So I stopped by the Polaris dealer today & have an interest in the Sportsman 450 HO.  Its about $800 less without electronic power steering. Anyone have experience either way.  is the EPS worth the coin or just something else to break?

Power steering is very nice. I only thought it'd be nice on situations like 4x4 low but truth is it's great in all riding. Had i known how much I'd like it I'd have sought it out on my last used ATV purchase.

ETA Don't know failure rate but I've personally never heard of anyone having problems with one so far and it's been around a few years.

I went with the Yamaha Grizzly this time. For the reason it's still mechanical on some of switches instead of electronic over relays that can get wet and cause some irritation. The only thing I don't like is it will not turn with the Polaris. You have to add weight to the front to get it to turn even half decent. Power wise it's a beast.

My buddy recently went from old Honda 450s to a brand new Kawasaki Brute Force.  He said he'll never own something without power steering again.  I ride an old Honda so I can't comment personally.

Have an 07 Grizzly with power steering.  I like it a lot, really helps manage fatigue on long rides and steering one handed is a breeze.

Used my father-in-laws Honda Foreman (no EPS) to plow snow when we first moved to the midwest. When I bought my own 4-wheeler (Yamaha Grizzly) I went with EPS. I will never buy a 4-wheeler without EPS, or without EFI for that matter. 

It's a Polaris, it's going to break regardless.

I have a 570 touring sp.

I love the power steering

I picked up a camo 570 w/eps  in April . Love the power steering  . Mine is a 2014 that had 96 miles on it when I purchased it.  Purchased used for $4000.

My suggestion is to find one used with low miles . Let someone else take the initial hit.

Although I like the name you use , I disagree with the comment . I have owned 3 (2new,1used) and have had 0 problems. Well 1 had a defective battery from the factory.

Many people feel the Polaris AWD is better than other brands 4WD systems. They say you just point the thing and it goes over, through or up anything.

I am one of those people.

Once you have the EPS you won't go back to manual steering. Good luck OP

My brother in law owns a motorcycle /atv shop. He says the number one atv he repairs is Polaris.  
  I went with a Suzuki king quad 450 efi.  A few years ago.  I love it except wish I had more power. Wife Pritty much took it over and I'm shopping for a new one. I'm leaning heavily towards the king quad 750 just because not only is it one of the better priced big bores but it's very easy to work on and has been around for a long time.
   I'd love a new can am 800r renegade but can't justify the price.
    Recently went ridding trails up north and needed an extra atv so narrowed my buddies dads 09 Polaris. It was a 450 or 500 carb. No comparison to my kingquad 450!  
  No experience with the new ones however.

While I love my Polaris RZR for a quad I am a huge Yamaha fan.
Here is my thought on Honda vs Yamaha.. While Honda is known for their reliability and being bulletproof so is Yamaha.
The big difference is a Honda Rubicon has 27hp vs a Kodiak or Grizzly having about 47hp at the same price point (Kodiak). besides the speed or acceleration aspect but more power for chores is a good thing.
I did have a Polaris 570 that treated me well for the time I had it ( lost it in a house fire) If I only had a $6000 budget I would buy one again but IMO the Yamaha Kodiak is the best buy out there by a long shot.
   I've had a Honda Foreman,660 Grizzly,700 Kodiak SE,570 Sportsman for reference


  I will say love them or hate them the 570 has the best ride quality but I still go Yamaha..  I also think it's worth mention in regards to the Polaris. Sure ATV mechanics see them the most for repairs but they do outsell everything else by a wide margin. If it were measured in percentage they are not as bad as the internet would suggest. Also being more affordably priced it brings more first time owners and people who don't do the maintenance the same as a person who bought a more premium brand.  
 As I said I would go Yamaha but money doesn't grown on trees unlike internet bull shit

  If you by Polaris by a 2017 or newer 570 the 450 HO seems to have a lot more problems and the newer 570 has better heat shielding that the older ones

I would strongly suggest you don't get a Polaris. Doesn't matter what you buy, just not a Polaris. I have had and directly know many people that have had problems with ATV's and sleds from Polaris. ALL have switched to Can Am, Yamaha and Honda. All love not visiting the dealer anymore to get their crap Polaris fixed. Let alone the time missed riding, down time, hassle and expense.  

Just my experience since the early 80's. Sounds like nothing has changed.

We have two Polaris Magnum 425 mid 90's models at the farm, had them there at least 15 years. Both well over 10k hard miles. Still humming along just fine. Very little repairs.

Do your maintenance people.

No experience with new stuff, but we had an 04 sportsman 400 that never gave any issues.

My 01 325 Polaris  has been hard to beat but my 2012 ranger was junk. The local mechanic is plugging Yamaha because of less electronic gadgetry that's dealer proprietary. But what ever you choose get power steering. I hate to admit it but Polaris are still the best riding as far as suspension goes.  Then it's a toss up between Honda and Suzuki. Yamaha seems to have a lot more low end torque than the other quads with Honda right behind.
I wouldn't trade the Yamaha for climbing in the mountains. But it's turning radius sucks. My wife rides the crap out of this bike. We've had it a little over a year and I need to order new tires. I think she's got 300 hrs on it.

I bet that Polaris 325 has close to 4000 hrs. It's starting to burn a little oil. I think it's on it's tenth set of tires and the front tires are completely bald. Maintenance is your friend change your oil every 50 hrs on the smaller bikes and every 100 hrs on the larger machines. Keep the air filters blowed out or washed if they have the foam ones. Oh and keep the mud washed off. Mud builds heat and heat kills engines.

This thread is of interest to me also.  I've been pouring over the internet trying to get unbiased opinions on several makes. Unless you are on a polaris forum, it seems that polaris does not have a stellar reputation for quality.  The can am's also seem to have reliability issues.  I wonder if this is because of the amount of electronics, "fly by wire" technology being used.  I really want to get a 2-up for my wife to ride with one of our kids so we can make quad-ing a family event, but it seems the only options are polaris, can am, or arctic cat.  I thought about the can am outlander max 450 DPS for the wife unit, but again I've heard horror stories about can am reliability...

I have a 2016 Polaris 570 with power steering. I'll never own anything without it. Attached File


Edit to add

I had to take mine back to the dealer because the clutch was out of adjustment and "lurched" when put in drive or reverse.

Just had to replace a cv axle after not riding it all that hard.

Battery was absolute shit from the factory

Tires barely hold air

High beam shines way to high to be useful and won't adjust down low enough.

Bulb burned out maybe a month after I bought the bike

Gas gauge never reads completely full even when overflowing with gas (fuckin irritates the shit out of me)

All that being said the bike is a blast to ride!!

Funny you say that my 2001 325 is still kicking and the PO's beat the snot out of it. I have had it for 3 years and use it for work on the homestead. Just starts right up

I'm wanting to replace it with a work side by side in the future

I've got an older 06 Arctic Cat 500 and love it only thing I wish it has is ESP. It's got plenty of power and the 4x4 works Great. As for maintenance, I just replaced the belt this spring with a gator belt and had to do front axel seals. Other than two battery's it's been built proof. It sets from February to July every year and gets worked Hard during hunting season. I drain all the fluids out when I put it up and replace with fresh, I think that's why it's been such a good machine.