I've read a little bit here in your forums and my thought for the red 06 Sportsman 500 EFI have been squished a tad bit. What makes the 700 so much better? The money doesn't bother me but I usually don't find myself really needing more than 500cc's.
It seems to me it will burn some more fuel
More moving parts to break
Repairs are more costly
More wear on shared 500/700 components

I need some convincing that the 700 is the better way to go.

 

quadstoday I am in the process of trying to make the same decision. I am leaning twoards the 500 because the engine will burn less gas and it is a proven design...it has been around for years. The 500 engine is made by Fuji heavy industries.....The power of the 800 twin is sure tempting though....we'll see. I am thinking of picking up another quad next summer....

 

I had a 500 in 96 and ran it HARD through 2000. At that point I went to sport quads but need to add a utility ride to the clan. I'm just a little worried about the FI problems that have been associated with the 500 and don't need a headache, I have an 03 TL that does that for me. LOL

 

quads, you still can get the 500 carb model for this yr in the 500 or even a hold over 700. the big differnce is the power and aslo the fuel milage. i can tell you from my own experince if fuel milage is a big issue not to buy the 700 twin. i hd an 02 500 and now an 800 and there is a huge diff. in the milage loss. depending on what you want to do w/ your machine a 500 cc will anything the 700 will but w/ way better gas milage. for people like my self it was the awesom power i wanted so i sacficed the milage for the power.

 

I had the same decision to make back in december and ended up going with the 700 and it was the right one. First off you get the $400 aluminum wheels. A larger towing capacity (which means even if you don't tow you have a stronger drive train.). Right now I am getting between 60 and 70 miles a tank with 500 miles on the machine. Get a gas pack and go for the 700. The power is well worth the money. I used to ride a 350 and thought that the 700 was too much, it might be. However it is nice to climb a steep long hill and know that you have eenough power not to stall out. In fact most of the time it exceperates so hard that I have to back off the throttle.

 

13 of us went out this weekend to Jim Creek, AK. I ran my 700 against a 500 sportsman and a 600 sportsman and to be honest their really isn't that much difference. On flat out straight aways I can pull away from them slowly but really not that much different. They all made it through the same tough mud holes I did without getting stuck and they both had awesome takeoff power. I personnaly think the 500 is plenty for anyone. The only reason I got my 700 is because of the deal I was offered. I also drag raced my friends 05 700 sp (carbed) against mine and beat him by a quad length in a 1/4 mile.

 

I too had a chance to run the 700 against a 500 FI this weekend and under normal circumstances the 500 does everything the 700 does, I was impressed.
Now when we loaded the 700 and loaded the 500 it was a whole other story. The 700 with all of that torque from those twins really shined above the 500, one or two quad lengths became 10. The more you loaded it the better it shone through. Don't get me wrong the 500 does what I need it to do so the questions begs, is the luxurt of the extra cc's worth the coin??
I'm price shopping this week. Anything specific to look for in the 06's taht might be an issue??

 

I have an '05 Sportsman 400 and I have an '04 Sportsman 700 efi. I wish I had two 500 h.o.'s with efi. I guess it all depends on what you do but unless you are pulling or pushing with your machine the power of the 700 is really overkill. What is awesome on it is the E.F.I. Not having to choke the engine regardless of temperature or the last time you used it is very nice. The throttle response is great compared to the carbuerated 400. I also have a Sportsman 90 for my kids and I've found that at low speeds riding with them the 700 just isn't in it's optimal rpm range. It seems like the optimal rpm range for the 700 is pretty high. Now I will say the 700's power is impressive and it's a blast to open it up and let it run. I just think for the money you would be better off with a 500 h.o.