i cant believe it but the plastic is melting on my 500. right where the 800s have a tendency to melt also. but luckily its hardly noticeable from the outside. but what looks like happened was the exhaust shield there started rubbing into the plastic so it was thin and then it started to melt. so i pushed the exhaust in and i can move it about a half inch away from the plastic. so i thought about using 2 u bolts to hold the exhaust pipe away from the plastic. would this be a smart thing to do? thanks for any help

 

I don;t have a sportsman but don;t see how it would hurt anything as long as its not close to any wires or electronics. Also rev the motor some and see how much the motor moves to be sure the exhaust can have a solid mount.