What are the differences in the 04 and 04.5 500HO? I bought mine about 2 months ago and didn't even know there was a 2004.5 out. The title says I have a 2004. How can I tell for sure?

Thanks

 

do you like your sportman .im looking at the scrambler and sportsman . and what price .did you get the sportsman for

 

I just picked up my Scrambler lastnight, went riding today for an hr or so. Has lots of power VERY comfortable I thought that 579lbs was gonna be alot, can throw it around w/ ease and handles great. Cant wait to tackle the big stuff soon and the snow is coming. Goodluck Buddy

 

Differences is the '04.5's have a electronic fuel gauge and Carlyle tires. That's it.

 

Fuel Gauge, tires, inline shifter and different locking hubs or differential in the front end.

 

Watty4 - I like it a lot. We mostly bought it to just to do some recreational riding, hunting, and to help out on the farm. If you are wanting to do more sport riding, the scrambler would probably be better. IMO [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Be glad you got the 04.5. The inline shift patter is much better than the old 'h' pattern. Some of the Sportsman transmissions had a nasty tendency to get stuck in reverse. I had to have my shift box replaced shortly after buying my 03 Sportsman because of this problem. Also, the new 4X4 system engages the hubs centrally, instead of individually. This is much better. For one thing, the hub body doesn't stick out beyond the rim like the older ones. This may not matter to some, but when you're crawling through beach ball size boulders, you don't want to be bashing the hub body on the rocks. I learned this the hard way on my 03. The 04.5 has the hubs neatly tucked away where they belong--where they won't get damaged. The 04.5 also has an improved cooling system, but I don't know what exactly they improved (bigger radiator?). This probably came about because the 600 and 700s were having cooling issues. As others have said, they also added the digital fuel gauge and went to the Carlisle tires. Finally, they made some styling changes to the fenders and front bumper areas. There are also some chassis changes, but I'm not sure what they changed.