ATV'S

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Originally Posted by 400bigbear

Ok lets see a pic of the speedometer . Roe . I would like to see the mileage compared to my 2008 Yammy . The real north ? Do you mean to infer something by that ?. Well lets see mines been all around Nipigon . I'll tell you something about gas . It's not just the price, it's when your travelling with others who run them and the rest of us have to pack the fuel on ours so they don't run out before we get back . Packing a gas station along just for that beast Im sure must be fun to you ,eh ? LOL Well it isn't for me when I carry for others just because they drive a big Suzy . Lets see the mileage on that SUZY , Roe . I'll take a pic of mine just so we can compare a garage queen to a bike that is a year round runner being used not as a show piece . lol


TD

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I've done long rides in the bush as well and didn't have to bring spare fuel. Oh, it uses more gas than a 400, but it's not all that bad. I've driven Yammys, Hondas and Can Ams as well. Maybe mine doesn't get ridden as often as yours does due to where I live, but it's no garage queen, it's just well looked after. Then again from the sounds of things yours must be a lot closer to being worn out than mine and probably beat up to boot. I had an interesting discussion with an ATV dealer a few years ago at the Dirt Bike, ATV and Snowmobile Show who handled both Yamaha and Suzuki. I was told on the side very quietly, that Suzuki vs Yamaha in was a case of pick'em because of how similar they are and that both are very good machines. I guess you know better than a dealer that sells both.

As far as bush rides, yah, I've been on them north of Sault Ste. Marie in March on the trails with tires on them. The other ATVs were 700King Quad, 700 grizzly, 350 Big Bear, 500 Sportsman and a 650 Brute Force - 40 miles down snowmobile trails surrounded by 3ft.of snow and across 3 lakes. No mechanical problems with any of the machines, but the Polaris did seem to get stuck more than the others and was harder to get out.

You say you use in all 4 seasons, how does your ATV make out in the deep snow? Do you have tracks or is your machine not powerful enough to use them? I can go anyplace a snowmobile can and places they can't!

To the OP,

From my experience, I haven't seen much go wrong with the newer Polaris, but they are all wheel drive vs. 4 wheel drive. When I bought my machine, only Yamaha and Suzuki had diff lock on the front differential - you don't use it all of the time, but it comes in handy in the mud or snow with tires on. Also, mine has shift on the fly 4x4, much of the time you can drive it in 2wd and conserve fuel and reserve 4x4 for when you really need it. The only other issues I've seen are with the Hondas and the electronic gear shifts. I know an number of people who have them on Hondas ranging in age from 2000 - 2008 and they've all had problems with the electronic gear shifts at one time or another. Many of the manufacturers have gone to cvt transmissions.

Roe+

Hook em up hitch to hitch, always solves problems for us. I love dragging my buddies around backwards. P.S CATS rule the off road recreation world.

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Originally Posted by odm2

How do you like the Sportsman? I was told that for the price its a good way to go. I'll be using it mainly for the deer camp and ice fishing. Not a daily machine on a farm or anything like that.

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Most Polaris's are great for the first 5-8 years. They go down hill fast from there. I have a yamaha. I love it, we have lots of hondas at our camp. The one from 1986 is one of our most used machines. It has lived outside for most of those years, with minimal repairs needed. The one polaris in our camp is a 2007 and it was good, for a while, but it is beggining to break down regularily now. They are short term machines, and they are cheap for a reason. Yamaha or Honda are lifers. That said, buy what you like as opinions are like you know what. There is a reason you will hardly ever hear a bad thing about yammi or honda though!

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Originally Posted by reevester

Hook em up hitch to hitch, always solves problems for us. I love dragging my buddies around backwards. P.S CATS rule the off road recreation world.

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I had an Arctic Cat ATV. I should have pushed it into a field and lit it on fire. It was the worst ATV I've ever owned!

One of the guys in our deer camp has a brand new Arctic Cat. So far the entire engine and tranny were replaced on warranty and the ignition failed and stranded his bike 4 days in the bush. We just pulled it in after the hunt. This is brand new bike with less than 500kms on it.
Beautiful bike, great ground clearance but it won't be coming back next year. It's going To be traded for a Kodiak this summer.

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Originally Posted by terrym

One of the guys in our deer camp has a brand new Arctic Cat. So far the entire engine and tranny were replaced on warranty and the ignition failed and stranded his bike 4 days in the bush. We just pulled it in after the hunt. This is brand new bike with less than 500kms on it.
Beautiful bike, great ground clearance but it won't be coming back next year. It's going To be traded for a Kodiak this summer.

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What happened to warrant the replacement of both the engine and transmission?

One of the guys at our camp has an older Cat that never seems to have problems, it has a Suzuki drivetrain, but in recent years Cat has gone to their own drivetrains. One of the guys I rode with in Sault had a friend who bought a100 Thundercat when they first came out. Steve said it was in the shop every other week and most of it was engine problems.

Roe+

Actually Roe + my 400 bear isn't in bad shape but I do service it myself regular but it's getting mileage . I think it's close to 5000 clics and plows snow and has even pulled the odd truck out of a snowbank and with the way its geared would turn tracks . Tracks were originally designed on 400 size machines . It's only about two weeks a year it gets to be a challenge through slush on the lakes . I don't think your long rides are very long . LOL Lets hear how many clicks you get to a tank or is that a secret too that a salesman let you in on ? . And with tracks that gets only half, if that, of wheels but I'm can't compare that since I haven't got tracks on mine . I have run them though while using a gas guzzling big bore popo .

Your always having interesting discussions with either a related lawyer , teacher, friend of Steves said .blah blah blah etc, etc but that really means squat in the bush where the tough need to keep going . LOL . Like I said . Put some miles on that gas guzzling Suzy then let us know if she's still turning wheels or tracks . A day here or there is just a pleasure ride . LOL Lets see Suzy's odometer or your piping in means nada since you don't really know if it will last . That being said I do see the odd Suzy from years ago but that was when a king quad was a king quad still . More old Hondas and Yammies flying the flag running around in the bush than all the others combined . I don't like that electronic tranny some Honda models have gone to either .


Reevester really all that about Cats . LMAO


TD

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Originally Posted by JeffBondar

What happened to warrant the replacement of both the engine and transmission?

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Major engine failure. They actually had a service rep from AC USA look at it. Everything replaced on warranty but apparently the bill would have been over $4k if it hadn't been on warranty. And then the electronics fried in the bush this year and it spent most of the week dead. He's learned his lesson and will be buying a Kodiak this summer.

I got two cats a 02 500 manual with 7000 mi on it and a 07 650 with 6000mi on it ya miles. All swamp and mud bogs water in both motors more than once. I have seen them all. Yamahas and hondas are great if ya got a nice logging road or farm. Come near me in the mud and you'll be eating mud. I don't care about fuel economy either i'm out to have fun.

400 bb aka horn totter, you happen to know any of the Rand boys up there?

What is an acceptable life span of a quad? I know there are too many variables to list, but what would any of you expect to get out of your machines before needing to replace a major component such as drivetrain components. I think I'd expect 4-5k but I'm just a novice and don't know much about quads. I am however happy to say that after my 100km break in my 700 cat pulled 2 moose out of the bush where other machines were struggling with no moose strapped to the receiver.. just curious...