I have a 2003 500i with 330 miles on it and it seems slow! I can barely get 50mph out of it and when I ran it against my cousins 400 kodiak down the road, he got me on take off and I could not catch him. What gives? That 400 is a true 100cc less than my 500. I dont mind being beaten by 500 sportsmans but not a 400 kodiak!!! Do I need more break in time or will my take off never improve?

 

also my battery is already dead and won't take a charge. Anyone else experience short battery life?

 

Our 04 400's will only get about 42-43 mph (indicated, which is off what our GPS's say) but I will say that we got that speed after we put considerable miles on ours. The more miles you pile up, the faster they get. How many miles does you cousin have on his?

I frankly don't care about speed, because if I can go over 30 mph safely, then I'm on the wrong road anyway [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] I could be driving my p/u on that road...

 

My 03 500i has about 400 miles on it and it seemed to be slow at the start but has been getting better all the time. My sons 500 sportsman would eat me alive at the begining but it's now a toss up. These utilitys just don't go like a sports bike. It was nice that I got the pleasure of draging the sportsman out of a mud hole while on a deer hunting trip. Give it some miles and I also believe it will improve.

 

You can kill a battery by over or under charging it. Either your bikes system or with a charger, trickle or regular. How often do you have to fill it? Is it now or has it ever been low? Then again it could have been a bad battery, it happens. Really need more info to troubleshoot it.

 

Tom,

I believe you have something wrong with your machine. As the others have said, your machine will feel a lot stronger as your get more miles, as both my bikes did. I have about 600 miles on each and both seem to still be getting better, but my 500 would do better than 50 out of the box and I run these machines at > 7,500 which means a lot less power.

I assume you have checked the "normal" things; fuel flow to the carb, carb & jetting (how's the plug look), blocked exhaust pipe/muffler, plugged air cleaner, belt slippage, and so on. How's your fuel economy? If really ugly then the fuel system is a good starting point.

Do you trust dealer? Try him if you do. If you'd rather go elsewhere and find yourself beyond your abilities then look for a location of an ATV dyno (there must be one in MSP, perhaps Mankato).

Battery. I've had batteries go bad right away. The first was on a two week old Honda. The second time was with a replacement battery (Exide Gel) bought in May. It wouldn't hold a charge. It was replaced last Saturday with a new one. So yes, new batteries can and do go bad. Now, that said, if your battery is very low it there could be enough of a drag on the charging system to affect speed. It wouldn't take too much. If the battery can be brought up to charge with an external charger, but loses charge while on the bike you could have a short. Disconnect the negative side of the battery. With everything off bridge the battery and negative cable with an amp meter - if there is a reading you've got a short. If not, it could be a charging system problem.

I'd get that battery thing fixed first, then go for the speed issue.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Jim

 

my 03 500 manual will hit 55+ (on the dream o meter) no prob ~500 miles on it now...totally stock

 

On a calm wind day, on a level hard gravel road with no loose stones and clear view for other traffic, I opened my 2002 500i-Auto pure stock unit "all the way". She leveled off at 53 MPH and it only had 420 miles on it. That was the first and "last time" I had my unit going that fast. I'm with MrTommy. If you want something faster then 30 mph, sell it and get a Sports Quad or better yet, one of those dune buggies with roll cages. To me, any speeds over 25 mph with a 695 lb utility quad is waiting for a serious accident.

My 2 cents...

.

 

No need to get a sport quad...just trade up for the 650 and you'll get all the speed and utility you need. Granted, I'm with spike99 on the danger of running a 700# machine up around 70. You're not gonna just break a leg if that thing lands on you!

 

The guy who sold me my #2 TRV complained the battery would not hold a charge and one tire kept going flat. It had 4.3 miles on it. The dealer did a bad setup/checkout. There was no acid in the battery and the valve stem was loose. I saved $1900.00 and repaired the two issues in 15 minutes.

Are you running stock tires? I've heard the oversized tires detracts from top end speeds.

I don't want to go over 50mph. Not on these things anyways. If I want to be scared I'll go jump out of a perfectly good airplane or fly 200mph 4 feet off the ground.

These ATV things can be dangerous.