Anyone in here familiar with Polaris atvs ?
 

I’m looking at Polaris Ranger 150 for our youngest daughters and a RZR 1000 and really like the safety ap for the kids are as well, but one well known ATV repair guy said Polaris is junk.
Anyone have experience with them ?
We already have a few bikes and three older Honda Pilots that are great but my wife and I want something we can ride together in.

I can't speak to their overall reputation but we have an old Polaris 2x4 Magnum 425 that's gets used and abused without any TLC and it's been fine for years. Only one data point so take that for what it's worth.

Eric

Whenever someone uses the phrase "xxx is junk" about anything, without any evidence to back up their claim, I tend to disregard them because they're expressing opinion rather than fact. :)

Polaris has had some recalls on certain models because of fire issues, so check into that if you're buying used.

How old and how large are the kids going to be riding it? I would make sure you get the right size of machine first and then compare the brands. One of my friends bought one of the smaller UTV's for his kids and sold it a couple months later because it couldn't really go anywhere other than flat ground.

I had the 4x4 Magnum 425. That thing would flat out haul! Never a problem and I bought it well used. I put a bucket and a plow on it and that thing worked great. Raced it quite a bit at our track. Beat most of the other atvs except the hopped up ones.


:)

I've seen too many have problems with them over years I wouldn't own one, although some people do have good luck them. Hard to beat Yamaha, Honda.

My nephew is a controls engineer at the plant in north Alabama. He likes them.

As coonhunter stated, it's hard to beat a Yamaha or Honda. However, I've had a few Polaris over the years and each was rock solid. Very easy to ride and reliable.

Keep a battery tinder on it sit with old gas.

We have a Razor XP4 1000 and love it.

To say Polaris is junk is most likely unfounded with no basis that I've seen. But the internet is like that. Out of millions sold you will only find a few bad reviews as people tend to want to complain rather than praise.

Out here in Arizona they are street legal, and we have 10's of thousands of acres of state land and mountain terrain to enjoy them on as well. So Polaris dealers and the aftermarket are very strong out here, very busy, and there are literally 1000's of them running around Arizona. I see them on the streets on a daily basis. Hugely popular out here with Polaris off road events held regularly.

For years we would off road around here with Jeeps, Blazers, and eventually found sand rails to be the ultimate with better ride quality. But seeing Razors every day we couldn't resist the temptation. Broke down and bought the XP4 1000 and never looked back. We've had it for a year and a half now and have put about 5,000 miles on it. Off roading, as well as my wife driving it to work. The ride quality is like nothing else, covers distance on the trails quicker than anything we've had, and does it in comfort. Tons of power, very quick (quicker than most street cars at a red light) Just a total ball to drive. Not one single issue from it either. I highly recommend the XP's. Better suspension that is adjustable, better shocks, larger wheels and tires, more suspension travel, and just overall better ride quality. We looked at the more utilitarian versions and just decided to spend the extra money on the XP. No regrets.

My brother-in-law just bought a Polaris 4x4, his major complaint is the dealer service network being sparse. I guess he's brought it to some general ATV places for service and they didn't want to work on it ... various proprietary parts, tools etc. required. But he seems happy with the performance, not as happy with price and parts availability.

I've got a ten year old Suzuki Eiger 4x4, literally changed the oil once in ten years, came out golden clean. Haven't taken very good care of it, sits outside all year, winter and summer. Low hours, but hard work. Was great up until this year, has a carb problem I'm trying to sort out. The utility versions of most brands are pretty freakin tough. One of the best purchases I ever made for our 12 acres of property.

I tend to believe that issue is going to be area specific. Here in Arizona where these things are enormously popular there are Polaris specific dealers and service centers everywhere. We even have shops that can access the computers and provide custom tuning and put them on chassis dyno's. The aftermarket support here is crazy.

Then again, they are street legal here and a large reason why they sell so well and have so much support here. It was a huge decision making point for us. If I lived in a state that limited street use, or wasn't street friendly at all, I would have never bought one. We wanted dual purpose usability, and that meant driving it to the trail rides as well as to the store. Not interested in sticking this thing on a trailer all the time, then leaving my rig in the middle of no where while I'm riding. I suspect that's a big reason why they are more prevalent in certain states.

Look at oldminibikes.com there are sections for vintage trikes and quads and stuff. Good luck!


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I had a 2001 sportsman 500 HO 4x4 and it was rock solid and reliable, and I rode it hard including jumping it with two up. I know at least 20 people that have had a Polaris and they love them too. A few people I know have RZR-1000 and they are well built machines as well. I would buy a Polaris over any other ATV.

Pics of the Pilot's,

1999 Polaris Xplorer 400 4x4 with 4100 miles. Replaced the battery three times, changed fluids, minor maintenance (clean carb) from time to time. Meyers plow and heavy use.
Zero major problems and still running strong!!

As a former employee, I'm a little biased.

But, I love them. Had the '04s since new, but the thumb throttle gets old after years and years. Now we have this...
http://www.forums.maxperformanceinc....d.php?t=821464