"the Polaris sportsman 500cc wont even outrun a bone stock 200cc yamaha blaster"  
That doesnt suprise me the new 500's are dogs, heck my 95' Xplorer leaves them in the dust, its funny (and pitiful). REALLY not a big fan of the four strokes...but back to the topic at hand i would bet that the 700 polaris could take a honda 500 in a drag.  

i dont want to bash anybodys machine but ill tell you this much. i have rode with all shapes & sizes & makes of atv`s over the years. and its always the polaris that comes up broken. axles popping out clutch assembly`s exploding & so on. and its always a newer machine to. honda may be a funny company in some ways. but they build & repersent QUALITY in anything that has a honda tag on it. for years honda refused to build an automatic machine with a belt driven transmission. there response to automatic was the rubicon with the HONDAMATIC. which is to date the best automatic out there hands down. i also might add that the rubicon was a 5 year prototype. honda could have easily put that machine on the market long before 5 years. but like everything else they make they made sure it was right & SAFE before offering it to the public. and as far as the new england rider maybe your buddy should have learned how to ride his rubicon. because through rivers & creeks up hills over trees there was nothing that ever stopped my rubicon.  

yeah the 700 polaris might possibly outrun the honda 500 by mere inches, but in the end it will be the Honda towing the polaris out of the woods because the polaris fell apart yet again.
iam not sure the 700 would actually win, the old 1990 honda fourtrax 300 i had
would outrun my buddies' polaris 700 everytime.
The honda has a true shiftable gearbox which gives you more torque and pulling power at the rear wheel.
While the polaris gives you a pvt transmission that is a centrifugal clutch with only high range, low range, and reverse.
and the high range and low range forward gears are only one gear ratio that is all of your take off and top end. yeah there is a small variance when the pvt clutch fully engages, but it reaches it maximum fairly quickly.


Even the Co-founder of Polaris admitted they were junk when he went on the record saying "if we made 400 machines we got back 500"

The older polaris machines with the 2 cycle engines and the pvt transmission, were alot faster than the newer 4 cycle engines, but even they were full of factory defects. and still were seriously limited by the pvt transmission.

Polaris 13 recalls since 1999
Honda 7 recalls
Yamaha 4 recalls.

Honda and Yamaha's records speak for themselves.

while polaris' record screams in digital surround sound "WE MAKE JUNK!!"
and they had to issue recalls on their 2008 models in 2007.  

plus as easily as my sons' blaster beat the 500 polaris, (blew it away with no competition whatsoever)  I would put money down that the 200cc yamaha blaster, bone stock would blow the 700 polaris sportsman out of the water as well.
of course i do know that the sportsman is a utility atv, but still you'd think with all those cc's that it would at least come close to hanging with the smaller blaster piloted by a 12 year old.  

Hey there, I'm new to all this.  My husband and I have a 2007 Polaris 800X2 EFI.  We absoluteyly love it.  The only problem is we fight over who gets to drive.  I love the polaris, although we are picking up a new kawasaki 700 prairie for me to ride for this weekend.  The power of the polaris is wicked.  Quadding is the most amazing way to explore our many beautiful trails here in BC.  

i think you'll fall in love with the kawasaki prairie once you ride it.  

Im all for polaris guys. i have owned a honda forman 500 and suped it up with everything i can think of. also owned a kittycat 650 and ran everything you can push on that. now, i a won a 800 efi polaris sportsman and i will never buy another bike besides polaris. the older model polaris might be junk i have never owned on. but i know this down here in southest texas where the mud is thick and nasty my polaris gets me out of almost anything where the hondas are getting left behind like i use to when i had one. polaris is the way to go if you want to play in the mud.

If you just want speed go ride a motorcycle or dirt bike but if you want to play in the mud for me i would not buy anything other than a polaris!!  

the newer polaris machines are just as bad as the older ones.

they even had to issue recalls on the 2008 models in 2007.

glad you won a polaris, it would be really bad if you paid polaris' high prices for one given all the defects they have.

but hey
enjoy that thing while it is still running!!!!
once it craps out on ya it's a constant visit to the dealer for repairs they wont admit are defects.  

Well I have to say I went riding with a few friends for the day on my new kawasaki 700 prairie, I'm use to riding our polaris 800X2 and I have to say the polaris is a cadillac, I love my new kawasaki to though!  I was real sore the next day after riding for 6 hours!!  

yeah nothing like a polaris to sissy up the trails.
but then normally you don't feel anything riding a polaris because the polaris is normally broken down in your garage or at the dealer for expensive repairs.

that's why polaris has so many problems on the trails, they are built for comfort and not to last.

it used to be said that "God made asphalt so yuppies could go fourwheelin'"

but i have seen bumper stickers now that say
"God made Polaris so yuppies could go fourwheelin'"

if you aren't sore at the end of your ride then you haven't ridden right.
and soreness is usually a sign that you found alot of torque and couldn't leave it alone. (at least it is for me but i am a speed junkie when it comes to riding.)  

Please post a link to the statistics that you are quoting. Include the link for the recent recall of the 08 Yamaha Rhinos  

I own a 08 700x2 and was raised as a die hard honda fan.  I will not knock honda but they are a little behind the times.  I enjoy riding the rincons and rubicons and  think they have good potential but fell inlove with what polaris has done with the X2 models.  My 08 700EFI runs dead even with 07 800EFI's.  I have over sized tires and have to tell ya it eats through the mud.  Top speed is around 70mph give or take. I know a few people on here dis the polaris but I have worked on every thing out there and they all have problems and don't base buying something on one persons opinion.  I personally like the Polaris over the Hondas right now because they have things that I find nice in a atv.  More Storage,smooth ride,good power, and they are not built to save weight, they are built to ride and work.  Plus there 4x4 system is one of the best out.  

my polaris 330 wont stay running when u take the jumper cables off  

I just caught this poast and seems kinda ammusing to me.I have a friend i ride with alot on the trail and at the end of last year he traded his 06 700 kingquad in on a 2008 polaris 800efi. it had to be serviced 11 times since then.Well friday i bought my wife a new 400 big bear and just today we(me him and a few of my friends went out on the trail)(mostly just so i could beat the 400 a lil bit and see how it did). his polaris caught fire after only about 30 miniuts of riding at a total of 67 hours on it.needless to say it may ride nice and handle ok but hes out a quad now and i dont even know if there was a recall but tomorrow ill be shure to tell him! Hows that for money down the drain?
Id also like to agree with wolf1 on the blaster issue.I have one and yes i have zuped it all up but even when it was new and stock as the day it was born...you cant go wrong for the money for a powerful, reliable,sporty , torky, mid sized bike everyone(big and small) can ride.. allthough i am a die hard honda fan, yamaha hit it right on the nail on that machine.  

Here's the link to the consumer product safety commission.

here you'll see the recalls on polaris and can read what they were.
You can also see how the same recalls kept re-occurring over the years.

http://www.atvsafety.gov/atvrecalls.html

Polaris co-founder, went on public record saying "if we made 400 machines we got back 500"

 The above is public record...


comparing the rhino to polaris many defective recalls is like comparing a creek to and ocean.

I still honestly don't believe the rhino has a defect or design flaw, but rather more of a lack of good sense by the rider.
I have driven the rhino, and honestly the Rhino isn't for the inexperienced rider, but still inexperienced riders are purchasing this side x side and rolling it over.

if you buy a gun and accidentally shoot yourself in the foot because you have no experience with guns, do you sue the gun maker for your own lack of good sense???
of course not.
so if you corner any atv or side x side harder than it is designed to handle it's going to roll over.
and it's not the manufacturers' fault that you chose to push the machine past it's limits.

Polaris' defects aren't the fault of the rider. it's Polaris' inability to manufacture a quality machine and seemingly total lack of concern for quality that causes these serious injuries to the rider.

look at the polaris ranger, POlaris had to issue a recall in 2007 for their 2008 models.


geeze lets compare the rhino to the ranger...
who can tell me which is most likely to burn your house down while you sleep?


who can tell me which one HAS actually burned houses down?

but for those who don't know... the polaris ranger has burned houses down.
while the yamaha rhino has rolled over when cornering harder than the machine was designed for.