To TLC

I can flatout notice a 100 pound difference on a quad, and 150 pounds is huge. Load you quad up heavy with gear and ride. Then ride it unloaded. There is a difference. You "ride" a quad, shifting your body weight forward, back, side to side. You "drive" a truck and body english really has no need. The weight of a quad does matter and can certainly be felt in the handling of the machine. I am done.....

Brent

Throw a 600 lb ATV around with body english? Throw a 600lb rock and throw a 700lb rock see which is easier and goes farther. 100lb of gear is just my beer. I load up 300lbs and sure can feel that but 100 pounds hardly.

-------------------------
2001 SP 500 H.O

Edited: 04/23/2008 at 12:01 PM by TLC

i laugh at some of the statements made. like metal skids are better then plastic for instance. lol plastic slides cause it is naturally more slippery, every little bit helps. also i like the statement that i can stand on my plastic rack and it won't break. lmao i was slapping my knee at that statement. to be honest if you get in the mud and push bumper to bumper i have broken a couple of polaris racks and actually felt bad when i did break someone elses machine. also the stock tires statement. omg who even keeps the stock tires? the 2 inch receiver hitch compared to the 1 1/2 is just silly. i will admit i like pulling my receiver out of my truck and plugging it into my atv. then the old belt statement ah yes we can't talk about any automatic without getting into that one. i know guys who had polaris's that have gotten 5000 miles and never touched the belt and i seriously knew one guy who had an 03 700 that it would actually shread it every 200 to 300 miles. i used to own polaris and i live just 8 miles from their manufacturor in roseau and i will be the first to tell you i will never own another one ever again. they are a very high maintanance machine that has alot of cheap china made components on them to keep the cost of production down. and well dare i say tom tiller single handedly made polaris what it is today. lately the new thing is i noticed alot of them are having transmission troubles. one guy just got a new ranger about a month ago and the tranny is going out on it already. as far as ride is concerned though i will give it to polaris for slow trail riding as it is more plush and i will give it to cat for hammering the mud holes hard as it is a stiffer design. the polaris awd system works great for most people but as anyone who lives around hills. and why even bring up ride with 2 people? you can't legally drive an atv with 2 people on unless you have a 2-up. for some reason polaris people seem to be extremely brand loyal and i believe it is because people that own every other brand make fun of them for driving a higher maintanance machine and i guess i would snap back quick too but sometimes you just gotta look around you and make an educated decision. also beings i live so close to the factory i do ride with mostly polaris's cause them or a relative work there and get discount.

-------------------------
Arctic Cat 650
2500 pound warn winch
27 inch ITP AT589
ITP chrome n black rims
front brush guard
heavy duty rear bumper
hand guards
EPIBlack Spring seconday
EPI Pink primary
Dynatek CDI
2005 Yamaha YZ 125
2002 KTM 125 SX SOLD YAY!! POS
2004 Ford F-150 FX4 Blk 4x4
99 ZR 600 LE

Im crushed. Zorro. I have better things to worry about than you thinking your remarks are "funny". You basically amount to a stain on my pants at this point. I can care less to what you think. You have less credibility than about anyone on here. Even MotoF150 had more of my respect than you.

-------------------------
2006 650V2
Dynatek CDI
NGK Power Racing Cables
Iridium Plugs
K&N
Amsoil In Everything
26" Swamplites
Delta Chrome Steel Rims
Venom 2500XT Winch
Brushguard Front/Rear Bumpers
AC Handguards
Cargo Box
Gun Scabbard
Magellan GPS
Alarm System
Gel Grips
Baja Lights
Odyssey PC680 Battery

Have you hooked a 800 up to a Thundercat yet? Or how about the diesel Cat? Or even the H1? They are all about the same weight. Id say if you put your money where your mouth is, youd be broke.

-------------------------
2006 650V2
Dynatek CDI
NGK Power Racing Cables
Iridium Plugs
K&N
Amsoil In Everything
26" Swamplites
Delta Chrome Steel Rims
Venom 2500XT Winch
Brushguard Front/Rear Bumpers
AC Handguards
Cargo Box
Gun Scabbard
Magellan GPS
Alarm System
Gel Grips
Baja Lights
Odyssey PC680 Battery

youd? Is that a word? You(')d also cure that stain in the pants problem if you(')d quit looking at picks of AC's. LOL! BTW Weez I weigh 220# and I stand on my racks all the time. The shed I park my bike in has an overhead storage and I use my bike to access it. No big deal but, have you ever seen anybody stand on their polaris racks and watch them snap? Thought so. Oh, and now you're saying that plastic skids are just as strong but the racks are too weak. Have you ever met V2? I think you two would really "hit" it off. Hey look on the bright side.....the first page of threads on the AC forum is down to 8 threads of people having problems. lol.

-------------------------
700 sportsman efi, 2500 lb warn winch, american eagle plow.

Previous machines:
89' mohave
89' banshee modified
92' yz 250
93' cr 250
94' zx 7r ninja
96' yz 250
99' yzf 400
99 seadoo xp limited
00' yzf 426

Edited: 04/24/2008 at 07:14 AM by zorro700

Oh, now we need to pull out the bad spelling card. Well, when you sit down and pee Zorro, maybe you can take a look at the list of problems on the Polaris forum.

-------------------------
2006 650V2
Dynatek CDI
NGK Power Racing Cables
Iridium Plugs
K&N
Amsoil In Everything
26" Swamplites
Delta Chrome Steel Rims
Venom 2500XT Winch
Brushguard Front/Rear Bumpers
AC Handguards
Cargo Box
Gun Scabbard
Magellan GPS
Alarm System
Gel Grips
Baja Lights
Odyssey PC680 Battery

Well I've driven both brands and I'd say i'm more pleased with the AC, it will go through alot more w/o getting stuck than a polaris and the independent suspension seems alot nicer riding on the AC. The differential lock in is a very nice feature and yeah i'm not big on the factory tires but nobody ever keeps those anyways. The receiver hitch is a great idea, the suspension travel is better and the ground clearance but that's not much difference there. The H1 seems to have some pretty good torque too.

-------------------------
2005 Honda TRX400EX<BR>Stock
2008 AC H1 650

lol i don't like doing personal attacks but zorro you aren't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed are you? well maybe just a tool. i didn't say plastic skids were stronger then metal READ WHAT I WROTE. i said that they work better cause they slide better over terrain and don't hook like metal does. and if you bolt plastic in enough places it will become very sturdy and reliable. and whooopty doo you are 220 pounds and can stand on a rack. this proves what????? NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all i know is if you push metal rack to metal rack nothing will happen just maybe a lil paint swap. if you push metal to plastic then you will break plastic. i accidently knocked a chunk out of one of polaris's machines a couple years ago imagine that metal pushing against plastic and the plastic breaks. oh and another thing i talked to a guy from here that got to many dui's and can't get a drivers license and i was riding my fourwheeler and came up to him this last weekend and he was on his 06 650 v2 and i asked him how many miles you got on that thing now he said 22,800 miles. he blew the motor at 14,000 cause apparently he never changes the oil. it looked pretty beat up but ran perfect. the last machine he had before that was an 04 400 arctic and he had almost 30,000 on it when he sold it and if i remember right i think he replaced a belt and did some electrical work to it and that was it.

-------------------------
Arctic Cat 650
2500 pound warn winch
27 inch ITP AT589
ITP chrome n black rims
front brush guard
heavy duty rear bumper
hand guards
EPIBlack Spring seconday
EPI Pink primary
Dynatek CDI
2005 Yamaha YZ 125
2002 KTM 125 SX SOLD YAY!! POS
2004 Ford F-150 FX4 Blk 4x4
99 ZR 600 LE

people keep in mind that AC used to use suzuki engines from 07 and back AC just now started makin their own engines for all their quads so the mileage thing talked about above is more of a compliment to suzuki

-------------------------
Buck
06 eiger camo
2500 warn winch
26 in mud lite xtrs on type 7 black
soon quadworks power kit

his 650 has a kawi in it. yes the mileage thing does compliment suzuki and kawi but you gotta realize the rest is cat's design.

-------------------------
Arctic Cat 650
2500 pound warn winch
27 inch ITP AT589
ITP chrome n black rims
front brush guard
heavy duty rear bumper
hand guards
EPIBlack Spring seconday
EPI Pink primary
Dynatek CDI
2005 Yamaha YZ 125
2002 KTM 125 SX SOLD YAY!! POS
2004 Ford F-150 FX4 Blk 4x4
99 ZR 600 LE

yeah i was jus sayin as far as the motor goes but cat did do a pretty good job with comfort and ergonomics

-------------------------
Buck
06 eiger camo
2500 warn winch
26 in mud lite xtrs on type 7 black
soon quadworks power kit

If they work better then they must be stronger. What are skids for genius? You implied that you can't stand on the plastic racks....that's what it "proves"......that you're wrong AGAIN.

-------------------------
700 sportsman efi, 2500 lb warn winch, american eagle plow.

Previous machines:
89' mohave
89' banshee modified
92' yz 250
93' cr 250
94' zx 7r ninja
96' yz 250
99' yzf 400
99 seadoo xp limited
00' yzf 426

Edited: 04/25/2008 at 08:23 AM by zorro700

oh the drama. jeez guys, no need to get pissy with each other- save it for the ATV banners...........

I just bought an AC 700. I looked at every model out there and between a lower price tag, and several key features- I decided Cat was the one for me.

Specifically versus the Polaris. The shop I went to has more Polaris ATV's used than anything else. The guys there say that Polaris just seems to come in for small things more than other brands. Just little things that shouldn't break to begin with.

Of all the Polaris they have out front- not one has an undamaged plastic rack system. Mostly on the front hinges, which seem to be the first thing to impact a tree. The storage capacity inside it isn't impressive anyway.

My first impression looking at a range of used Polaris is that the racks are better suited for a toy than a quad. Just my observation that out of a heap of used Polaris, most had beat up plastic racks.
On the other hand, even with quads that I've see with metal racks where the rest of the machine is hammered- the racks rarely look beat up.

So just from observation of used machines- I'm not impressed with plastic racks.

Other features set the Cat apart for me. I love that receiver. One look at the tiny receivers on the Polaris and I laughed. I don't doubt that the Polaris hitch is tough and all, but it sure ain't the full sized Cat receiver.

I wouldn't go around claiming one is 'junk' and the other perfect. I see ALOT of polaris quads out on the trails- so they must be solid enough for people to be buying them in droves.
It was just on a few key points that I prefer the Cat. As an overall package, I chose Cat. But that's not because I think the Polaris sucks or anything. But the Cat edges it in my opinion.

-------------------------
2008 Arctic Cat 700 EFI M4
2008 Arctic Cat 90 2x4

Home of the free, BECAUSE of the brave

i agree lot with what u AC guys are saying, people like their own quads for their own reasons, i think AC has nice machines, i have ridden with guys who had last yrs 700 model, and i think they are nice units. i've only had polaris and i have had great luck with them, i don't think anyone will win the fight of whats more reliable, here in Iowa , it seems like nobody sells AC, and everybody sells polaris. I personally rode AC snowmobiles up till this yr when i sold my 99 ZR 600 , but i think AC has made HUGE improvements in their atvs and will be as popular as polaris. i absolutely wouldn't have even looked at AC quads till they came out with the 07 models.

as far as racks go , think i'd rather have plastic too, the metal ones just rust too fast, i had a 2000 polaris sportsman i bought new with plastic racks and never had a problem, never broke or cracked or anything,

-------------------------
Nick Cunningham

You're not supposed to run into trees with your rack! They do make big heavy duty bumpers if you need them. I have front and rear on mine.
Steel bumpers/racks are extra on any atv.

-------------------------
YZ's/XT's/KLR
Raptor
Scrambler
Sportsman 500X2

Simple advice: Figure out what is important to you and try them out. Everybody has different needs/likes/wants. Do you know what yours are? If you say I want the best in everything you might want to go ride some. Like for me, I like something I can sit on and be comfortable because I go for long rides. I like my shifter on the right. I like storage because I pack a lunch and bring a big old thermos of coffee with me.

I think Artic Cat makes a good machine. People I know who have them seem to like them. There aren't as many people who own them as other machines (at least that I know) so I don't hear a huge amount of feedback on them. They don't meet all my personal needs so it's not the machine for me. It could be for you though.

My Polaris grades my road. I use it to push gravel. I haul tons of wood with it. I go trail riding all day with it. I plow lots of snow (which I still have in my yard...just won't go away). It's been great for both work and fun for me. I did have a 450 that had some electrical issues. But my 800 and 700 have been great.

If you want ultimate reliability, buy a Honda.

Lastly, folks save your childish banter for PMs. Nobody wants to read that garbage.

-------------------------
2007 Polaris Sportsman 700 Twin
2006 Polaris Sportsman 800 Twin
2006 Polaris Sportsman 450 (sold)
2002 Dodge 2500...Let the Cummins ROAR

Edited: 04/26/2008 at 10:36 AM by 800TwinEFI

i feel your pain 800twinefi. it started snowing here last night about 8 and it is still snowing we have about a foot so far.

-------------------------
Arctic Cat 650
2500 pound warn winch
27 inch ITP AT589
ITP chrome n black rims
front brush guard
heavy duty rear bumper
hand guards
EPIBlack Spring seconday
EPI Pink primary
Dynatek CDI
2005 Yamaha YZ 125
2002 KTM 125 SX SOLD YAY!! POS
2004 Ford F-150 FX4 Blk 4x4
99 ZR 600 LE

I have a SP 800 X2. It is indeed heavy. Last year while in Mexico at a Resort with it I met a guy that said he was a military special forces acquisition contractor. He said that because the Polaris was an American assembled unit, the military uses them. He said the specifications for the frame, suspension and engine were very strict, as the units get severe treatment. He helped design a parachute rigging where the 800 and the Special Forces actually jump together out of the plane. When they touch down it is expected to race across rugged terrain with a fully outfitted man, a mounted machine gun, ammo and supplies. He said most bike frames would break welds and bend under such loads multiplied by the speed on rugged terrain. He stated the unit's that they acquire for special forces are outfitted a world apart from the consumer bike. The racks and mounts for equipment, guns and snatch hooks for helicopters to pick them up are very heavy duty, thus requiring a heavy frame and suspension. He further stated that due to production costs, Polaris builds all the 800's with this same frame and engine rather than tooling up different assembly equipment. Because the bike itself is built so heavy, it makes sense that Polaris finishes out the consumer bikes with plastic boxes rather than metal racks in order to keep the weight down. I don't know if this is all true, but he sure sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

I completly agree with you 800TwinEFI. Nobody wants to read this garbage! I love my polaris and have never had any problems. Some like other brands and others like other brands.

-------------------------
2006-500HO,swamplites,heated grips,3.0 warn winch,3 light mod,