[dolwin]

I know I will get some heat for this but right now I don't care. My question is how many times has your polaris stranded you? The first time it happened it was no big deal, starter went out in my garage, was able to winch it on my trailer. Second time not so lucky, was out trail riding and machine backfired and quit, was able to get it to a main road. Rode my fathers machine back to the truck+trailer and hauled it out. 2013 Sportsman 500,3100miles I only use good gas and change spark plug and fuel filter every year.
Ruined the entire trip, not a happy camper right now, Polaris is the best riding machine I have ridden but I am considering getting rid of it and getting some thing more reliable.
Any thoughts on this?

 

[Liftedpsd]

3100 miles and it's left you stranded once and you want to get rid of Polaris lol. Good luck. None of my atv have ever left me stranded.

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[SteveC25]

3100 miles and it's left you stranded once and you want to get rid of Polaris lol. Good luck. None of my atv have ever left me stranded.

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I agree, 3100 miles is alot on an ATV and to only leave you down once ain't much to complain about in my book. I'm sure there's a pretty simple explanation as to what went wrong with it too. Have you got it running, what was the cause of it stalling?

 

[04700sportsman]

Stranded..never..had my battery die last weekend while on my trailer..just had to boost it all weekend with the wife's Kodiak. .we never skipped a ride ?

 

[Liftedpsd]

If you do decide to get rid of it get something without a motor cause that's the only thing going to be more reliable.

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[dolwin]

OP here, machine is at dealership, took off cab there was a busted wire on left side of machine every thing else looks ok, hopefully it is something simple.
Maybe I am being too critical but I have friends with Hondas and Yamahas with far more miles on than I have that have had no problems what so ever. So far have had to replace both front end wheel bearings, left ball joint, left control arm, bushing in front left A arm, all rear bushings, starter, drive shaft u joint and now this. This is my first atv and sometimes I ride alone, it might be different if I rode with a pack of other atvs but usually it's just my and my 85 year old father. How reliable is Polaris?

 

[FPD218]

Do tell more.... where do you ride? What type of trails? Mud, how deep? Lot of sand? Are you an aggressive driver? How hard are you on the machine? Lift Kit? Oversize tires?

 

[ThorsHammer]

Stranded, never, Stuck... yes, I've had to make that walk of shame once when I broke the winch cable (user error).

Yes, Polaris machines require a lot of maintenance. More moving parts will do that. And while some parts are notorious (wheel bearings) they are also relatively cheap to replace. You've got a 500, the best selling ATV ever. It is a proven performer and has been known for it's reliability.

Yes it sucks that something broke on a trip. but guess what. That happens. We're taking these things into some of the harshest environments on the planet. You can't expect them to never break. And some times, they break on a trip. it sucks, but it is what it is. something to be expected eventually. It's not a matter of if it will break. it's a matter of when, and how bad. Part of having to pay to play.

 

[RSMark5]

How many times? How about every time.


In the 7 months of ownership of my ace, I don't think it ever made it back to the truck under its own power. Only has 209 miles and it'd been to the dealer 4 times, been through 2 batteries, a voltage regulator few other odds and ends. To be fair, one time was because of me. The airbox is so ill fitting I didn't realize it wasn't sealed, and got a tiny bit of water in it so I called it a day. Polaris was little to no help even though it was the same issue over and over. So, it got replaced with a Can Am.


Edit: Technically never stranded, I've never done the walk of shame because I never ride alone. Actually in the middle of all the nonsense with Polaris, I bought a 95 fourtrax 300 to ride after the Polaris broke. So I'd go out, ride for 5 minutes or 2-3 hours. The Polaris would shut down and die (electrical) so my buddy would drag it back to the truck to grab the 300.

 

[bp405]

Once unfortunately and fortunately on the Pauite trail system in Utah. The starter seized. The fortunate part was I was able to ride all newer wheelers. A Brute 750, Rincon 680, and Grizzly 700, all with eps. I also rented a RZR 1000 just because.

I'm actually on my way back home from Hatfield & McCoy. We did six hard pounding days out on Rockhouse, Buffalo Mountain, Bear Wallow, Pinnicle Creek, and the Outlaw trails. The thing about it was my 800 with 3,500 miles and my buds 570 with 500 miles didn't have any issues where as the kawi's, yami's, and king's had the issues. Not that our Polaris's don't but no machine is immune to failure.

 

[dolwin]

Premium Member

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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Winter, Wi
Posts: 106
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Do tell more.... where do you ride? What type of trails? Mud, how deep? Lot of sand? Are you an aggressive driver? How hard are you on the machine? Lift Kit? Oversize tires?

OP here, all trail miles,some technical trails, try to avoid mud, sometimes can't, I do ride it hard, some sand, no lift, no oversize tires.

 

[Lon]

I've never been stranded...
2004.5 Sportsman 400 - used in snow, trails, ran great, sold it to a friend and he still has it running perfectly
2010 500 Touring - ran great, sold it in perfect shape
2017 570 SP Hunter - awesome. 300 miles and love it

With that said...

I too ride alone... at least half the time. So I can understand the concern. You've repaired or replaced quite a few things.

You never can really judge things here... just don't know how the owners use or maintain the machines.

If I was not comfortable, I would not hesitate... I would buy a Honda or Yamaha and move on. It's your money. I test drove them all - Brute Force, Foreman, Rancher, Grizzly - before buying the 570 SP Hunter. The Grizzly was awesome... as was the 570 SP. It came down to value, features and accessories for me. And having a very good history with other Polaris machines, I went for the 570. Either way, hopefully you'll stick around here and share the experience. Good luck.

 

[stave7119]

Stranded once. Key Switch failed on the 600 and burned up some ground wires. Fuel pump failed on the 325 once but as long as I kept more than 1/2 tank of fuel in it, it ran fine for the rest of the trip. I do pre and post trip inspections and regular maintenance. In July we took the 600 and 500 to Tennessee to Ride Royal Blue for a few days. Worked them hard with no issues.

Newest machine I had was 2004.5 Sportsman 600. (We just got a Ranger 1000 for around the house). I work at a dealership part time and we see everything. Not just Polaris, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki too. Most of the failures that we see are user error. Generally poor maintenance. Lots of high mileage stuff there. One guy has about half a dozen Polaris machines for his business all with 6000 plus miles. Hard miles too, I think they guy does survey work so they are carrying extra weight and have to go anywhere. We see the machines once or twice a year for regular maintenance.

 

[bobx2]

Counting today, I have been stranded exactly zero times. A couple of flat tires, but plugged them and kept riding. Other than that, nothing.

 

[autosport7]

No real complaints here outside of the Carlisles and a battery.
Battery showed its ugly face in the garage and the Carlisles are what they are... Junk.
Only time I was almost left stranded was when I still had my '14 Scrambler (RIP) and put it into a tree at about 30-35mph. After rolling 30 yards there wasn't much left in tact, but she still drove back to the truck.
Insurance totaled it and two weeks later I had a '15 sitting in the garage.
Swapped out the Carlisles to GBC Grim Reapers and replaced a battery after 200 miles.
Lots of wear and tear issues, but never stranded, knock on wood.

 

[Radeon]

Zero with my 800.So I picked up a 570.