Military ATV In Action!

Cassandra

• November 28 2008
• 982 views
• 2 comments

How many people can say that an ATV saved their life? Well, we know of one guy for sure. In fact, it was a soldier riding through hostile territory. He was aboard a Polaris MV800, like the one pictured here, and he drove over a landmine. He wrote a letter to Polaris after the fact and said that the ATV saved his life because it took the brunt of the damage. Had he been walking, he probably wouldn’t be around to tell his story. But thanks to the ATV he was riding, he is alive and well. That’s an incredible story, and we wanted to know more about the machine that can take a hit from a landmine!

While we think of ATVs as a way to escape, have fun, and be adventurous, the military views ATVs as effective and useful tools. The United States Army has been using Polaris ATVs for years to help move people and supplies in some of the roughest and dangerous territory in the world. We think it’s pretty cool that ATVs can be used for so many applications, from hunting to joy riding to tactical military maneuvers!

The Polaris MV800 has a 760cc twin-cylinder four-stroke engine. It has a drum-shift automatic transmission with on-demand all-wheel drive. But this isn’t any regular ATV with a couple of extras thrown in. The MV800 is a full-blown, heavy-duty military vehicle. It weighs 1,090 pounds and can carry 200 pounds on the front rack, 400 pounds on the rear, and it has a towing capacity of 1,500 pounds. It also has heavy-duty winches, both front and rear, to pull it out of really rough terrain.

The suspension and underbody of the MV800 is also specially made for military purposes. The heavy-duty suspension can handle the load of all that rack capacity along with a fully geared rider and still soak up hits on rocks and other debris. It has a ground clearance of 10.5 inches and has full skidplates underneath to make it nearly landmine-proof! It also has run-flat tires and dual fuel tanks to keep it going and going and going.

One of the coolest features of this ATV is it’s “air droppable.” What does that mean? Well, it can be dropped from a cargo plane into remote territory! How cool is that? It has a top speed of about 58 mph, which is pretty impressive considering the weight of the vehicle.

Even though this machine wasn’t made for adventuring like we’re used to, it’s certainly seen more adventure than all of us put together. We’re glad the U.S. Military uses quads!

Polaris MV800

ENGINE
Type: 760cc twin-cylinder four-stroke with liquid cooling
Fuel System: Spark-ignited direct injection

Drivetrain
Drive: 4WD shaft
Transmission: Drumshift automatic PVT with high, low, neutral, reverse, park

Suspension
Front: MacPherson strut with 8.2 inches of travel
Rear: Independent with 9.5 inches of travel

Brakes
Front: Single-lever dual hydraulic disc
Rear: Hydraulic rear foot break with single disc

Tires
Front: 25×8-12 run flat
Rear: 25×8-23 run flat

Dimensions
Length/Width/Height (in.): 89/48/58
Ground Clearance (in.): 10.5
Dry Weight (lb.): 1,042
Fuel Capacity (gal.): 4.75 front, 4 rear

Body
Color: Military green