Drove the 850 sportsman

[Dozer]

Thats a nice looking machine Roofer! Gonna get a set of tires on it or did you save your Bighorns?

[jltimm]

Just saw the 850 on another site with the plastic off.It's all engine and transmission CRAMMED into a frame! Looks like newer cars do, (impossible to work on).

[Roofer]

jltimm, when you start it, it sounds like a truck or car.

Dozer, I need new tires. The 850 requires 14" wheels. I really like the Polaris wheels, so maybe after I sell my other stuff, I can get some 26x14 Bighorns. Kinda wish they were 12's, but what do you do........The 12's just flex better, and protect the rim better.

The stock tires are OK for now.

[SomethingFishy*]

The racks have been plastic since 1996, I think. Only seen one break and that was when somethingfishy hit a tree.

I will be able to get some seat time tomorrow.

Sweet new ride!

The part that broke on mine was the lower storage tub, fortunately for you they got rid of that on the XP models.

[Roofer]

The part that broke on mine was the lower storage tub, fortunately for you they got rid of that on the XP models.

Yeah, now they just charge $150 for that storage box. Surprisingly the rack extenders for the XP are marked only at $50 and the previous Sportsman extenders are $70. Must be because they are making them in China now.

[bowhunterrj]

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[jltimm]

Roofer, did that new popo leave you stranded now as you haven't posted for awhile? How about a ride review eh?

[Roofer]

I have about 30 miles on it so far. The steering just amazes me and the anti-kickback is great. No more hitting ruts or roots and holding on to the bars so they don't go out of your hands. Running over gopher mounds and over bumps is nothing for this suspension. The power......it gets better the more I drive it.It's really hard to describe, but it does not feel big and heavy like other Polaris's I've ridden. The low range is higher geared than the 800, but it crawls through the woods just as easy. It will go 40 in low no problem, or I can move through the woods trails at 5 mph.

The footwells are big enough for bigfoot I think. They also have nice tabs to keep your feet inside. The foot pegs seem a little far back, but am getting used to them.

This is the most well engineered atv I have ever seen. The exhaust pipe is wrapped like a muscle car header. The engine looks like a big Caterpillar diesel.

The gas tank is well balanced spreading across the front, just behind the steering stem. The air box is snorkeled to where the gas tank used to be. Every piece is snorkeled with 5/16" clear tubing right up into the headlight pod.

Even the accessories are well thought out. The rear box (lock'n'ride) can be used with the rack extenders and the gun scabbard.

The tires leave something to be desired when in the mud, but work real well in other aspects. The prior Polaris PXT tires grip better in the shallow mud. With a set of bighorns and afew accessories, this will be the best trail machine I have had or have ridden.

[jltimm]

Sounds impressive! It's about time a manufacturer gets something right after all the different things they've all tried through the years. At least they just did'nt come out with the "fastest" one. Thanks for the review!

[fishnhooks]

Roofer, I might have to stop in and see that thing on the way up for deer opener if that would be O.K?

"hooks"

[Roofer]

No problem hooks. We plan on heading up there Friday morning.

Thanks jltimm. I hope the Sportsman continues to impress me.

[fishnhooks]

Cool..Same here. Dropping the dogs off at the kennel and plan on being up there by 10:00.

"hooks"

[SomethingFishy*]

We may ride around Nemadji on Saturday unless we choose to ride withn some others closer to home.

[Roofer]

I sure wish I could ride this weekend...Just too busy. Was up there the last couple Saturdays working on stands, etc..

I picked up a lock&ride box for the Sportsman. It's kinda tall. I should get used to it. Rack extenders should be coming today. I just need to find the gun scabbard mount to be ready for hunting. The Polaris site doesn't show anything yet.

[Dave S]

We may ride around Nemadji on Saturday unless we choose to ride withn some others closer to home.

The last I saw, Nemadji was closed due to wet conditions. I haven't checked this week so it might have opened back up.

[SomethingFishy*]

I haven't checked any areas conditions as of yet. I will do some checking later this evening after the gf gets home from work. We also want to make sure we have decent weather.

[fishnhooks]

Roofer, I wanted to stop on on my way up, but i was running behind schedule a little. Hope your group was sucessful.

"hooks"

[Roofer]

We had 1 for 6 so far. Most of us saw deer, but they were either too small or not a good shot. I saw 6 myself. Biggest was a 4 pointer. One I saw was bigger, but only caught a glimpse of it. We will try again this weekend.

I just got my registration for my 850. It was registered as a class 1.

[Dave S]

We had 1 for 6 so far. Most of us saw deer, but they were either too small or not a good shot. I saw 6 myself. Biggest was a 4 pointer. One I saw was bigger, but only caught a glimpse of it. We will try again this weekend.

I just got my registration for my 850. It was registered as a class 1.

Gotta hand it to ya Roofer. Not enough people will let deer pass IMO.

As far as the registration on the 850, I'm guessing there will be changes coming for '09 for the new breed of Big-Bore machines. Glad to see they registered it as a Class 1.

Good luck this weekend.

[fishnhooks]

We got 3 for 7. Myself 0 but saw 5. One I could have tried for, but that will be a story for another time

[Brian Meinke]

Hey Roofer I jsut bought a 850 Xp Camo about two weeks ago and they registered as an ORV. How did you go about getting registered as a Class 1?

Any input would help. As of now I can't drive it any where besides the Iron range.

[Roofer]

When entering the cc size the dealer put 70. The state requires either cc size or HP. He put in HP of 70 and it came back as a class 1.

Who did you buy from?

You can ride the shoulder of most roads and most of the trails as a class 2. You just have to watch a little closer. Most times if you are not being radical while driving and have registration, you should be ok. Just my opinion. Have seen plenty of plain site class 2 atv's (side by sides) on many class 1 trails.

[Brian Meinke]

I got it at Lacanne's marine In Faribault. Going down to the DMV tomorrow to see if they can change it. Thanks for the info.

I'll keep you posted.