IN WISCONSIN ON A DRY DAY ON A RAILROAD BED THE MAX SPEED OF MY SP500 IS 50MPH. I WEIGH 245. DOES MY MACHINE HAVE A PROBLEM, ANY SUGGESTIONS

 

50 mph sound reasonable, considering:
Most stock sp 500's seem to be good for 50 - 55 mph.
Hauling 245 lbs would put ya on the low side.
You didn't mention what year is your ATV ... if it is new, the speed could go up a *little* after it is broke in. The motor could still be tight. after breakin, synthetic lubricants could also help *a little*, as could a K & N filter. I've seen my '98 maxed out at 45 going uphill, and do 60 on a long downhill, but flat and level it runs around 52 - 55.

 

Have the dealer check your cluthing some times changeing weights makes great difference.CM

 

go faster.

 

That's about right with the newer machines that have a more accurate speedo. The older speedo units were way off most of the time.

 

My 2000 SP500 will go about 54 and I weigh 210lbs.

Greg

 

The first thing to do is to check the accuracy of your quads speedometer.My Xplorer only reads 52mph on the top end,yet it is quite a bit faster than my 99 Sportsman 500cc 4x4,and the Sportsman will do an accurate speed of 55-57 mph on a flat road.I have had the speedo checked on the Sportsman,it is correct,however,the speedo on the Xplorer is a mile off.Over size tires will falsify a speedo's reading to.===Bill

 

Well that seems a bit slow I can easily got 60MPH on ym 2000 Sp 500...I only weigh 140 Lbs

MY dad which weighs 240 can easily got 58MPH

So weight doesnt seem to make a big difference

Yo may want to check your air filter your motor may not be getting enough air

or your altitude may make a differnece....

 

Oh its gonna hit the fan on this one. My sister and neighbor, (Greg) has been accurately clocked at around 55 mph on a smooth surface. My machine was in L slot, this stands for launch mode, had I put it in the H slot, this stands for hyper drive, I could have passed him twice and we could have got a good average. Before someone tries to twist off on me, I just wanted to state two different quads reading the sp's top speed. His and mine. I will say that a K&N filter makes a big difference, ask sis (Greg).

TAZ

 

Polaris has made two changes in the Helix ramp angles in the driven clutch of this machine in the last year. The last one was in April. Clutch springs have also been altered.

Check out the parts manuals on line at the Polaris website if you would like to verify this.

There have also been about 10 versions of the Sportsman since its introduction so your results will vary.

Synthetic gear lubes many also increase your top end.