Hi Everyone,
I've been hunting an ATV for some time now, seriously for maybe 1 month.
I've seen many, and most were in terrible condition (even ones with much lower mileage).
I finally ran into one this evening which checked all the boxes and seemed like "the one" so I bought it. It is a 2004 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO. I originally was avoiding these because I heard their 4x4 capability, because it would engage only on demand gave you less control and would get you stuck in the mud more than other brands. That said, the suspension and ride quality reviews were really good and I have a bad back (have had surgery, may need more) so comfort is more of a priority.
Since I am pretty new to this, I was a bit naive with respect to knowing what was considered high mileage. Only now reading mileage specific threads am I seeing that I might have made a mistake. Now I can't sleep... worried I did something stupid. It has 12,000 km on it, so 7450 miles. The guy did all of his maintenance, and the bike looks, feels, sounds, really good. There is a link (tie rod I believe) with some play in it, and a slight bit of play in one of the rear wheels (bearing)... and the rear brakes don't seem to be doing much (same story with 4 different Sportsmans I have seen).
The purchase is done, I will live with what I bought, and hopefully this lack of sleep is for nothing. Worse case I slowly swap parts until its a new machine again. It still pulls very strong, no smoke, perfect idle... a bit of oil around the valve cover area... new tires... mags... rear seat with front storage and windshield. I don't plan on doing too many big trips, mostly riding around my cottage and in the field with my 7 yr old daughter.
Anyways, since I can't sleep and was bored I decided to introduce myself.
- Adam