First of all I see alot of people that have 2004 then also 2004.5 SP 500's. How do I know what year mine is?

Also I am looking at a wheel and tire upgrade for my SP 500 and was wondering if I have enough clearance for 27" tires? I know that the stock tires are 25". And are the ITP 589's a good choice for trail riding and mud riding?

 

someone will jump in here and tell you what the date of manufacture is that changed features on the machine form the 04 to 04.5....

as far as the tires....I wouldn't go above 26" tires...I have 27" 589s on my 700 EFI....and going from the factory 26" carlisle to the ITPs I can tell the performance difference...slower acceleration and top speed....also, be prepared for the tires to wobble slightly above 35 mph....they feel light on the front end...weird feeling, same thing with my 27" mudlites....

depending on what tires you go with, you will most likely need wheel spacers....do some searches on here, you will find tons of info....do a search on '589'....'2004.5', etc....

dave

 

I'm not 100% certain if this is the only difference, but one change to the "04.5" is an electronic fuel gauge.

Sp500 features for 04.5

 

The 04.5 has the carlisle badland xtr tires, fuel guage, straight throw shifter like the 600/700, Tachometer that stays displayed while driving, no reserve position on the fuel selector(just on/off).

 

another way to tell the year is to simply look at your Certificate of Origin (or CO). it will either say 2004 or 2004.5

i agree with elkbow, only go up 1 size. you will feel a power loss as elkbow wrote.

i had 26" Outlaws. they were great in the deep mud, but in EVERY other type of riding they were TERRIBLE. i also only went up 1 inch. performance difference was noticable.

good luck,
-MT

 

Iwent with the 25 inch 589's on my HO there is no noticeable loss of power (maybe 1or 2 mph on top end),you still get the big honkin lugs the same as the 26 and 27 inch lug ,they ride decent on the hard pack if you don't air them up to much and with my 25 inch 589's there is no shake at high speeds and that is with no balancing of the tires.