Ok here goes.

I posted earlier on the new 2001 HO that my dad had purchased. I now have had a little more time on both. I rejeted the HO and boy what a difference. I believe that it still had the main jet for lower elevation. It now walks on the RSE anytime it wants to. It still feels the same as before but now can do what we expected it to. It feels very strong down low and continues to pull all the way to the top. It does have a bit of a strange feeling at about 10 or 15mph where it feels like it needs to shift and then takes off. A little clutch tuning and I think that will go away and it will be even faster. Before the two were dead even in a drag untill speeds got up around 35 or so and then the HO would start pulling away. Now the HO jumps out in front and starts pulling away immediately. I raced it against my Scrambler 400 that I just had the head milled, V-force reed block and spacer and K&N put in. The HO does very well. I get the jump but it pulls right with me untill about 15 or 20 and then I pull away. We had the HO's speedo pegged so it was over 60mph. The RSE will run about 55 tops. Remember we are at 6000+ feet to start and go way up from there, so speeds will be down from what you guys at lower elevation are used to. The better part of the HO though is still the handling. It is much more fun in tight twisty areas. The low-end torque is great for climbing. The brakes are better now on the HO than the first few days and are pretty much the same as the RSE. Both stop very fast for a big quad. If I had to chose I would say the HO is the way to go. I just feels more fun. If you have a non HO the only thing I would say to do is fix the steering with some of the brackets I saw others making and add a couple of mods on the engine. I wouldn't go trade it in if it is still in good shape. You will end up spending less money to make it just as good than you will lose trading it in. Overall I don't think there is much out there that will be able to keep up with the HO. If you add the mods that most people do to the 500 Scrambler it would be great for racing those cross country races. Just lose a little weight and your all set. I will try and compare it to other brands this weekend. There will be hundereds of people out that I am sure would be glad to compare.

 

Thank you for the in depth analysis. I'm going to ride one tomorrow. The deal is sealed now. As soon as I sell my AC, I'm going after an HO. The positives outweigh the negatives now that I have some first hand information to back up the hype.

 

do u think that all of the HOs should come from the factory with the jetting change. or did u have to do it because your in a higher elevation. would it affect your warrentee?

later
jon

 

As far as I know they come in with the lower level jetting. Most dealers change it durring the setup of the machine. Polaris has a recomended setup for different elevations and temperatures. Sometimes it gets overlooked in the setup. No big deal it only takes a few minutes to check it out and change it. One dealer here prides itself on the best high altitude setup. I had purchased my Scrambler from them. They had forgotten to change the needle jet and needle and it bogged badly. I just took it back and they fixed it. Now it is really fixed after the reeds and head. As far as warranty I would say that if it is jetted wrong for your altitude it should be fixed under it not void it. It is part of the original setup that is supposed to take place. Again it's no big deal really as long as you or they know what jets to use.