I am for sure going to be snatching me up a 550 xp in the next week, wondering if any buddy here has one with tracks one it, curious how you think the new suspension system and frame work handles the stress and load and if it has enough HP for the track set up..


-thanks much in advance>

 

I hav a 550 and I think it would handle tracks but in my opinion you would be better off with 800 or 850. I have driven both single and twin with tracks and would never consider tracks unles I had a twin. Just my opinion..

 

Mongrol has a 400 and said the tracks are just fine and i believe i read that he put them on his hawkeye (300) with little issue......the 550 has lots of power for them just know you won't break any land speed records with em"!!!i personally wouldn't run em if there was no snow but i like speed.....they do look cool when travelling in the mud but if you never get stuck what fun is that??JMO

 

D. SWAN,
I have an 08 500X2 with Prospector Pro Tracks and personally I think that it has plenty power to run these tracks. I put approximately 450-500 miles on since the track installation in Jan and yet to experience any difficulties. Just this weekend a couple of high powered, long track snowmobiles tried to follow my trail and after about 3-4 miles I had to go back only to find one stuck and the other one had turned back!
No doubt these would perform with a twin pushing them but I had my set-up doing 53 MPH on the lake yesterday, 45MPH towing a 440 snowmobile with a blown-up motor. If you buy the XP with the power steering option I think they would steer like a dream. Some of the people that told me the 500 was too small for the track kit have since changed their minds now. I just skid wood to the camp this time of year as you don't need a trailer or sleigh to haul with the tracks. My X2 is also 100% stock other than the track kit! Hope this was helpful,
Follow @own risk!

 

550 will have lots of power but it'll depend on how you want to use them. Most quads, regarless of size seem to top out about 30-35 mph if you're running Tatous, Commanders, or TJDs. The Prospector are faster because they are higher geared. If @ownrisk gets that top end, you'll have no problem with the 550.

My 300CC Hawkeye will go/climb anywhere but its pretty slow. However the 400HO (455CC) takes me anywhere you could want to go and cruises nicely.

You just have to decide how you want to use them cause normally, you can't have it both ways. Grunt or Go.

 

I've got my tracks on a 08 700 x2 and they're great. I've put 450 (odometer) miles on my machine since the middle of January.

My nephew put tracks on his 500 x2 in 06 and ran it hard for 3 years. He road my 700 and was impressed with the power difference, but he said that he had over 1700 miles (actual) on his setup and it worked fine. He mentioned that there were many times where a little more power would have let him shift up into high gear and cruise home faster, but the 500 did everything he asked of it.

He did trade his 06 500 in for a 08 700 x2 as our local dealer had some leftover 08's this winter.

One thing to realize about tracks is the gear reduction. 1.7 mile on the speedo = 1 mile actual. Also you will find that more fuel will be needed, my 700 has a 6 gal tank and I average 9 miles per gallon. I know my nephew always figured 40 miles actual was his limit with the 500.

Make sure you get a good winch cause when you get a quad w/tracks stuck you are STUCK. The up side is you harldy ever get stuck like the snowmobilers do.

 

Good post WFO. Power becomes less of a consideration with the non Prospector Pro tracks that I mentioned, due to the lower gearing. The pros are a 30% reduction while the others are 40-55% reductions that are easier to use with the smaller engined atv's. My E-Tatous, snow only are about 50% reduced.

The pros seem better for bigger engines where there is more top end power available to use the higher gear and is pretty noticable.

I think thats why its so important to know how you want to use your tracks before buying.

 

DavidXP.................you are a siiiiiiick siiiiiiick man!!!!!!!!!!!! I will never be able to watch the Simpsons again without your avatar sticking in my head !!!