a customer of mine asked me to look into lifting his 08 500HO because he rides in the snow often and needs the clearance to stop the bottom from dragging....i want to make sure the atv stays reliable for him so i was thinking 2inches max and 26inch tires....u think he'll have any issues with that setup?
you guys recommend any lifts?

 

Catvos or highlifter make a nice 2" lift. If staying with stock axles I wouldn't go with more than that. Tires can probably run 2" bigger than stock comfortably. Might want to look into a clutch kit to help turn the bigger tires and get some more low end grunt. Another option is going with highlifter hd springs in the rear and popo hd springs with the lift pucks up front if the customer doesn't mind a stiffer ride. Best option yet is to get a set of tracks. They're the cat's meow in pretty much anything. Well worth the $ if riding in snow a lot.

 

A lift is hard on the stock front axles. I dont know that I would reccommend it. I have a High Lifter 2" lift with HD springs and I have broken CVs on a regular basis. The outer front CVs bind in sharp turns and snap like twigs. I recently replaced my stock axles with Gorrillas to cure this problem.

 

Rubber down customs makes a real nice lift, I have the 3" lift on my sp500, gorilla axles are a must for the 3". They also have a 2" lift.

 

the biggest issues which is mentioned above is the breaking of axles becuase of the angles involved. most are going w/ the gorilla axles that help alot but still wont last as long as a stock set up. also you should be able to put 27" tires on highth wise w/out going to a lift for a little extra clearance. imo.

 

I snapped a cv with a BRAND new 500HO with a 2" lift at 19 miles and the other at 90 miles..so My thinking is not to lift the rear at all I run 29.5 Outlaws and have the Homemade lift done by Stendori and it makes it Look good..Rids a little stiff but it works awesome and NO Problems..Even with the Laws that are Hell on any Bike..I ride slow anyway...