 15 of these machines and continues to trade for the new models.

[Neiko]

I'll second you on that Something Fishy. Out of our group of 10 riders 1 just bought a Bomb and the other a Yamaha. The Yamaguy wishes he would bought a Polaris. The Bomb is nice but doesn't have many miles on it. Another reason you see a lot of used Polaris is because guys like to get the latest-greatest when it comes out. You see the same thing with sleds. Guys ride them for a year or 2 and trade even if nothing is wrong with them.

[Mark Christianson]

Been a Polaris owner once, now a Yamaha owner for life.

Ford or Chevy?

Mercury or Evinrude?

Benelli or Remington?

And the list goes on and on. The battle of the brands is a tough one.

Did I say I like Yammies???

[Wade Joseph]

Some of you make good points, some seem entrenched in the "Polaris is my home team" mentality. I know they sell alot because they are assembled in MN. THATS why it surprises me to see such a HUGE majority of used ones for sale. Not just at polaris dealers, but at ANY dealer, the used ones they have are predominantly polaris. I am not trying to bash anyones ride...I just get real suspicious with such skewed numbers.

Although I have yet to hear anyone pipe in with any comments about Suzuki.

I have no brand loyalty as I have never purchased a sled/bike/atv...therefore I am going to exhuast every means I have to help me decide which one to spend my money on. There are 4 dealerships close to me that all cary a wide variety. several even sell the same brands so service hopefully won't be an issue.

[deadminnowcatcher]

When i bought mine the dealer sold 3 different makes. He said they have little to no service issues with the Yamaha.Polaris was cheaper but they said they are constantly working on them. I bought a yamaha kodiac 5 years ago and have not had even one single problem with it.

[jltimm]

I own a Suzuki now and other than the pain in the $&* recalls it has been an excellent machine! Almost all the Arctic Cats have Suzuki engines also.I have owned several Yamaha's also and they make a tough reliable quad.You also can consider resale on the quad where I think Honda,Yamaha ,and Suzuki will bring a bigger chunk of $$ when you go to sell or trade it.Another thing about them polaris's is you see alot of them at auctions and they always outnumber other atv's by a huge margin.To me that is saying something.

[deepportage01]

I can only speek for my self but honda have been very good to me over the years we bought a 250 polaris for my wife and a rubi for me and the polaris has been nothing but a $$$ pit I know the model we bought for her wastent the best one that polaris made but if they can't build a small one that you can trust they wont sell me on a bigger model.you will see hers on the used lot soon. I also think if you ever trade in your honda or sell it out right you will get more for it compared to other models like polaris,bobardier,artic cat. it does seem like polaris are a dime a dozen but just my thought on the whole post

[rundrave]

I think the reason you might see alot of polaris for sale is that polaris is the only manufacturer to go out of a limb and try new technology. Look at the new Polaris Outlaw (sport quad with IRS). I dont think they get rid of their machines because they are having problems, they want to have the new features.

Fact... Polaris was the first company to widely use a belt drive clutch in their utility quads. As much as the rest of the industry laughed at the idea and said what dump it was, 9 out of 10 utility quads that use an automatic trans, use a belt drive system today.

Also atleast polaris is still original with the irs.

Some say the Polaris atv's are heavy, yes they are, but take any other atv, and start adding on parts that most polaris offer as stock and you will add weight.

I think being minnesota based may have part to do with it, but if you go to detroit and see all domestic cars, does that mean that they are not reliable cars?

I race atv's all over the midwest, and I dont see an overall handsdown favorite, but I can tell you that in the utility classes I race in, and some of the pro series like the GNCC, the majority favorite seems to be the Kawasaki's and the Bombardier, with a few Yamahas, and Polaris closely behind. I know in my series we dont have any honda's that race utility class, its mostly the kawasakis, polaris and a couple yamahas.

I ride a polaris(scrambler) so my opinion maybe be biased but you dont see me talking down any other make or model. I literally beat the h$ll out of my machine and racing hare scrambles and cross-country racing puts alot of wear and tear on any machine. Mine has held up but so do most of the others. Yeah everyone has problems now and then but no manufacturer has it happen to them more than anyone else.

The thing that gets me, its the people that think the only quad worthy of anyone riding, is their current favorite brand.

If you don't like Polaris, thats fine. I dont care what you ride or race, as long as you enjoy it and have fun and does what it needs for you.

If you hate Polaris don't buy one, it seems that some people on here post just to jump all over polaris. If your here just to do that, go to a different site.

When somebody else comes out with a race ready utility quad I will buy one, until then the Scrambler will remain.

Or better yet, bring your quad to race and I will show you what a Polaris quad is capable of.

In hindsight, you do need a good running well maintained quad, but I think success in racing comes down to 80% rider, 10% machine, and 10% luck.

As mentioned before, just go out do your research, test drive and pick the machine that your most comfortable with that fits your needs, regardless of what the name says on the side or where its made.

Happy riding everyone and good luck on your search!

[Johnny_Namakan]

Gotta add my two cents:

Owned a Yamaha Big Bear: Loved it. Toughest machine on the earth (as long as we can make outlandish statments that are mostly opinion sprinkled with a little truth.)

Polaris Sportsman 500 HO: Currently own and ride. Great machine, Best riding machine ever. Have never had anything go wrong with it in five years, except new battery. And this machine gets rode hard.

To be honest, all of the manufacturer's make good stuff. Pick whatever you like.

[Dave]

rundave,

Be patient my friend, takes awhile to learn to take what others say about Polaris with a grain of salt

[SomethingFishy*]

There was six of us riding this weekend, with the following machines, 3 Polaris, 06 500 EFI, 05 700 EFI, 01 500. 1 Arctic Cat 650 04-06 not quite sure. 1 Yamaha Kodiak and 1 Honda I believe rancher.

The Yamaha was the first to have any problems, caught a rock on the bottom and tore off the radiater hose.

Mine(06 500EFI) was the 2nd with a problem, front right tire would not keep bead lock and would slowly lose pressure, aired it up and some tire sealer and problem was solved for the day.

Lastly was the Arctic cat 650 going down a hill the front tire caught a rut and pulled the tire of the rim, aired it up and we were back on the trail.

Playing in the mud all the machines faired well, the Honda rider didn't take her machine in any of the big holes due to ground clearance, and the 01 500 had a small tire/ground clearane issue. All the other machines went thru flawlessley.

[jltimm]

You better go out and get yourself a Can-AM Renegade 800 with F.I. and IRS and HOOOOOOLD ON!

[deepportage01]

Dude, no need to get all lets race. it did give me a good laugh though you can come and whoop me on the track all you want. my point was not to bash them just tell the truth about our problems with my wifes atv. when somone is trying to make a educated choice on an avt purchase they want to hear the good and bad that is part of the whole process there are alot of people on this site with many views on things no need to tell somone that might help you in the future to get off the site.we all can have our owen thoughts on things thats what makes this site the best one out there.

[Wade Joseph]

Thats what I am looking for folks. Honest opinions of what you ahve owned or seen first hand from close freinds or relatives. I do not have the time to ride everything out there. I'm just asking for honest opinions. No need to run down anyone elses ride. Just the facts.

[deepportage01]

WADE, last year me and my hunting budys were discing food plots out at the deer shack this was work all day with over sized gear.we all had areas to work in so about noon we met up and had lunch.I am the only honda rider out there the other 3 guys run 500 polaris they all said that if they ran to hard with the disc there belts would smoke and not just a little remember this was a true test for an atv we ran them like we were trading them in the next day.so out of 3 polaris 2 made it home runing but the test was not realy fair we needed 3 on 3 its not ez to change a belt in the woods. but the honda is hard starting in the winter you need to warm it up for a few min when its cold its always starts though. the one thing I have seen the polaris dose trail ride smoother and start faster than the rubi.I did have to let the rubi cool down once but no smoke and no belt change.he did bring it back to the dealer and they put a new one on for him for free but he had to haul it there and then all the way back up north but like I said the belt was free

[Dave]

deepportage,

Were the guys in low range all the time? If I was to pull "over sized gear" all day, I might opt for a gear driven machine rather than a belt drive. Maybe not.

When testing quads a few years back, pulling a weight transfer sled, I saw the Rubicon finish dead last, pulling the sled not very far. My opinion, Rubicon's are not made for pulling heavy weight.

Polaris has always had the smoothest riding ATV. May have belt problems if not using the correct range on transmission.

Bombardier has a very torque motor but, the way its ATV shifts isn't the smoothest or quietest. Not the best riding machine.

Yamaha's Grizzly vibrates quite a bit more than others. Had some trouble in cold weather starts before.

There's many opinions people can give. Many opinions will differ about the same part of the same machine, too. Good Luck on your selection.

[deepportage01]

yep, the guy that fried the belt was in D half the time and then switched to low I dont know if it makes a difernce but it was a 2000 500? just to show that I will say 'bad things' about honda a belt is cheeper than a trany for a rubi if you cook the trany in a rubi you beter have $2.000 for a new one there is no repair they just slap a new one in they say its cheeper that way.I have to admit if I did more trail riding I would look at other avt's. I worked wild mnt for a winter when I was 16 they ran honda's up and down the hills out there all year round and some of the avt's had 12,000 miles on them with the only thing being done was oil changes and tires that is what made me ride red. I have never seen another atv with that many miles on your point on pulling is true we locked my rubi up my budy's 500 HO and it did pull it back after the 4 wheel kicked in.[there was a little smoke involved]but it did it.I do think both atv's have good and bad points some time when we trail ride I would kill for IRS.if I could take the honda motor/trany and put it in a polaris frame I would now that would be sweet set up.

[Dave]

"yep, the guy that fried the belt was in D half the time and then switched to low I dont know if it makes a difernce but it was a 2000 500?"

On Polaris, there's a High and Low. Sure does make a difference! That's why Polaris now shifts directly into Low from Neutral or Reverse. In order to cahnge to High, the rider has to use the foot brake.

The cost of a Rubicon tranny is another downfall I was going to mention, just for another "opinion". Thanks for mentioning it.

If you want IRS, try a Honda Rincon. Nice riding setup!