Hi gang, Just was looking at a few 2003 or 2004 sportmans to purchase. Any known problems with the 600?
Are they as reliable as the 500HO? Any ideas would be appreciated! Since the 600 is discontinued, and only made 2 yrs, will finding parts be a problems? When I buy one, I would like to keep it awhile... Thanks in advance!
Textrout
God Bless those victims of Katrina and all those who help them.

 

the polaris 600 is discontinued for a reason... its slower then the 500 HO until top end.... puts out almost the same raw horsepower but has more moving parts which equal more failure... the 500 HO also has a pull starter which is very nice to have, the 600 does not

 

The 600 was actually made 3 years; there is a 2003, 04, 04.5, and 05 600 Sportsman. I highly doubt there will be a problem finding parts since almost all 600, 700 and 800 motor parts are the same except for the obvious. The 600 is one of the most solid Sportsmans made. It doesn't run as hot as the bigger twins, but runs really close in power to the 700 carb. And no, there isn't a known problem exclusive to the 600's. The twins do drink a little more fuel that the 500's though.

You can't go wrong with the 500 HO, but to say it is faster until top end is not true. Bone stock, the 500 HO (non efi), 600, and 700 carb are all almost EXACTLY the same in speed until top end. The twins have a little more bottom end grunt which helps if you run bigger tires than the 500 HO. My group has all of them and we run them all of the time.

Just because it has another cylinder (more moving parts), doesn't make it any more unreliable. V8's can last just as long as 4 cylinder cars.

As far a pull start goes, if you lose charging then a pull start won't get you very far anyway; you would overheat. If your battery goes dead, then you probably knew it was getting weak before you went riding. And have you ever pull started a 500 HO? I have and it ain't fun. I wouldn't want to pull on anything bigger. I have a good friend that is currently out of riding for a while with a broke wrist from pull starting a 500 HO he just bought that had a dead battery...true story.

If you find a good deal on a 600, go for it!

BTW, my 04 600 has 850 hard miles on it in one year without a SINGLE problem.

 

i can pull start my 500 ho with my left hand due to a compression let off

you will not overheat because you have an alternator that will run your fan

and yes the 500 is a little faster then the 600 until about 50 mph

 

I don't know what compression let off you are talking about. Maybe the 05's have a manual one, I don't know. The previous models have a centrifugal compression release mechanism built in to the end of the cam that lifts the exhaust valve a little but they are still a bear to manually pull start especially if you crack the throttle a little.

I said if you LOSE CHARGING you will overheat. Pay attention.

And yes the 500 HO, 600, and 700 carb are all almost identical up to about 45 or 50. Whoever gets the jump first usally wins up until that point.

For $20 you can install an 800 snorkel on either the 600 or 700 that gives a nice little boost too they both breathe through a hole the size of a quarter when they are stock, not to mention the 600, and 700 will take 800's dual pipes as a bolt on and gain even more. The 500HO's are already hot rodded from the factory, there's not much else you can do other than a silencer. I bring this up because he said he wants to keep it for a while. At least there is room to grow with the twins.

I can tell you what to watch out for on the 500's too. I've rebuilt 2 of them, and about to do another. Thay are not bulletproof, but a nice motor anyway.

The twins will do everything the 500HO will and a little more. Enjoy your ride.