I am considering a new 500HO Sportsman. A friend of mine said he read that the independant rear suspension is great up to 35mph, anything over that and it gets a little squirrly. Anyone have this experience? Other thougts on the Sportsman series would be appreciated!

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I raced my buddy on a gravel road who also has a 500 HO and we were doing 60 mph with no problems. If it's getting squirly at 35 mph the tires must be low on pressure or something.

 

Thanks for the reply... any other observations? There are a ton of ATV's out there. It would be nice if they all just showed up at my farm with their respective machines and let me take a day to decide - now that would be a marketing concept!

 

I have a new 600 twin and it is extremely stable. I do not have a lot of experience on other machines to compare but I have already had mine up to 55mph on blacktop roads and on rough gravel roads with pot holes and it never seemed the slightest bit unstable. So far other than an oil pump malfunction I love the machine. Ryan

 

Wrong,Think about it,,,,,
IRS grabs the contour of the trail
Stright axle throws the *** end all over the place.

 

I dont bash brands.I have owned all other brands and each one has there own pro's and con's. I have never owned a Sportsman but my father inlaw has a 500. I love that thing.It is by far the best utility atv i have ever rode. Around where i live Polaris rules the farm,trails,and mud.Very reliable,stable,True 4x4,and the power is great.

 

I have never ridden any quad that felt as stable at 60MPH as the SP500s or 700s do. I have had many other bikes and have ridden many that belong to friends. I remember my Grizzly600 back in 98, that thing scared me above 50 mph.

 

hey draebi what happen to your oil pump ,and was it warranty if not what did it cost [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

sp700,
A head off one of the bolts that holds the oil pump in place broke of and stripped out like 3 of the 4 gears in the pump. I thought something broke loose in the engine when it happened and still have my reservations as to whether there was any engine damage done. I am pleased with my dealer and they showed me and explained why they think there was no engine damage done but I still do not see how some of the metal shavings did not get in the engine and for the short time the engine ran while the pump was locked up I would think it would have scored the cylinders. The bike had 6 hours on it when this happened so I was rather ticked off but I guess these things happen sometime and since I have 3 1/2 years warranty if there was engine damage it will show itself soon enough. So far so good but I have only put about 2 more hours on it since I got it back. Other than this problem I really have enjoyed the bike and am looking forward to riding with some of my friends that have 660 Grizzlies so I can compare. Thanks, Ryan

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] Thanks for the replies... keep 'em coming! Honest evaluations are always welcome!