I know some will not agree but for a old time atv rider who rides about 4000 miles a year this thing is underpowered. My wife and I ride in the high country of Utah 9000 to 11,000 feet up and carry allot of things when we ride out, such as tools, tow strips, jumper cables and so on. My wife would love to have one of these but I will not buy till the 570 motor goes in one. She rides a Suzuki 500 King quad, about 40HP and it only weighs about 630 pounds and we fill it is just about right for the riding we do, You can figure that at 9000 feet you are going to lose about 30 percent of your power and at 11,000 you are going to be at 33 percent so now we are at about 21 hp and loaded with all the gear you would be pushing near 1200 pounds, can you say turd? for some who will not do this type of riding I can see 32hp may get it done but we need the larger engine now for a large percentage of riders.
Does the ACE have enough power?
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I've got one and believe me they are not under powered!! They have a very potent mid range kick and Low range is very low and I'm sure could haul anything a 500 King Quad could. Remember HP alone does not define the ability to do work, clutching and gearing have a lot to do with it. Most users will not be riding 9000 - 11,000 feet above sea level. Maybe this is not the vehicle for you but it will work great for the majority of the target market. I'm sure it was designed for a little more fun than work!
If you were ever to see how many RZR's and ATV's ride the trail systems here in Utah you might rethink what you mean by majority. People come from all over the western states to ride in Utah, Some of the best 50" trails in the nation and 1000's of miles of them. I don't care how it is clutched, horse power is horse and when you are looking at pushing 1200 to 1300 pounds around with 32HP and 30 to 33 percent less 9000 to 11000 feet it will be a turd. Unless you have rode where you are down that much HP you can't understand I guess where I am coming from. There will be a larger engine I am sure, how soon who knows.
Well at first glance that does seem logical but they're already selling like hot cakes so.....
I think somehow, someway the car like familiarity of a steering wheel seems to strike people's psyche deeply. It hits a "FUN" driving nerve, an itch people can finally scratch by ripping around in ACE which they can't do in a car. A very easy and very familiar, very comfortable way that they can all utilize to tour around Ma nature, get outdoors and have F U N.
Just as huge, maybe bigger,,,,The power of it's price point must not be underestimated. A "Volkswagen/model T" effect if you will. A very affordable SXS like vehicle.
Plus, it's cute ! Cute sells.
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928Sport, I understand where your coming from since I ride north of you..High elevation is a horsepower robber but carrying all the necessary items to insure your safe return is the big robber…Weight kills the horsepower ratio… In your case I would agree 570+ would be ideal…but when that time comes your wife and you will love this new concept. Being an experience ATV/RZR and Ranger rider myself this ACE is a blast to drive and the ride is the same as any Sportsman Ride…nice/smooth.. With the confront of the seat, seat belt, roll bar and nets its just awesome in my view and will be a game changer …This thing is surprising peppy and I'm willing to bet the Ace would give your Suzuki 500 a run for its money, there is only 6 HP difference between your 500 and 325 and Polaris did a nice job on the clutching…My ACE is loaded out with top.full windshield,f/b bumpers,winch and storage box and she top out a 52mph the other day at 3500 ' above sea level.. have no idea how accurate the speedometer is.. But I too can't wait until a new motor is dropped in the Ace and I'm thinking in July when the new Polaris Models are released.. You live in great friendly ATV state as I do…idahopilgrim.
My point is, they have an ATV that is 200 pounds lighter and has more horsepower with a motor nearly twice the displacement - it just did not make make sense to put a smaller motor in a heaver vehicle. I am just trying to get my head around this decision.
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Comparing an Ace to a atv is kind of like apples to oranges! No one has ever said that the Ace was better or more powerful than some atvs, it's an alternative, it's safer, (ROPS roll cage, wide stance, seat belts lower center of gravity) Polaris states that the Ace has power comparable to a Sportsman 500, period. If where you ride the elevation reduces the HP by 33% than you may need a 650cc or greater machine!! Just don't buy an Ace yet. I do think if the Ace concept takes off, Polaris will put a larger more powerful motor in one, I hope. But for a first time machine this thing is the Bomb!! Just look back at all of the other first time efforts from the manufacturers, talk about slow, under suspended and dangerous "TURDS".
Everyone makes good points, I do know for my type of riding more HP will be nice and I will wait for that to happen. There are times when we ride in the four corners area we are on roads that we can move along at 50 to 55 mph for 20 mile or so, and this is where the 500 Suzuki will run that with plenty to spare 65mph top end and the ace would be full bore in these times. Once you have had a certain performance level it is very hard to slow down with something less. I am sure it will work for allot of people but just not right for my type of riding.
One last thing here, no one talks about torque, You can't get around that a larger motor will make more torque and this is very important also when you are talking performance. The larger motor will tend to make more torque down lower where you can use it on a trail machine.
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I believe you are right. But for the riding style here in the tight woods back East, we average about 20 - 25 MPH, so the Ace has speed to spare! Several of our trails are 4 wheel drive and low range, twisting and turning through the trees, up and down hills and through creeks and streams. Besides the Ace I have 2 RZRs and to be honest I have no idea how fast they can go topped out in high range. Even on the fast trails 35-40 seems pushing it, trees go by awfully fast!!
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Hang in there, I know the waiting is tough!! It will be very interesting to get your high altitude report!!!
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I think the ACE at its price point and the way it is equipped, performs, confront and the Blast Factor is the very best value in the ATV world today! …Do I want more performance HP, EPS, EBS you bet I do but it will come at a price that I willing to pay.. This Ace is a winner and it will change the industry as we know it.. …My Polaris 2 up XP 850 , LE, loaded ATV is gone when Polaris puts a 570+ in the Ace..I will no longer have standard ATV. My wife loves the Ace… so I will have to get one.. My favorite toy is still my 900 XP Ranger it is priceless and has done everything I have every asked it to do…
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928sport You have an exceptional fast Suzuki 500 38 HP especially with all the equipment you carry..that can go 65 mph+…the Suzuki's must not have a rev limiter on them..The Ace has a rev limiter. But I agree with having a XP 850 and the power it has and then driving the ACE there is a HP difference but the Blast factor driving the Ace makes a lot up on the power difference.
65 is tops, It run runs very well for a 500. I ride a 2013 XP850 we know they are good for about 75 to 76 mph. My point is that where the ACE is all over at 50 and less then that is you climb up, I would not won't to ride the thing flat out for long periods. People back east just don't know how much open space we have out west. As for the Suzuki if it has a rev limiter I have never hit it, it dose have very good torque also.
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One of the points that gets overlooked is starting price point when introducing something unique to the market at the same time as they are offering it to a target audience. Had Polaris introduced this first run as a Fox Shox suspended high HP monster it would have easily been a minimum of $3000 more putting it over $10K stripped down and falling to line with the 50" RZR at a starting point. So keeping it as reasonable as possible and build it basic and simple at the same time for the first product makes sense to me.
Next they have to look at the overall user of the product. When you look at who buy's these machines for a specific use. Just thinking about the US, I would say that the potential use of extreme high elevation back country riders who always pack a literal half ton+ of supplies on top of their ride is probably about a tenth of 1 percent of the use of any atv. So really low percentage. No mass producing manufacture can or will produce ten thousand machines with only a specific market of a couple hundred end users in mind.
So is the ACE for everyone? Not by a long shot. It is what it is. And in its current form, it may not be for the hardcore extreme user. Another thought that makes sense to me is what happens had Popo brought this out with a fire breathing engine and marketed it at the novice/first time buyer? Im going to guess that many of them would be flooding service departments in no time for mainly small stuff...like nuts and bolts that rattle loose and end up breaking more expensive parts. Something that does happen when you introduce high HP engines into these things and hand the keys over to novice riders who only want to put gas in it and ride...not do maintenance that is absolutely required on big hp machines. No manufacture wants to start reading on these or any forums, that for every 20 machines dealers sell, 18 of them end up sitting in the service dept. parking lots while waiting for the inevitable back ordered parts.
Next they have to look at the overall user of the product. When you look at who buy's these machines for a specific use. Just thinking about the US, I would say that the potential use of extreme high elevation back country riders who always pack a literal half ton+ of supplies on top of their ride is probably about a tenth of 1 percent of the use of any atv. So really low percentage. No mass producing manufacture can or will produce ten thousand machines with only a specific market of a couple hundred end users in mind.
So is the ACE for everyone? Not by a long shot. It is what it is. And in its current form, it may not be for the hardcore extreme user. Another thought that makes sense to me is what happens had Popo brought this out with a fire breathing engine and marketed it at the novice/first time buyer? Im going to guess that many of them would be flooding service departments in no time for mainly small stuff...like nuts and bolts that rattle loose and end up breaking more expensive parts. Something that does happen when you introduce high HP engines into these things and hand the keys over to novice riders who only want to put gas in it and ride...not do maintenance that is absolutely required on big hp machines. No manufacture wants to start reading on these or any forums, that for every 20 machines dealers sell, 18 of them end up sitting in the service dept. parking lots while waiting for the inevitable back ordered parts.
I gotta say for the 28-30" tires I plan on putting on anything I ride this engine surely would be underpowered and I'm looking forward to whatever new engines they offer in the ace. It's a great looking machine and a new direction for our sport. Good on Polaris for this move.
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Well 928sport and Quinting, I guess we'll never convince you guys that the Ace does have a very usable, fun powerband that works great in the tighter trails that we ride. My advice would be, don't buy one and hopefully in the near future Polaris will put a bigger motor in one that will suit your needs. And by the way if they do, I'll be in line with you guys to buy one, because these things are a BLAST!!!!
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