I just went out for my first ride on my brand new 2003 Sportsman 500. Two and a half miles into the ride, the transmission was put in reverse, and there it stayed. Jammed! I had to ride back to the truck in reverse the whole way. I adjusted the connecting rod between the shift lever and the transmision, but to no avail. Fortunately, it's under warranty, but any thoughts and opinions on this problem would be appreciated.

 

try disconnecting the shifter linkage from the transmission and see if you can shift without it..on my scrambler the rod that connects the handle to the trans would bend everytime i went to shift it and wouldnt shift..i ended up moving the shifter handle bracket up a little now it works great..hope this helps

 

Not sure if your '03 is this way or not, but I understand that the newer Polaris Sportsman series that have the "park" feature, where the foot brake has to be depressed, has a pin (somewhere around the foot brake) that has a tendency to not fully disengage at times. If yours has this feature, it's worth checking into.