I am new to the forum. Last week my wife and I bought a new 2002 500i with winch and snow plow. It is a big machine. I haven"t had time to ride it much. Is there anything I need to watch out for that could cause future problems? The ball joints were taken care by the dealer already. Thanks

 

I've got an '02 500i auto, here's my $0.02..
...I had to modify the seat latching system on mine; I simply had to use a utility knife to remove some of the plastic around the hole where the seat latches come through the rear fender so the latches would move far enough forward (when pulling the latch lever) to allow re-latching of the seat. I also heard of a poor guy who lost his fuel shut-off **** while plowing snow (the screw fell out and the **** was lost). Several people in here have complained about the brake lever 'hold' latch breaking, apparently it is made of cheap metal (mine is -so far- OK). If you use the winch to raise the plow I found that the winch hook regularly fell off the hooking point on the plow (when the plow was lowered); you could get a hook with a 'gate' or just tape it on there for the winter. Also, check your winch rollers frequently to ensure that they are turning when the winch cable is riding over them (else they will be gouged). Several posters have talked about problems rotating the shock preload collars; they apparently tried to force them (while on the machine) and the collars broke. I removed my shocks, took the springs off then turned the collars (I have my front shocks set on the middle setting for the winter; the added weight of the plow requires this; I took it for a ride on the trails today and it was pretty rough up front at that setting). I can say one thing about this machine and plowing snow: it will plow all the snow you can find! It's a blast!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] enjoy!

 

I lost my fuel **** on my very first ride [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

 

I'd like to hear how the AC 500i works, i would like to buy one, but the only thing holding me back is the top speed. Is the '03 much faster?

 

according to reports on the '03 Cats, the 500 class machines will be getting the motor from the '02 Vinson, making it faster and more powerful. This does not inlcude the motor from the '03 Manual Vinson which has been retuned from the '02 motor that remains in the auto.