Hey gents and ladies, I was wondering how you all like the low range can be driven up to 39 mph feature? I sometimes get frustrated going in and out of slow technical crawling and more open driving. I was wondering how good the low range up to 39 mph is working out? With my 2 machines you don't want to go over 15 in low, so I find myself stopping and shifting in the varying terrain we have here in New England. With the XP my understanding is that you can go up to 39 mph in low or something like that. Do you notice any loss in low end grunt from previous machines? And, is it screaming when you get up near the limit?

 

It's awesome. It makes trail riding much better. It gets loud as you get up to around 30, but not too loud. I can't speak to previous machines, but it definitely has enough low end.

 

I can ride up to 25mph in low without over reeving the motor, I can ride the slow trails fine in High also but it just does not crawl as nice over rough technical stuff while in high range. Can,t wait for the first ATV that can go to either range while on the fly.

 

Can't speak about the 550 but the 850 has PLENTY of low end grunt,I was suprised that even with the higher low range it seemed to pull my little pop up camper(1500#) around easier than my 08 800. Mine would hit the rev limiter in low at about 40-41,so at that speed yes the motor is screaming,but cruising along at 20-25 in low it isn't bad at all. On the trails I ride that require switching into low frequently you wouldn't need to or be able to ever go above 20-25 so I would just leave it in low for the most part unless I hit an open stretch where I would be running above say 20 for a long period of time.

 

The low on the XP is way more usable than the old SP's. I ride in an area where you stay in low for a good bit, the switch to high for a stretch, and it goes back and forth like that for the whole trail. It's not like your constantly switching back and forth. It only takes a second anyways.

 

It's here already. Called the Sportsman 400HO. I luv the versatility of the PVT trans.

 

Even easier is the 500 Scrambler and new Sportsman 400 H.O, no low range period to even bother having to decide. Yamaha 350 Briun/grizzly is another one.

I think those ATV are clutched differently so having no low range is not as big of a concern.

 

That is a good question. I would like to know how fast you can run with the 550 in low. Is it the same as the 850? When work for me picks back up I'm going to be looking hard at an xp. I feel that a 550 is more than enough for me as I mostly trail ride and never get over 30mph with the exception of straight aways. More tech. riding than speed.

 

Right on TLC. Try out the 400 and you'll see what we mean. I've got both, and think the 400 has the superior system.

 

I have looked at the Scrammy and Sportsman 400. I would look like a trained bear on a tricycle on the mid sized Sportsman. I like the grunt of a 500+ engine especially when I'm dragging a large trailer full of wet firewood. If things pan out, I'm going to look at the XP X2 in the future and was curious about the low range. It's not a huge issue but the idea of being able to stay in low up to the mid 30s is very appealling. Most of our riding is under 25 and maybe 10% is over that so it's a definite plus if it is as good as you gents suggest. Thanks for all the replies.