Polaris Diesel Quad

[RACE427]

Has anyone ever seen, rode or have any dealings with the awesome Polaris Diesel powered Quad ? If so, what were your feelings about this machine? Would you recommend buying one?

This should be an interesting topic to discuss. Any other ATV manufacturers make a Diesel Quad?? Thanks!!

 

[Texas Diesel]

I got to look at once up close, the hunters dont like them because they make more noise. I think that is a stupid arguement because ALL of the gas ones make noise. The engine is made in Japan ( or so I was told ) otherwise exactly like the gas versions. I WANT ONE, a TDR badge would look real nice on both sides of the gas tank. Oooooops, fuel tank.

 

[danandamy]

My brother in law is a Polaris dealer. I saw the diesel four wheeler mentioned in a brochure the other day and asked about it. They told me that they are nice but most dealers don't stock them. As mentioned above, they are noisier. They did tell me they make lots of power and people who do get them tend to overwork them and break other stuff. Hmmm, kinda sounds like our Rams

 

[Paul Herioux]

The dealer I used to work for was also a Polaris dealer. About two months before I quit we had one traded in on a Sportsman 500 gasser. The diesel in it was a little Perkins. Somebody had been playing in the upper end and had the injection timing way off, ran like dog doo. After the Polaris tech got done with her she didn't run to bad. Lots of vibration and slow acceleration. Top end was about 40mph. Didn't seem to matter what was hooked behind it though, still accelerated at the same pace even with our 84 w150 plow truck chained to the back. Did have to be stored inside in order for it to start if the temps were below 50*F or starter wouldn't wouldn't crank it fast enough. Tried to get it for dad's farm but the boss decided to keep it for his camp.

 

[rjrkihap]

I have a '99 Polaris Diesel Quad. We use it on the farm to clean stalls, till the arena, and mow the fields. I had a '96 425 Magnum prior to my Diesel. The Diesel is slower and a lot louder but will go anywhere I need it to go and I will tow anything I need it to. For farm use the Diesel is incredible. I wouldn't want one for trail riding or hunting. Top speed is 35 mph in high gear and 15 mph in low. TDR Member FL60 also has one. He has tinkered with turning up the fuel. I guess he gets a bit more power out of it.



Ron

 

[HDH]

Polaris Diesel 455cc

I had Rode one in 1999 at about 7,000ft above sea level in the sierra nevada mountains, They are fine for Farm work, But if you Like trail riding in the High Country, I would not get one. No Turbo= Slow riding in High Altitudes.
I Bought a 2001 Sportsman 500 HO, I love it. I have heard though that Polaris is Coming out with a 700 inline twin Sportsman with in a couple of months, I guess i will give the 500HO to the Wife and get the 700 twin!
Doug

 

[Wiz]

Late last year I looked at Polaris, especially the diesel, since I have 2 tractors, a Cat, and the truck that are diesel. Dealers usually don't stock them, and the ones I talked to, said they're ok for using as a farm implement, but did not recommend them for trail riding. I ended up buying a new Sportsman 400 gasser, since I really wanted it for trail riding. It's a 4-stroke, has independent suspension with loads of ground clearance, has true 4wd, and can be switched to 2wd, something Honda can't do.

 

[HDH]

Hey Wiz, Even Been on the Dusy-Ershim with that Polaris?

I was in the Local Polaris Shop the other day, I struck a conversation with a Toyota Salesman, He said he was on the way to the Dusy Ershim Trail with some riding buddies. Sounds Like Fun.

I have been over that Trail Twice, First time was in my 69 TLC and the second time in my 78 GMC Jimmy.

Doug.

 

[jddaniel]

I thought about one of those Diesel quads for a while, ended up getting a Arctic Cat 500 instead. I was doing some remote wildlife food plot work and thought the Diesel would be the way to go, but reading some reviews and test driving the 500, proved that the gasser would have plenty of punch for the jobs (like the rack capacity of the Arctic Cat too). It would have been convienient though, to pull up to the farm diesel tank and fill up my quad where I would fill up the tractors. I don't use my quad for all pure work, so the gasser won out there too, also maybe slightly worried about maintenance, didn't know what motor they used, if it was a Cummins, no problem

 

[Champane Flight]

Baby

Baby turbo it. It would cost a hunk,but I bet someone would make a turbo for it.....

 

[Bad340fish]

Turbo

Another TDR member works for a landscape company that has a few Turbo Diesel Powered Dixie Choppers. I don't remember the motor brand but its like 60HP 3 cylinder motor. little TINY turbo on it. The things run pretty good!! And you can even pull the wastegate line off for more power LOL it works. I bet CCahill could craft up a 24 valve cummins quad

Clark

 

[DarrellB]

New Polaris

Just got my new ATV Mag and they have a short story on the new Polaris. It will be a 700 vtwin and will have a new transmission and independent rear suspension.



A 700 Vtwin gota get one time to trade in the 500 Magnum



Later

Big D

 

[forr]

I have owned a 455 Polaris Diesel for about 14 months and use it almost daily on the farm. My neighbor has had one for over 2 years and uses his daily on his horse farm (they get used to the noise after a while). His 4 wheeler was loaded with the three point hitch (cat. 0) and winch from the dealer, mine was not. I just bought a three point hitch for mine. We regularly 4wheel with other Polaris gas'ers. Here's the skinny...



I have just under 800 miles logged with only one problem so far. The electric fuel cutoff solenoid started giving trouble at about 100 miles and kept shutting the engine down while riding. After removing the solenoid, I happily found that the mechanical shutoff works wonderfully (Polaris calls it a 'backup') and, here's the bonus, without the solenoid present you can turn out the throttle stop. Neat thing about the diesel - I added 27" ITP 589 tires and see no difference. 47 mph on the flats. The gas'ers with big tires are eating belts, diff's, etc. Not my diesel - now they wish they had the torque.



My neighbor - well his story is a tuff luck one. In the end, a second dealer tore the motor down, determined it had been assembled incorrectly from the factory and after much to-do, Polaris shipped and installed a new engine at their cost (good guys!). If you're buying used - here's a hint - pop the air box and look for oil around the air cleaner. If there is none - good. If there's a pool of oil... trouble.



An added plus with the diesel is the weight - we use mine to pull 12' sections of logs during wood cutting. If you're looking at a diesel you should be able to find a great deal - sales are slow since most people don't know what to do with a fuel burner and they don't like the knocking noise.



One last thing - mileage. Trail riding in upper Pennsylvania vs. the gas'ers is great. While I can't stay in the lead for the first 40 miles or so, a tankfull will run from 90 -110 miles. Gas'ers are 30 -45 miles. I'm the only one who doesn't have to carry an extra tank!



Good luck.

 

[Diesel Freak]

Originally posted by forr



One last thing - mileage. Trail riding in upper Pennsylvania vs. the gas'ers is great. While I can't stay in the lead for the first 40 miles or so, a tankfull will run from 90 -110 miles. Gas'ers are 30 -45 miles. I'm the only one who doesn't have to carry an extra tank!



Good luck.

must be nice... . I have to carry an extra 4 gallons on my scrambler (total of 7. 5 gallons) to travel about 90 miles... oh well, she tops out at about 65 and will pull the front end off the ground at will... thanks to Hot Seat Performance... White Brothers, and A Kehin 39mm FCR Carb

 

[jddaniel]

Another reason I bought the gasser 500 Arctic Cat over the Diesel Polaris (or other quads), was that ATV magazine tested all and claimed the Arctic Cat 500 put out more torque than all others including the Grizzly 600 at the time. I don't think they tested the Arctic Cat 500 against the Polaris Diesel directly, but their summary was that the Arctic Cat 500 was the gasser torque king even up against the Grizzly 600 (Kinda identified with that, sounds like Cummins 5. 9 vs its bigger rivals). So I'm thinkin, best gasser torque motor, good trail manners, highest rack capacity, sounds like this is what I'm looking for. I'm stocking deer feeders, planting small food plots, and using it to cruise several miles of field roads, so sounds just like what I need. I liked that plus liked that it rated well in the stock "mud hole" test, in that the Arctic Cat 500 was one of only 3 stock ATVs to make it through their ultimate mud hole test (think Polaris and Honda were the others). Only disappointment is that I put on 26 inch Outlaws and that really drains the torque, have to really rev it now to push the Outlaws thru the mud, then another downside (or upside) is that when you do that the mudders really throw a nice rain of mud back on me!

So far, very happy with it, no problems. I noticed the new 2002 models now offer independent rear suspension plus a new "jeep" look to the front. Wonder if DCX will sue Arctic Cat over the front grille trademark?

 

[John]

I originally wanted to purchase the Polaris Diesel Quad until I looked at their 500 Sportsman 6x6. That's right, the 6x6 has turned out to be a real asset on our little farm... I just wish you could get the Diesel in the 6x6, that would be the ultimate! I know one thing, that 6x6 is virtually unstopable! Besides, if I need even more traction ( ) I could always purchase the optional track kit for it.