I have a short fuse when it comes to people doing mods on their rides and not knowing what they are going to get when you do the change. Do your home work first, it's cheaper and you end up with something that works. As to being satisfied with factory, not even close. I have never owned any vehicle that stayed stock. I have also been my own race team and set records and won regional, divisional and even National championships with mostly outdated equipment by getting everything there was out of it. But I do research before I buy or change and it does not help to just spend more money to change other things to cover what you screwed up. You need to get smarter. If you can't stand the truth, don't ask the question. The truth is don't change it unless you know what you are doing and definatly don't change it cause someone else did it. Most guys are riding to their machines to their full potential when they start doing mods. Learn your equipment and get the most out of it before you start changing things. The only way you will now what needs changing is to ring out all there is in your machine and then see what needs changing for your style of riding. Read my signiture and those things are the truth.

 

My opinion is that if you have the money for it and you want it, get it.

I had 27" tires on my 99 AC 500, and while it did take away a little of the power, it didn't drag it down hard by any means. I say just stick with it, and you will get used to it fairly soon. You got the tires for a reason. Remember that reason.

As far as all this "Don't buy something you don't need, and think first", well hell, thats hindsight 20/20 and so is life. Forget that crap. Unless your family starved because you spent the last dime on a set of tires, then you don't have anything to worry about.

 

Andy; It is not only wasteful but stupid to spend money modifing something so that it performs worse. Why not just dump water in the gas tank, which would be free and have the same result. It's not about how much you spend. It's about spending what you do wisely. Making it work better is the goal, not screwing it up.

 

It is when you are in your 60's, not when you are in your 20's or 30's. What is money? Freakin paper unless you use it. You aint takin it with you. Why the hell do we own and ride these things??? Seriously? For fun, for amusement, to enjoy. If putting chrome rims and lift kits, pipes, gun racks, brush guards, 28" tires, auxilary lighting, tube bumpers, or any of that stuff on your quad makes it more fun to enjoy by any means, then thats the point.

His quad isn't ruined because he has a set of 27" tires on it. There are a ton of 500's running around with the same tires and the folks that are driving them are probably having a pretty good time with them.

Performs worse? You mean you can't drag race with it? Well hell, not a whole lot of AC 500's winning drags very often anyway. The quad will pull the tires, it will perform much better in mud and snow. It won't hang up on rocks as much with the increase in ground clearance. And it is by no means overburdened by the larger tire size that it is not every bit as capable in every aspect of riding it other than acceleration. I had an AC 500, I had 27" Tri/Bi-Claws on it. They are heavier than 589's. Mine never suffered. Yes its a little slower than stock, but it did not bog down under a load, and it destroyed the mud.


This guy asked a question about modifications for a power increase. I seriously doubt he was asking for a lecture on the negative subject of accessorizing, cause and effect, or the moral ethics of being stupid and wastefull. To be honest, he hasn't got much for $hit in the way of answering his original question so far.

 

seeing as I have a 500 and wanted to do some performance mods I did some research and all I can really find for them is jet kts, pipes, clutch kits, and filters no igniton module, or anything else (I figure maybe 5 hp and a little better low torque with all that). not sure if it is possible but maybe you could have the head shaved to bump the compression and run a little higher octane or go to a bigger bore maybe a port and polish, but that would be rather expensive and a pain but if you really feel you need the extra HP it may be worth a thought.

 

Andy, We have had these discussions before and you and I basiclly agreed to disagree. But drag racing isn't what quads are mainly about. Oh yeah, don't be pushing me into the 60 year old bracket any faster than I'm getting there. It's comming way to soon anyway. However I grew up in a very upper middle class family with a lot more money than the average family had in the 50's and 60's. Hell, we even had a pool by the time I was in high school. So I didn't learn smart, money and time investment from my parents. I learned from experience of myself and others (that's the one that cost you nothing, learning from other peoples mistakes) that the right way and wrong way to do things and the right way makes for a less work intensive and costly project. You don't become a winner by being wasteful and stupid with your time and money. I have been a winner since I was in my 20's by using the smart part before the money and muscle part. If you do more with less, then you have more to do other things with. Works for both time and money.

 

Andy good, bear, bad. Bad bear, bad...

There was a guy on highlifter running 29.5 laws on his polaris 500, maybe bear could go there and yell at everyone too...

Yes, it is not the best idea to buy tires bigger than you need from a power standpoint. However, since splint is only asking how to get back some low end, and not whining about how terrible the power is now, I think its safe to say that he didnt go too overboard.

The point of this post is to help splint. If you dont plan on doing that or telling him how to get help, then I suggest you just leave this thread alone as your responses are not positive contributions to the thread.

I thought the 500 was an auto clutch? If it is a belt drive, then new primary and secondary springs will make a big difference.

 

Maddog; Yes "Bad Bear" is another nick name I've earned over the years and I'm to old to change now. All I was trying to do was get people to think about what they are going to do before hand. Cheaper and easier and less stressful. Also why can't he go back to his original tires until he finds they power(not likely with out more major expense), they can't be wore out unless he's a pavement pig.

 

Why does he need to go back at all? He didnt say his quad is unrideable, nor is he really even complaining. He just wants some more low end to go with the tires...

27" tires on a 500 does not cause that bad of a power loss. I ran 26" mudders on a rancher 350 and while it lost power it made up for it ten fold on traction and off road ability.

 

Isnt easier to say "I don't know", than to bust the guys nuts? Sheeeesh!


I don't have experience with your machine, but in general, do some research on:

Clutching- when looking for a clutch kit, be certain of what you DON'T want. If you rock crawl, you certainly don't want to have a high engagement. Consider driveability, and what type of riding you do. Ask the manufacturer, when in doubt.

Airbox mods: Again, research what you can do without killing another aspect. Drilling additional air holes in the top (Before the filter) will allow it to breathe better, but the water fording capabilites may suffer. Will just a high flow filter work?

Camshafts: Available for your model? Maybe. Will it do what you want? Maybe. Research.

Carburation: Is your bike jetted properly for your elevation? Plug readings? Do you go up/down large elevation changes? Winter riding? It all effects jetting. R word.

Exhaust: Buy or modify. Sound level important? Find out before, and does it make REAL power or does the noise "make it go faster"? Research.


Now I KNOW you knew this, and were looking for a shortcut, to see if someone already did it. Looks like from the responses that no one has. About an hour of Google search, and searches within each site will yield your answers. Its a shame that some guys have to go off the deep end though....


Jeff