I have a 2001 Scrambler 500 2x4. There are no decals on the machine that indicate that it is the High Output version. Just wondering. Thanks......

 

history time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]!

actually the Scrambler 500 has always been an H.O. engine. The reason that the sportsman became known as an H.O. is because at one point they started putting Scrambler cams in them. interesting bit about that is why it happened: some guy wrote into dirt wheels about how his Sporstman 500 was slower than his buddies Xplorer 400 2 stroke and it sucked. He started talking about the modds he tried to wake his sportsman up and said the biggest wake up call he could attain was from putting in a scrambler cam. Then in subsequent months Polaris actually sold out of Scrambler cams. That let them know that people wanted the machine and i believe the next year is when they started putting the HO cam into the sportsman. That HO cam, however has always been in the Scrambler. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] you made my day by the way, i love telling that story. Its a total show of what consumers can accomplish in a free market economy.

 

1998 was the first yr for the HO engine.The 1997 is the only one without it.

 

'97 was the first year of the Scrambler 500. It had the "regular" 500 motor in it. Dealers and customers complained that the 500 cost more than the 400, and was slower. So in '98 they came out with the HO model which does have a different cam, but the biggest difference probably came from the larger 40mm carb (vs 34mm). It also got the updated wiring, concentric drive, and longer travel suspension that year.

The Sportsman 500 was the biggest baddest thing in the utility world until Yamaha came out with the Grizzly 600. Instead of Polaris coming out with a 600, they put the HO version of the 500 in the Sportsman (as an '01 model). Now it had more power than the Grizzly even though it was a 500. The rest of the machine was already better because back then the Grizzly was air-cooled, limited slip, and straight axle.

 

actually the H.O. sportsmans were a 2000.5 model year change, if you dont belive me, i can prove it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

1998