I currently own a 1996 Polaris Trail Boss 250. I am thinking about buying a used Sportsman 500 and selling my Trail Boss. I only have around $5000 so I have to get the Sportsman used. I do lots of trail riding and love mud. I need a machine that can handle tons of mud. How well does the Sportsman take mud? About how deep and gooey can it be before I will be stuck? Is the 650+ pounds ever a problem? I live in Missouri and like to ride in snow in the winter. We normally get 12" or less. How much snow can the Sporstman take?

I have pretty much decided that the Sportsman is the quad for me. My Trail Boss can't take near enough mud or snow. I have a creek to ride in, does the belt get wet in the Sporstman? I would like to know some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Sportsman. Any help is appreciated.

PS - I am not concerned about going fast and leaping through the air. I just want to get were I am going and back home.

 

since you already have 5000 bucks i would save a little more money and buy a 500 scrambler whick is like $5600 i have one and i love it and it is a 4x4 which is nice i have not got it stuck and i had mud up by the pipe i have never had it in the snow yet and you might be able to get it for cheaper when the 2000 come in. they also do not cost as much and the thing about the belt is if you keep on the gas it will not slip. you said you did not care for speed but you will have it anyway you would like the speed once you got it. YOU DESIDE

 

Yeah the Scrambler 500 looks really nice. I am not sure if I would want the independent rear suspension. What I really need to know is how much mud each can take. If I hit a mud hole 12" deep and 20 feet long at 10MPH, will I make it? I am talking about pure mud, not 2" of mud with 2' of water. If I am in this mud, will all four wheels pull? Thanks for any info.

 

Stay with the Spartsman 500. The Scrambler is an excellent machine, but for the kind of conditions you describe the Sportsman is the best. I own one myself and am very happy with it. However, if speed is not a priority, you can go with the honda 450 4x4. It's the most reliable thing around, and the belt will never slip because it doesn't have one. I've never had a problem with the belt but I still like gears. Hope this helps.

 

sportsman+mudrunners+supertrap+dynojet kit= 1 bad mud eating atv, nothing goes through the mud like a Polaris!!

 

i can go through mud that deep it wqas in a crick that was almost dry with about inch of water and a big log that you had to go over i did not think it was that bad so i tried it in two wheel drive and the mud was up over the front tire i was stuck so i put it in 4x4 and got right up to the log and i was stuck on it so i started to jump on the grab bar and it brong up the front enough to get up on the log and i got right over it if you do decide to get the scrambler i would get the fender extender thing it would keep the mud off better good luck i what you decide both are good machines

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99 500 scrambler with hotseat pipe and clutch dg bumper soon to have pistons and air box mod 93 yamaha t-wolve with a broken taillight soon to be fixed tailight is now fixed now need to fix headlight

 

I have not yet bought a new quad. I am interested in the Sportsman 335. It may be cheap enough (under $5000) to buy new. I like the idea of air cooled. Does it have enough power? I noticed the tires are smaller, is that a problem? What is the overall proformance differance?
Thanks.

 

I've got a 1996 sportsman 400 and she's a tank

 

The post is from 1999. I was laughing when they were debating if a 500 Scrambler or 500 Sportsman would be better in the mud.

A ATV with 25" tires, double the ground clearance and a low range.

 

I had a Scrambler 500 before. Great power but poor ground clearance. It would get stuck in ruts made by other machines because that chain and sprocket hanging down always would get high centered. Its not much lighter than a Sportsman 500 either. The advantage now is that the used Scramblers cost a lot less than used Sportsmans do. The Scrambler is faster but that's about the only thing it does better than the Sportsman. The newer 850 and 1000cc Scramblers are simply shortened Sportsman frames with smaller racks. I think a nice medium would have been to simply keep the solid rear axle but make them shaft drive to give them decent ground clearance. That way they would have been noticeably lighter and sportier than the Sportsman but would still have enough ground clearance that they wouldn't get stuck all the time. Yamaha could have done the same with the Wolverine atv. It suffered from insufficient power. They could have kept the 450 chassis and solid rear axle and used the 550 Grizzly engine to give it the power it needed. Even perhaps offer the 700 if it could fit.