Here are the comments from the 2004 FourTrax Rincon GPScape 650 rider that I traded machines for an hour on the trails @ fox valley motocross, IL.

1. The Polaris sportsman 500ho feels like you could ram a tree and keep going ... Honda feels light.
2. Stock tires have much better mud traction then the Honda, but harder ride on packed dirt (I agree on this point).
3. It's a pain to stop and shift from low to high - we were riding allot of tight trails well under 20mph, I told him to keep in it low, then go to high for the roads between trails.
4. LOVED EBS when in low gear, a little scary in high (I found the same EBS is great in low, but locks up to quickly in high) ... Honda doesn't have EBS.
5. Steering is harder (ohhhh yesss... the Honda’s steering is very easy)
6. Same top speed ... but the Polaris will get there about one machine length faster. (We dragged raced riding the others machine)

We rode all over the tails ... mud holes ... drag racing ... hills (up and down some you can't go up) ... creek bed (water up over my radiator).
We agreed the Honda Rincon 650 is a close match for the Sportsman 500HO. Since this is a Polaris group I didn’t post my Honda comments.

 

Is it really necessary to use low gear when on the trail? I would say its more for towing, plowing, maybe even if you were doing some serious rock climbing for extended periods of time...

Reason is my Boss doesnt even have low, but Im pretty sure they built it to be able to tackle some tough (2wd of course) trail climbs and such...

Didnt give me any trouble on hatfield trails except when I got it wet of course. And there were some pretty gnarly LOW speed rocky climbs there...

 

I found when traveling under 20mph and on tight trails with hills, mud, and water ... just staying in low helps to keep the RPMs up in the 4000's, rather then driving in high and RPMs in the 2000's ... hopefully that will extend belt life, as well as giving me more power/toque when needed.

 

2004sp500ho i agree with you in of your comments except the drag racing part. How many miles did the rinny have on it? if it had only a few miles it would considerably slower than one with around 300 to 400 miles. around 3-4 lengths slower. other than that i agree with you totally

 

You are correct that using low gear at the right times will extend belt life. Polaris recommends using low gear if you are going 20mph or slower. The best time to use low gear is large hills and/or ones you can't get a running start on,mud,pulling, plowing, etc. In low gear it has better takeoff as it doesn't have as much lag as high gear does. I was wondering the same thing about the drag race. The rincon should have easily outran the SP500.

 

I have 224 miles and he had 260 miles.

 

I don't like super easy steering. But then I'm a pretty strong guy, and I never noticed that the Sportsman steered difficultly at all. One of the reasons I ride is to get out and get a little exercise so I guess I wouldn't mind anyway. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

If the SP 700 has a different engagement RPM, then that would make sense. But the 700 manual says any time you go 7mph or slower for any length of time.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: Elbongo
You are correct that using low gear at the right times will extend belt life. Polaris recommends using low gear if you are going 20mph or slower.

Polaris recomends using low when goin 7 mph or slower for any extened period of time.

I kinda agree, it sometimes gets old stopping to swap from low to high and back. I usually leave mine in low, except when riding smooth trails at about 15 mph or faster, any other time I leave it in low for mud, rocks, hills, etc.