A 500 HO with EFI would be the machine to have. EFI is the only plus to go up to the 700. Polaris, if youre listening......EFI on the 500 would be a great present for Xmas next year. Im very impressed with the 500. I had a 700 and didnt see much difference. The 700 had a higher top end but who needs that on a utility.

 

I believe the only dramatic difference you would see would be comparing the 500 against the 800 efi. I agree with all of you when comparing the smaller ones ftom 500 to 700. It just depends on what kind of power you are content with.

 

gmi1979,

I traded from a 2000 sportsman to a 2004.5 700 EFI last year in the spring and would never go back to a 500. The 700 I feel has way more power and torque than the 500. My friend rides a 04.5 500SP and we have traded a few times and after riding mine and getting on his 500, the 500 seems like a turtle. I can rocket up hills in high where he has to switch to low other wise he starts powering out on some of the hills, this could also be related to the fact that my machine automatically adjusts for the elevation changes and his is fixed for a certain elevation. Don't get me wrong the 500 is an excellent machine, but doesn't have enough jam for me!!!

 

Well I would have to disagree, I bought an '04 Mossy Oak Sportsman 500 last Christmas and it got stolen while at the dealership about 6 months ago, well since my warranty was not up i ended up getting a better deal on a green '04 Sportsman 700, and having owned both i love my 700 even more than the 500. Yes the 700 weighs a bit more, but with the power increase it evens out and has alot more torque, (I think) , Gas Mileage isint all that great but who cares its a 4wheeler.. it dosent take but 5-6$ to fill the SP up. 700 hasnt had any problems yet. I like it better..

2004 Polaris Sportsman 700
'27 ITP 589 M/S
'2 in. Lift
3000 lb. winch

 

"I believe the only dramatic difference you would see would be comparing the 500 against the 800 efi."

i agree

 

I had a 97 banshee that a friend has at his house and I went from a banshee from a wolverine. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I was bummed when found out the 800 is an antiquated pushrod engine. I agree: why go with a bigger engine just to brag about size? If it was at least a SOHC 4-valver, like the 500 HO, then I'd understand.
Heck, I prefer a DOHC 500 EFI (being a parallel tiwn, it'd only need one head and 2 cams), than the currrent 800. And it'd kick its butt, be more fuel efficient, and lighter. Oh well. At least we don't have to mess with the valves.
Good evening guys.
JC

 

I went from a Sportsman 500 to a 700 EFI...2005 model, would never go back to the 500 for my purposes, the torque/power of the 700 over the 500 is much more useful to me....i think the main thing may be the EFI and the storage and suspension on the '05 models, didn't try the '05 500...

 

Just thought I'd throw my 2cents in here. I too finally had enough of the problems with my 700, which were quite a few along the way, and went back to my 2000 500. For the folks that claim some major power increse with the 700 I can only say "Whatever makes you feel better about your purchase" However, I have both machines sitting in my garage and for the most part I feel like I spent the extra money for the 700 decals. I get a better cold start out of the 700 and that's about were it all ends. Okay, the gear selector feels much better than my old Sportsman, but if I purchased a new 500 that wouldn't even set the 700 out front. I simply installed an HSP kit on my old 500 (600.00) and it spanks my 700, and is much more reliable. The seven has had fuel delivery problems, computer problems, wiring harnass problems(still having those), the water pump started dripping from the weephole after just 100 miles. It now only has 900 miles on it and is already blowing a puff of oil smoke at start-up after sitting all night. All this after getting oil changed evey 200 miles. I have almost 4000 miles on my old 500 and it can sit a month and not smoke at startup. Infact, with the addition of a simple bolt-on kit it's better than the day it was new. I have only ever had to use LOW range in very deep snow while shoving my PURE POLARIS plow. I've blasted up some of the ugliest hills a quad has ever seen, and have powered up as steep as gravity permits four wheels to climb, all while in high range. I have a 3000 pound HALLMARK(empty) enclosed trailer that I pull from the back of my property to my driveway with this 500, while in high range. I've replaced the belt twice since new, replaced the tires three times, rebuilt the starter once, replaced the plug once, and aside from the recent mods that is all I've ever spent to keep it going. Say what you want, but when I find someone to take this 700 turd off my hands...IT'S GONE. I added a custom tunable supertrap to the end of my HSP exhaust, and if I put all the discs but two up front I get almost 70 mph out of it. The speedo only reads 60, but it pushes way past that so I had the wife follow me in her FORD Explorer and it did a rock solid 68 to 69 MPH. If I move all but 5 of the defusers to the rear I only get 58 MPH, but it easily pulls a riding wheelie from a stop, with no bar jerking. Speaking of low range, the only time I ever got my seven to pull the front wheels was while in low, and it didn't want to do it then...I had to jerk my elbows lose to do it.
If anyone is interested in giving their HSP kit an extra special kick in the pants I can tell you exactly how to do it. All you need is a supertrap and a mig welder. I took my trap off of my old YAMAHA Wolverine DG exhaust. I took my HSP steel end-cap off the silencer and cut that stupid looking 45 degree down-turn off flush with the cap. I then loaded a two inch hole-saw in my drill press and center drilled the cap. I then welded the supertrap/DG insert to the HSP end-cap. I took a die grinder with a fine stone and worked the weld down so smooth you'd swear it was a factory made one piece unit...it looks cool as heck. So much so that I've got people wanting me to work theirs the same way, especially after riding mine. Anyway, I removed all the packing from the HSP and slipped the cap back in and replaced the screws. I noticed two things right-off; one, it started easier, and two it was about as quiet as the factory exhaust when the quad was new. This was with five rings forward. I took it out in the street and instantly noticed a much quicker throttle response, and something this quad never did before...a high range wheelie! All this with a WARN 3.0ci and a PurePolaris bumper, and my 250 pound butt sitting on it. Started playing with the defuser rings and the rest is history. Never changed the HSP jetting. Did cut and reshape the HSP headpipe due to the fact that HSP never seems to get their angles correct and you'll usually have an exhaust leak at the dougnut/spring joints. I've had to correct that on the last two HSP exhaust systems.
Anyway, if anyone wants to see pictures of this exhaust mod, I will send ya some via email...it's well worth it. It also sounds so much better than HSP's silencer, which always kinda sounded like a four cylinder car with a hole in the exhaust...irritataing! Nothing like a FMF or HMF on a sport quad. This home-mod makes it sound real cool. With the rings up front it's more open and has a sport performance growl and is ready to roll-out. Move all but five to the rear and it's near factory sounding only with throaty rumble and ready to wheelie. My other HSP mods are the clutch and air box.

 

I have ridden both and would never go to a 500 from my 700. Just up to EFI![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]