Well, after months of talking about it I finally went out and got me one. I traded my 98 Scrambler 500HO on it. I've had 6 years of white knuckle riding and it served it's purpose well.....but it was time to move into something more practical. I'll admit that I looked at all the various brands and I kept coming back to the Polaris brand.

Anyway, I've only got about 2 miles on it so far. I'm trying to be respectful of my fellow hunters and not ride while the season is open. I really like what I have experienced so far, not that I thought I'd be dissappointed.

My question is about the RPM and the PVT system. I read in the owners manual about when to use low and high ranges (an option I never had on the Scrambler). Anyway it explains about how using the lower range will mean higher RPM but longer belt life and PVT components.<which I thoroughly understand because I melted my clutch cover mainly due to riding with slower riders>. I was wondering exactly what is the safe upper RPM limit of my machine, which most people refer to as the redline? I understand what Polaris is trying to convey in keeping the RPM's up so that your clutch has plenty of "pinch". But if I am in low range and really winding it out how far can I go and when should I be worried about blowing the thing up? I'd rather burn the belt up than burn the motor up. Probably something I'll never have to worry about but just thought I'd ask. I feel this is one of the few places that one can ask dumb questions without much ridicule.

Glad to be a member of the utility group now, looking to do some rock crawling instead of carving up the woods at 65 mph. I must admit the Scramblers are very confidence inspiring, now I feel like I am driving like a wuss.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

I have an 01 Sportsman and my rule of thumb is, if I'm on level ground running steady at over 10 mph I use high range and if running steady under 10 mph I use LO. If I'm running in mud I use LO if going up long steep hills I use LO. I get over 2000 miles out of a belt with no wear to the chivs so it works for me. I'm sure others on this forum will have there own rules that work for them but this is mine.

 

Traildog,

Thanks for the info. That is pretty much what I planned on doing. I've used the low range a few times so far. I was just curious about the upper RPM range. Being that it is a four stroke I figure a safe number to stay UNDER is 6000 rpm....over that (for sustained periods) and I'll probably end up doing some damage. I took a short trip the other day in low range and I was doing like 15mph and I think the RPMs were at 5300. Only took it that high momentarily so I don't suspect I hurt anything.

I have discovered a unique "problem" with the Sportsman already. Because it has the highest ground clearance available the rear hitch is also higher than normal. The yard cart that I am used to using doesn't really work because the hitch is too high. So now I am playing with the idea of getting a new trailer to pull around. I know I could get a hitch adapter to lower the hitch point but I think I need a bigger trailer anyway. The other one is really small (like 10cu ft) and made for a lawn mower. Interesting. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

On the trailer I went from a 10 to a 17cubic feet one and the hitch is still high. Was going to buy one of those 3 way drop ones. As for the ranges, I pretty much leave in high unless pulling, going less than 10, going through woods, plowing.... guess I do use lo a lot.