The dew was still glistening on the grass blades one day last spring, and that meant only one thing – it was flippin’ early. Way too early for any human to be awake, and the bloodshot eyes and weary heads were evidence of that. But we were vertical, conscious and making some final checks before hitting the road for a two-hour drive to our ATV riding destination.
After slugging 24 ounces of Mountain Dew and downing some sugar-infested donuts, the caffeine and glucose-induced alertness finally kicked in as we headed north to the St. Croix State Forest near the Minnesota and Wisconsin border.
Continue Reading…
We first heard of Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park one cold winter in Roseau, Minn. One of the Polaris test engineers got all wide-eyed and excited as he was telling us about this riding park in North Carolina he had visited the previous fall. He kept telling stories of one-way trails, hillclimbs, jumps, mud, hardpack, loose rock, beautiful vistas. He went on and on about the park.
The Chance Arrives
Continue Reading…
There’s a strikingly similar question for buyers in the market for a middle-of-the-road Polaris utility quad. With a mere $400 price difference between two strong contenders, which mid-displacement Polaris ATV offers the most bang for the buck? Candidate A, the Sportsman 400 H.O., rides atop a newer platform (see: change), while Candidate B, the Sportsman 500 H.O., is the company’s token utility quad and one of the best selling ATVs of all time (see: experience).
Meet the Candidates
How is one to decide? Polaris makes a strong case for both the mid-size Sportsman 400 H.O. and its full-size 500 H.O. model – the 400 is a new entry level machine with big boy features, while the full-size 500 offers a larger engine and a slight price penalty. With such a narrow difference in fiscal policy (a.k.a. price), the choice seems fairly insignificant. Continue Reading…