muddin

I am looking to buy a 4 wheeler but can decide between either of these 2. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

stubblejumper

Honda' s are generally simpler built but as a result they are much lighter and much more reliable.I have owned both honda and yamaha while friends own honda,yamaha,polaris,suzuki and arctic cat.The hondas require the least maintenance and always seem to make it home under their own power.The polaris machines require a lot more maintenance and have come home on the end of a tow rope more than any other brand.

Have 2 Hunt

I have to agree with stumbblejumper. I have noticed the diehard Polaris fans have usually not had anything else to compare it to. A friend of mine just sold his Polaris 500 sportsman and bought a Honda 650 Rincon and loves it. He said he always liked his Polaris until he got the Honda and now says he would' nt go back. I also would' nt count out the Yamaha Grizzly, another great machine.
That' s just my two cents.

elknut1

I own a Polaris 500 2002 model so far so good, (except when my 19 yr old son rolled it in the driveway) I only have 350 miles on it can anyone be more specific as to the problems their having.

elknut1

skeeter 7MM

I own a 95 Polaris 400 Sportsman and 00 Honda 400 Foreman. By far the better of the 2 is the Honda. It is quiter, more reliable and lighter. The sportsman I have at the cabin and basically retired it from hunting duty. I have one problem with it and that it' s starter location, it is on the very bottom of the bike. It always takes on water and seizes. I got to the point where if I was in bogs, swamps, I would take it off, soak, dry and put back on...a real pain. I have heard they have since changed the location and design due to this problem. Other than that it is a really nice bike to drive and operate...however due to my experience I' ll never buy another.

btpatriot02

I own a Grizzly but heres another tip look in your local want ads and look under the atv section and look at what brand most people are selling, They' re selling it for a reason, either they are getting a newer model or are switching brands.In my loca paper the Polaris is the most.I' ve owned honda' s and yahama' s i' ve had buddies that owned Polaris and got rid of them after one year.and switched to either honda or yamahas.But the one thing that I' ve noticed with honda is that they are gas hogs,but make the best engines,The major drawback for me was that they don' t make one with a big enough motor for my taste.thats why I went for the Grizz.

stubblejumper

I actually found my rancher be as easy on fuel as any comparable sized atv.The rubicon also gets decent mileage for a 500 but the fuel tank is smaller than most other atv' s of the same displacement so you can' t go as far on a tank.

bear72

I would go wiyh the Honda I used to have a Polaris and had nothing bit trouble with it.

Ruger-Redhawk

Back in 1997 I bought a new Polaris Sportsman 500. It' s been pretty reliable so far.Polaris did replace the drive belt and cover because of the belt slapping the cover.It still does when first cranking until I give it a little throttle.Most of the 500' s have a knocking pinging sounds. I checked with several 500 owners, Polaris dealers and the Polaris Factory. This is a normal sound ,something to do with the gear on the oil pump.Approx 235 hours my tie rod ends were worn out.By the way they are very expensive little mother' s to buy.The Polaris has several grease zerks(fittings) and some are very hard to get to. I found taking the rear wheels off helps allot. The oil plug is a bear to get to. I' ve only used Polaris fluids since I got it. Their synthetic oil is no bargain @5.00 a quart. The oil filters are right at 10 bucks ea.I' m by no means a mechanic.I' m sure even a good mechanic would have his hands full working on these.Another thing I would recommend is since the Polaris 500' s weigh right at 700 pounds install a winch.I buired mine once in DEEP mud. There was no physical way to get it out. I had to get a friend with his tractor to pull that beast out. The next week there was a Warn 2000 winch on the front of it.This Polaris will probably out last me ,the little bit I use it. It still has less than 300 hours on it.If I were looking for a new 4 wheeler I would check the Honda' s out first.Overall I would rate my Sportsman very good,but there' s room for improvements.I have mine set up the way I want it and severs me well during hunting season,with no intention of getting rid of it anytime soon.
Ruger Redhawk

model722

I' ve owned a poaris for over 10 years now NO PROBLEMS, not one. I' ve owned honda, yamaha, and sua sucky. I will never go back my polaris has been very good to me, and I beat the sh** out of it. Even droped a tree on it once bent the racks and handle bar but it still runs like a bear. I' ve rolled it atleast a dozen times, and a friend of mine took it over a clif. Took a licken, but keeps on tickin. Honda is a good machine also, but I still would rather have a polaris. We had a debate on this awhile back and came to the conclusion that it' s kind of like ford verses chevy. It just depends on what you like and what your needs are. If you are looking at polaris I would strongly recommend looking at the 700 I doubt highly you' ll find any other machine with more power.