I have an '04 ATP 500 with about 60 hours on it. I think it's somewhere around 300 miles. I mostly use it for light chores around the farm and hunting. Up until the past few weeks it's been perfect.

Two weeks ago I was in the woods checking my feeders and cameras on it. Dry, warm weather. My hunting area is about 600 acres of woods, small clearings, and some very steep hills. When I returned to one of my barns to put the atv away I noticed some very strange drift in the front end. I would try to correct the drift to the left and it would steer very hard then drift to the right. Same thing to the right then drift to the left. I thought it was strange so I gave the entire atv a thorough inspection. Nothing.

Last weekend I was out playing cowboy in the muddy slop with my son and a hunting buddy. We were about a mile or two back in the woods and stopped for about 15 minutes to check a feeder and to get a drink. When I got back on the atv to head for the barn it happened again. This time much worse than the first time. It would pull hard right then hard left. I had a difficult time keeping the thing on the trail. I stopped three times to look under the frame and all around the front suspension. Nothing. I thought I had a flat front tire - but nope. Then I thought I had a rear tire going down - nope. All the steering linkage looks good and is tight.

Anybody experience this? Any ideas? Any suggestions? My dealer is about 40 miles away and I seldom get over that way.

 

Sounds like it may be something in the front diff? Or something in the 4x4 switching malfunctioning causing one side to lock up and not the other??? Possibly your brakes are not releasing in the front? Just some ideas.

 

Were you in AWD. I don't know if they chaned the ATP fron drive or not but the Polaris ATV's do not have a differential that will allow the front tires to turn at different rates. Like when cornering. This is how they have true AWD. Run your bike if AWD then go in reverse with your override button pushed. After you go back a little(20ft) make some corners going backwards but be sure to keep the override button pushed, you will feel the handle bars start to push back in one direction. If this is the same "drift" than it's normal, or atleast every polaris I have ridden is this way. To prevent it dis-engage the AWD and run 2wd when parking. Let me know what you find out, if this isn't it I will clear some more cobwebs and see what else I can come up with.

 

It sounds like you have the AWD set to on. Or the switch has a short in it, because Polaris' AWD system is a fully locked system that will make steering hard if they front end never kicks in and out like the system is supposed to do on its on. For trail riding leave it in "Turf" or 2wd, then when in the mud or you need AWD set it on. Sometimes the system works to good, if the system is not coming out of AWD after you turn the switch to off, put in reverse and back up "with out the override pressed" then put it back in gear. This works most of the time....

 

I don't know if the 04 ATP 500 has the out side hubs like the 04 HO or the central hilliard but it sounds like your hubs are sticking in. I would change the oil in the front hubs....

 

Thanks for the responses.

Yes I have been in AWD every time I experienced this situation. Where I was riding was a little wet and some places were muddy. There were also some steep hills. That is why I was in AWD. I have tried to ride my farm in "turf" mode but usually cannot get enough traction. 2WD works OK but many of my trails are steep and either muddy or lots of rocks.

I went joy-riding with my son yesterday and experienced a new problem with the front end . . . the AWD would not auto-engage every time I got into a slipery situation. Once, on a steep trail, I came to a complete stop with the rear wheels turning but the front would not engage. I applied the hand brake and let the engine idle. I moved the AWD-2WD-Turf switch back and forth a couple of times and when I accellerated everything worked OK. This happened twice in about 4 hours.

I have also developed a "clunk" sound coming from somewhere down there. It does not do it all the time and I can't pin-point where it's coming from. I thought it may have been my trailer hitch. So I removed it and still heard the noise.

I guess I had better get it back to the dealer soon.