Hello All,

Fisrt off, i would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this forum. I just bought an ATV a week ago Monday. I knew that I wanted a Polaris after riding my buddies 400 sportsman, but I was unsure what to get. I took all the comment into consideration, and after diligent thinking, I decided on the 500 HO. I was contemplating between the 500, 600, & 700, but I get the general feeling that Polaris doesn't quite have all the bugs worked out of the "twin Engine" designs, and that the 500 seemed to be a really reliable machine. Since I am new to the exciting world ot ATV'in (First one owned) I have a few questions.

1) The Owners manual suggests taking the bike in at like 10, 20, & 50 hrs. Is it really necessary to take it in that many times that early. Service around my area is over $100 each whack. That adds up real quick...

2) How soon should the oil & other fluids be changed, and how often do they need changed thereafter. (I've just now got about 10 hrs on it.

3) Where is a good place for inexpensive accessories. I already have the winch, but I'm looking for storage boxes for the rear & front racks. I've seen the prices for these storage boxes at Polaris, Cabelas, & Sportsmans guide, and they seem really expensive for a little plastic. (Again, maybe this is showing my newness to the field. Maybe all ATV accessories are robbery)

Anyway, I appologize for rambling and again I thank all of you for your expertise, or just believable B.S. , and hope someone might be able to give me some insight and maybe some "tricks of the trade"...

 

congrats.. a 500 is a great machine.. does what any other machine can.. just might not beat em in a drag race.
i would suggest changin your oil at 10 hours... the service you bring it in for it basically changin fluids... and ya they are alot of cash for nothing you cant do yourself. call your dealer and ask them what they do at these times and then do it yourself...

as far as after the break in period... the manual tells you when fluids need to be changed.. and try to keep it close to those times...

as far as quad stuff being exspensive... you are right..nothing is cheap for these things... for a reason unknown... i can get ball joints for my truck cheaper than i can my quad... they figure if you can afford a quad... then you can afford to pay the outrageous prices.

 

Ya,,,do all your fluid checks yourself...its simple plus it saves you big $$$$....But the oil is pretty important...ya about every ten hours or for me I do it about every three or four good rides...use the right oil weight that they reckamend...but other than that I do all the basic stuff myself...plugs..fluid..filters...carb clean and jet clean...But I still everyonce in a while will take it to get services just because but I don't recomend doing that all the time because its to much of a hastle and waste of money when you can do it yourself for the most part.....
....As for parts and accesorries....Everything is going to be expensive.. you'd almost think it were made of gold....But its all worth it.....every penny........
....but congrats on your first quad...they are fun as hell and you'll have a blast!!! Welcome to the club!!!!
Ray

 

A factory service manual is a good investment if you're planning on doing any work yourself. It will pay for itself the first time you use it.

 

Congratulation on your new quad. Great bike. These things will last a long time with just a little maintenance and TLC. Welcome to the forums.

 

Are the service manules out for the 04 sp500ho?
scootergptx,do you do any sport shooting with your 1911.uspsa,IDPA?

 

The service manuals are available. You can get them from you Polaris dealer. The Part number is PN 9918802 and is the Service Manual for the 2004 & 2004.5 Sportsman 400 and 500.

 

Surveyor1 and Azzkikr,
Welcome to the forums[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Azzkikr-
Hey congrats on your new SP500HO. Join the club. I have one too and absolutely love it. It's an awesome workhorse and (like you) I went with it over the 400 for more HP and cause it's been a tried and true machine for Polaris. It'll work all day and never get tired - and it's ready to play anytime.

Good luck.
TK>

 

Rsking, that's a Para Ordnance 14.45 LDA. Company issue, would've chosen something different if they gave us a choice. Not a bad weapon, but we've had some issues with them. Don't use it for competition, but we do get 150 rounds a month free for target practice. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] In two years it's had about 5000 run through it (including training classes) and haven't had any serious problems. The safety falling off is the biggest problem we've had. If only I cleaned my quad as often as I clean my guns.