Was debating on p520 or ranger 500,or 570. My dealers won't let me test ride so can only look. Mostly for hunting and play. Does polaris really have that many issues? And un reliable? The p500 did not really do it for me but now the p520 caught my eye. Could be a good all around rig and reliable. Any suggestions would help. Putting 27s on p520 and going hunting sounds great, but would be doing grocery shopping with it to on the road and wondered if they handle on street at 35 mph. Any must do mods to p520?
I've had my P52 for three weeks now and I am very pleased with it so far. We did a 70km ride a couple of Sunday's ago which involved about 20 minutes of riding down a dirt road to get to a large local trail network. This was on the stock wheels and tires. I was still breaking the machine in but cruised between 45 and 55kph. On the way home gave it a quick burst of flat out and speedo showed governor kicking in at 61kph. It cruised along happy as can be at those speeds and felt very stable. We are in no rush to get places these days and just enjoyed the scenery and being outside, so the slower speeds are just fine for us. I just put 27's on it with 4+3 offset rims. With the 27" Kenda Bear Claw HTR's it feels quite different on the road. Not as smooth and stable feeling as the stock set up for sure, but still ok. I only did a few test runs up and down our paved road, so I'm sure it will feel better when I get onto the dirt roads. I did some test runs before and after with a GPS and it showed an average speed increase of 7kph with the 27's and flat out showed 64kph. They definitely feel better on the trails though, the ride is better and machine feels more planted. But both were short rides so I'm looking forward to a longer ride soon to get a better feel for the new setup.
I've never owned a four wheeler of any kind, but have owned many Honda dirt bikes over the years and was always happy with quality and reliability of them. I also have a couple of friends who have owned Honda ATV's for years at their cottages and the things have been bulletproof. I also liked the fact the Honda has a tranny and not a belt. Our dealer let us test drive for as long as we wanted around the shop and in area beside them.
My only complaint, and it was with all three Pioneer models, is that I could use a couple more inches of legroom, I'm 5'10" but legs feel a bit cramped. I also have a rear fabric window coming, (already have front windsreen and roof), as when we were riding down the dirt road and it was a mild day, a fine mist of dirt from the slushy snow and dirt road came up from behind and coated the backs of us and the rear view mirror, and also a fine layer of dirt on the inside of the windscreen. I don't mind getting dirty but this was just kinda annoying. When I was trying out the new wheels in the field of deep snow beside us, there was a good fine mist of snow that came up from behind again and covered us, so this rear window should work well to stop that, and dust in the summer. Other than that, I'm loving it, and as soon as it stops snowing today, I'll be out plowing with it again, woohoo!
