[Big Daddy]

I had to pull an Artic Cat out of the bush on the weekend (second one this year, both Artic Cats). I don't mind helping because of the bragging rights. The two other bikes with us were Polaris'. They tried because I did the pulling last time. Surprise, once we got to a hill with a little mud they were done. I know every bike has their pros and cons so here is the survey question. Through experience, who is the worst bike manufacturer? My vote is Artic Cat.

 

[Rincon 650]

OUCH...controversal topic. I know what my pick would be.....Im afraid that someone may have one and get upset if I say. OK...Here goes.. I owned a Polaris once and It got stuck looking at water because of the belt drive. Just my experience. I now friends that have them and they run great for the type of riding that they do,,, not the type of riding I do..Sorry if anyone got mad.

 

[Bexxter]

I have owned a Polaris also and I would have to say it was the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. Because of that one I will never own another one again. Everytime I would spend my money on parts to fix it something else would break. I have a few friends that USE to have them and the same thing, nothing but problems with them. So I would have to say Polaris is worst ATV company out there.

 

[yellow 500]

agree polaris are junk in water but from my experience and i have owned,honda,yamaha,polaris,kaw's,and suzuki suzuki is by far the biggest piece of [email protected]@ i have every seen talk about hitting a hill and they flip over. almost got killed on one of these but blame myself for buying it just my 2c worth

 

[Railroader]

I'll get strait to the point. In my opinion, Polaris. Period.

 

[MAD MUDDER]

Artic Cat i think is the worst out there. my friend had a 05 AC 500m and that thing was the biggest pile of crap that i have ever seen! he could not even ride it for two weeks with out the shock bushings going out and on a good day the lights would not pop out of there sockets, i bet he went through ten new sockets on it. also the carb would overflow and he could not find the problem with that, he even put a filter in the gas line and that did not help at all. when it was below freezing the locker would not work all the time but it would work most of the time. also polaris dont have much going for them eather but i have only head storys about them so i really dont know for sure about them.

 

[cajunforeman]

Sorry but im going to have to go with Polaris also.

 

[myers4712]

All belt drive system's suck!!! That is what I think. I owned a polaris that was really crappy but my dad own's one that "knock on wood" Is not that bad. I still love my Honda's. They would be even better with built in lockers though

 

[djh1121]

I had a lot of issues with yamaha's rear-end.

I believe all ATV manufacturer's could use higher quality bearings and seals to help the life of them. But waht can I say, I worked for a electric motor manufacture one time and we bought the cheap bearings and seals to help recover the cheap price of the motor. They would double the profit in warranty work within a few years.

 

[chevync20]

Im gonna have to say polaris. I know to some the 500 ho is legendary and was the start of the big bore craze but everytime i ride with one its always something, especially there belts. The only ideas i like is when they use to have those oil bathed bearing housings, cause it seems the bearing never went bad and they AWD system works failry well but there belt system sucks. Everything has its problems.A guy i work with has a brute that he only sees like a week every 2 months. He is on his third he has totaled 2 from the tie rods breaking at 60 mph. We cant really bash any brand cause all have lemons even honda.

 

[Railroader]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I thoroughly agree.

 

[stang67]

I am sorry but .... Honda.

I bought my first one in August, a 500ES -- my first bike to personally own, actually. After less than 7 hours of babying, the engine seized due to a broken oil pump. Engine was replaced under warranty, but Honda would not even add on the month's shop time to my existing warranty. The bike happened to be in the shop the only time of year that I really even use it, deer season. I still have it, but will likely not get another.

 

[REDNECK BOGGER]

im going to say polaris. a friend of mine had one and it stayed tore up. matter of fact it is sitting inside his barn rite now just waiting to be traded in for a honda.

 

[myers4712]

My frame broke on my 04 rubicon a month after I had it and honda would not fix it at all. It sat for 9 months. They still did'nt fix it but I had it welded and it's better than stock. I lost all my warranty on it but oh well. I love it. I want a locker and I will be happy. If I buy anything but Honda it will be for this reason of not backing their product.

 

[eric]

Well I've owned Yamaha, Honda, Cat and Polaris.

Polaris 500 H.O. broke within one week of riding---tranny, and it would creep at idle. Rode great but was junk.

Cat bushings go out, drive-train is sloppy and it seemed like I replaced a lot of cv boots. Other than that my 500i manual could out pull, out mud and just plain out work anything I've owned. I rode that thing like I stole it for virtually 1,600 trouble free miles.

Yamaha was good machine except I kept getting water in tranny. It was a Kodiak 400 and was a solid machine. Motor started smoking at 1,000 mi.

Honda has the best fit/finish, handling and flat out reliability of anything I've owned---by far. I am talking about my Rubicon. 600mi

Polaris was bad but the most dissappointing machine has been my 2003 Rincon. When I rode in streams in the winter the tranny would stall out and leave me stranded in middle of creek. Water would get in motor all the time, airbox would be bone dry; don't know if it was getting through the exhaust or what. It was/is the best machine for trail riding but I don't do that. I guess a lot of it is my fault because I bought the wrong machine.

 

[honda_can-am_tech]

Whenever I'm at a training or update class, its interesting when talking to other techs that work at multi-line dearlerships (we only carry Honda and BRP). When asked what they see the most problems with, the answer 90% of the time is Polaris. Its usually many different things that break or fail, not just one particular issue. I still talk to a friend who still works at the last dealer I was at and he tells me some of the things he sees when working on Polaris'.

I worked at a different dealership when the first Arctic Cats came out in '96 or '97. I wasn't too impressed w/ what I saw as far as fit and finish and w/ cheesy controls. Everything looked like an afterthought. I didn't stay there long so I didn't see firsthand any problems they had. Fast forward almost ten years later, I did a trade check on an 650 V-twin. It looks like they haven't upgraded or changed anything on their machines. I rode it and it refused to turn. The front wheels just skipped across the ground like there was a 250 pound guy sitting on the rear rack. I couldn't wait to get off the thing. This has nothing to do w/ reliability or how good or bad the rest of the machine is, but with what I experienced in that little time I'm getting to the point that I know that anything that doesn't come from Japan is probably a waste of time.

 

[Railroader]

QUOTE ("honda_brp_tech":3cpu12sm)

I'm getting to the point that I know that anything that doesn't come from Japan is probably a waste of time.

That's so sad, but very true. I wonder why American atv's just won't hold
up like the Jap atv's?

 

[swampdawg4man]

i say polaris....ive well my grandaddy has had a kawisaki bayou 300 and 220 since 1990...never had any problems other than routine stuff like a lil oil leakin but thats normal after being 16 almost 17 years old...i wouldnt be lookin for a new atv if the 300 hadnt of been stolen

 

[Yooperforeman]

Polaris is the absolute worst.Had a 425 that everything went wrong.I wouldn't buy any ATV with a belt drive,and I wouldn't buy another Honda with ES.My wife's Recon has had many problems with the ES and usually it's when we're far from home.

 

[Railroader]

I've heard a few problems out of the ES Honda has. My wifes is an ES. So
far 0 problems & its goin' on 2 yrs. old. She rides it in the worst possible
conditions & it has never failed.