You should be able to drop a size or two on mains with out having problems elsewhere.
Heres an article on jetting which may help.It gives the symptoms of lean and rich running, and drivibility problems.

jetting

 

Your likely to have a new machine on your hands after you get the jetting dialed in ! It can make a huge difference when Jetted properly, I agree that dropping the main 1 or 2 sizes will not affect anything else significantly.. But also I would Check My Needle also, On Mine it was raised all the way up (VERY rich) from the factory.

 

When you say that the needle was "all the way up" I assume you are referring to the posistion that the E-clip was in on the needle right? Do I move the E-clip up or down (towards the point of the needle) to lean it out?

I can look up the stock main jet size in my service manual but what size do you all recommend I try? What E-Clip posistion (on the needle) should I try as well?

The quad runs good when not stressed but will bog down when under a heavy load such as climbing loose dirt hills- especially sand. I would think this quad should run out of traction and dig itself a grave before it would run out of power???? I think you all are on the right track with the main jetting being too rich. I heard that some of the very early 700 Twin's came too richly jetted from the factory but have not been able to officially confirm that through Polaris or my local dealers.

 

With the clip in the highest groove you are in the leanest position.

 

My 2002 SP 700 came with a 162.5 main jet. When I modded my exhaust my dealer sent me home with a bigger main jet....it was a 162.5. I am now running a dynojet kit per the factory specs. The only problem I am having in that is get very erratic around 3100 rpm. Holding the throttle steady at this point the motor will start to die. You need to nail it to get it back. Easing on the throttle will not fix the problem.

It hasn't hurt top end performance, but low speed in high range in tricky.

I am still working on this one.

SpruceDeuce

 

Looks like in the '03 and '04 models they changed on the fly with a "Team Tip" issued to thier techs and went with a #157.5 Main, a different Jet Needle (4HB41) and a different slide spring (045) and a different Needle Jet (P-6M[829]). Someone posted the actual papers on it here a while ago. The Polaris part numbers are 3130572 (jet), 3131224 (jet needle), 3131573 (spring) and 3131363 (needle jet) respectively. I am going to order those and try them out. Seems they found some "magic" combination combining all that??? I am ordering a different assortment of main jets (#152.5-#160), 2 different jet needles (3131224 and 3131449 which the early '04's had) and 2 different slide springs (3131573 and 3131451 which the '04's use) to try different combo's with too.

Also I noticed in my service manual that the '02's had thier timing set at 25 BTDC at 3000RPM where the '03's were set at 32 BTDC at 5760! Anyone have any ideas here? Would jetting the carb like a 2003 and changing the timing be a good idea? Or are thier changes within the engine besides carburation that would prevent this? I noticed that the engine model numbers are different too. EH68ALOE1 for the 2002 and EH068OLE in 2003. The more I read in the owner's and service manuals (2002-2004) on these 700's it seems they didn't quite get the final tuning down until the late 2004 models! It is entirely possible they went EFI because tuning the carb on the in-line twin was just a nightmare! :-D

To finalize:
2002 Sportsman 700
Engine# EH68ALOE1
Main Jet #162.5
Pilot Jet #45
Jet Needle 4BH41-4
Needle Jet #P-6
Timing 25 degrees BTDC at 3000RPM

2003 Sportsman 700
Engine# EH068OLE (Why is this so different then the 2002 model #????)
Main Jet# 155 (later changed to a 157.5???)
Pilot Jet # 47.5 (later changed back to a #45)
Jet Needle #J8-4FA01-3
Needle Jet # P-6M(829)
Timing 32 degrees BTDC at 5760

Anybody got any clues as the why the major tuning changes? Would my 2002 run better if I "made" the carb like a 2003 or 2004? They all use the same Mikuni BST 34.

 

Theres lots of reasons why the jetting could be different. It really doesnt matter, because you want yours adjusted for your conditions. The humidity, temperature and altitude all effect the jetting. What works on a 85 degree day with high humidity, wont work on a cold dry day.
Try a test run, with out the air box lid on. This will lean out all ranges on the carb,.... but focus on the main jet ( wide open). Do your test run up a hill, once using the lid, and with out. If it runs better with the lid off.....its too rich. try one size smaller main, maybe two sizes smaller. Then redo the test. Its trial and error, and eventually, youll hit the right combo.
Did you read the carb jetting article. There is lots of info there, for anyone interested in getting the jetting adjusted right.

 

With the air box lid off it won't accept any thottle input at all- stalls. Idles OK though.

 

Sounds like it isnt too rich.
Try this to see if its too lean... put the air box lid back on, and put a piece of duct tape over the snorkle inlet. Cover the opening, about 1/3, and take it for a test ride. This will richen up all of the circuits, if it pulls better, wide open, then its running too lean on the main jet.

 

I'll give that a try!

I've got a Big Gun exhaust and a jet kit coming in the mail so I probably won't bother to tear anything apart until that stuff comes in.

Thanks for all the help everybody!