Well today was the first day since i got my bike that I didn't work and it wasn't raining, so my buddy and I went for a ride in out fav. area of crown land. He has a 05 Honda Rubicon 500 with a Dynojet, UNI filter and 27" Excavators. Fairly comparable bikes in my oppinion, so lets get to the ride.

1. All of the puddles and mudholes are frozen over with about 1 1/2" of ice, With enough speed sometimes you can skip across them, sometimes not. The Honda being lighter did better skipping them but when the ice broke he was in trouble. The 3 wheel drive did not fair too well compared the my AWD, and I think the weight of my bike helped break the ice more to get down to the mud. Score 1 for Polaris

2. We ride a good trail system with varried terrain. On the fast parts with lots of bumps and twistys the Honda seemed more nible and easier to throw around that mine. Score 1 for Honda

3. We found some deep rutted mud holes, and with IRS and true 4X4 went way better than the Honda with the solid axle. No surprise there. Score 2 for Polaris

4. One trail we hit had a VERY steep rock hill that was about 30' from top to bottom. My bike with EBS and ADC in low range was very comfortable going down it although the ADC sounds like wet brakes when it engages. The poor Honda was in low range as well but he fought the brakes the whole way down and the Honda brakes still suck even with disks up front. They still don't feel good. Score 3 for Polaris

5. By the end of the day I had about 6 hours on my bike and it was time to race. On packed gravel in high range, 2wd I got off of the line about a bike length and thats how it stayed till about 55mph then I started to creep away. I thought I would have done better but I think the EFI computer is still holding it back a bit. I guess I'll wait untill it breaks in a bit more and try again. Score 4 for Polaris

6. Fuel mileage is always an issue for us as we tend to ride for 5-9 hours in a day, sometimes we bring fuel, sometimes not. I had'nt had the fuel cap off my bike at all, whatever the dealer put in was all I had (showed full but who knows how much was in it) and the Honda was topped off before the ride. By the end of the day at 47 miles of hard riding my fuel light was flashing 2 miles from the trucks and the Honda was 1 bar from empty. I don't know who was actually better, another ride will decide when I fill mine for the next ride.

I don't really know what else to compare, but if you guys think of something I forgot let me know lol
I'm really glad I bought another Polaris and EFI is so nice in the winter. In some spots I miss the Scrammy but in the mud and ice today the ground clearance wins me over every time. Glad to be part of this growing sport and CAPER if you read this we should meet up for a ride before the snow is too deep!

Merry Christmas to All

 

Congrats on the new ride. I have a little over 200 miles on mine now. Just looking at your notes. The EBS will quiet down after a few miles. Mine makes no noice at all. The gas mileage will also improve. The first two rides I went on, mine got 15 1/2 miles per gallon. The 3rd ride it got 17 1/2 miles per gallon. I did do a few creek crossings yesterday and found a small amount of water in the oil. Not much but I will be looking it over real good to see where it came from. I think it may have come from power washing it. Not sure though. May just be at the pull rope hole. Anyway, I just traded in my BF 750 and although it was a fun machine I could not be happier.

 

Also look at the vent hose from the top of the oil resivoir. It has a slit in it to vent crankcase pressure. When the oil gets hot the excess air is purged and when you rapidly cool the resivoir and the slit is submerged in water it will draw water into the tank. My Scrambler was the same way and I relocated it higher up to avoid the same situation.

And the EBS is silent, it's the ADC that seems a little noisy. It only made noise going down a steep rock hill, I could feel it engage in the bars and disengage when I got back on the throttle. But I'm not too worried about it, at least I know it works.

 

I've got a few hours on 2007 Sportsman 500 X2 I got Friday...so far so good. In the past 2 days, I've sure made more progress compared to foot traffic scoping out a farm that's been in our family many years. Lots of terrain changes...I really got tired busting my rear sliding on leaves and pine straw on the hillsides. There are some old ATV trails with 2" saplings in the middle. I think a brush guard is necessary for this type of fun.

The machine never missed a beat. I was really impressed at a dry creek that was 45 deg. down and up. I thought the front end would blade out the bank before the front wheels crossed with the approuch angle, but not so. It motored right thru with me and my wife and straight up the other side. I can't hammer it much in this area...it's mainly twisting around trees or over em. This is my 1st ATV..spent many years on road cycles, so stradling a seat with handle bars seemed the best fit vs. a Mule style machine.

My gas gauge hasn't moved....are they pretty accurate or do they show full up to half full and dive in the last half?

Is it better to use L range to keep the RPMs up at a speed not much faster that walking. Reason I ask...I read where it takes X amount of RPMs to make the clutch and drive belt ?? grab and low RPMs could make it slip and shorten the life.

Greg
2007 Sportsman 500 X2

 

Look at the time... Merry Christmas!

n5lfh, Welcome to the forum. I don't have a 4X but have read here that Low Range is best on the belt when at a steady speed of less than 20 MPH and/or under load. Someone here will tell you the same or correct me, but I think I'm close. If I was new to these, and had one like you, I would carry an extra belt too, and tools to field change it.

Be cool riding 2 on the steep hills even with the X2. You're new and I would hate for you to flip. Even the experienced can flip on the very steep hills but much worse with 2 on board.

Nice quad.

 

Great to here you like the 2007 ride (E.F.I. )....It was so nice today (Christmas) Me and the wife were just thinking about a ride...But Family time at home came first today!!!!.....However Boxing day is another story....We were thinking about going on the 26'th but don't know for sure yet..........Where do you guys leave from in Bracebridge? Do you trailer them or leave from your home?.......I more than likely did some snowmobiling on the same trails if they are on Crown land like you said.........Do you have the Trail numbers near-by so I have an idea where you go......We should hook-up..Thanks........Caper..........Huntsville.......

 

You can send me a P.M. tonight if you plan on riding tomorrow!!!!!...........Your spot or mine?.....................caper.............

 

n5lfh, welcome to the forum. To answer the question about the fuel gauge, I've found it to be pretty accurate as long as you are not moving. I haven't got to the place where it starts flashing at me yet except for when I first bought it. I think they put an eyedroppers worth of gas to make sure it ran. :-) It seems to be very good on gas in the mixed driving we do in New England. I calculated it out to be about 19-20 miles per gallon on average. To answer another of your questions, it is best to use it in low range when pulling a trailer, on the steeps, in the rocks, in the mud, or in any situation where you are going below 10 mph. It will keep the belt from wearing prematurely for the reasons you stated in your question. Hope this helps.