ATV input

I’m looking into getting an atv for ice fishing and hunting season. I got one one acre food plot that I will be planting every year and also maybe part of a bigger field. I will be planting with a small couple hundred pound drag. Otherwise besides that and a small trailer I shouldn’t do much towing with it. I did set myself a budget but I was looking to get a sportsman 570 or outlander 500. I would like to get something a little bigger but the budget doesn’t allow it.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these or heard which one would be better for my purposes. Just trying to make an educated decision! Thanks everyone!

You could get a Yamaha Kodiak 700 for around the same price as those mentioned. Better belt system and more reliable.

700 king quad you wont regret it. DK.

Go with the Outlander, most reliable atv out there!

I’ve had quite a few different machines from different manufacturers. The top two I liked the most are the ones you’re looking at, an Outlander and the most recent machine I just sold, Polaris Sportsman 570. For the money, the intro line Sportsman’s are a great value. I had the Sportsman 570 for just over a year and I loved it, put 712 miles on it, most of it on lakes and a few on trails. They have PLENTY of power and like I said before, you can’t beat the price.

Aftermarket items are much more plentiful with the Sportsman’s and dealers for spare parts are everywhere. There are many guys who scoff at the Sportsman lineup and call them cheap, poorly made and unreliable. I have not found that to be the case at all. Only reason I sold mine is my other half wanted a SXS and we can’t have both. Ordered a 2016 Can Am Maverick 1000R.

I wish you would have posted this about a week sooner, I could have sold you my 2014 Polaris Sportsman 570 EPS white completely decked out for ice fishing!

A 500 is plenty for your needs. I have a 2009 Sportsman 500 and I pull a 400 pound weighted food plot disc for hours on end. I’ve pulled trailers loaded with half a ton of rock over soft ground, again no problem. HP is just not an issue with these machines, anything that’s within the weight rating gets pulled just fine.

I could understand 700+ CC machines for western higher altitude hunting use where the thin air saps HP, but here in the flatlands, you’d just be buying a heavier, thirstier machine for no real benefit.

I will say that the newer machines with power steering would be nice. Now whether or not I’d be saying this after I received the first repair bill on them, I cannot say. As far as an effort-reducing feature for tight quarters use like woking plots, it would be great. I’ll be waiting to hear how bothersome these PS machines are as they age, however. That’s a LOT of extra and very intricate parts to go bad.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I will say that the newer machines with power steering would be nice. Now whether or not I’d be saying this after I received the first repair bill on them, I cannot say. As far as an effort-reducing feature for tight quarters use like woking plots, it would be great. I’ll be waiting to hear how bothersome these PS machines are as they age, however. That’s a LOT of extra and very intricate parts to go bad.

The last Sportsman I owned was the first model I’ve have with EPS and I loved it. They currently make kits you can retrofit into your machine, and they really don’t add a ton more of complex parts. I however, am also skeptical about longevity of the components. The new machine I ordered also has power steering and am intrigued to put it to the test.