please tell me this is normal. 1999 polaris sportsman 500 4x4
i went riding the other day with a new suzuki vinson automatic, and he rode in high all day. we went up alot of rocky steep hills that you have to go about 2 mph to get over the rocks, so i kept mine in low. this is how mine felt:
in low, going that slow over rocks i barely had to throttle it and it would creep over them like butter, but in high gear i had to throttle quite a bit more to get it to go over. on the suzuki, he used about the same amount of throttle to get over the same rocks whether in low or high????? how can i fix this or is this normal, the reason it bothers me is i used a half a tank of gas cause i was in low the whole time compared to his 1/4 tank he used in high. i would like to be able to ride in high most of the time cause i get tired of stopping to switch from hi/lo. thanks guys in advance

 

Rock climbing you should have it in lo. You have better throttle control, you put alot less wear on your belt. I think the 99 was pre Ho so you do not have the same power as a newer machine. I know nothing about zukis. Climbing rocks I would have my 800 in lo. You should also have it in lo when pulling loads.

 

i was thinking the same thing that i should keep it in lo. it is just a pain having to switch from lo to hi soon as i get past the rocks and on a trail. what is the fastest you should go while in lo gear? i mean a comfortable cruising speed on trail while in lo?

 

the only way to change it is to have another brand lol. no actually most of the other mfgs. have a differnt style clutch set where there lower geared to start w/ no low isnt is used as much. like upnort, i use low w/ my 800 and the 450. they will use more gas in low because of the higher rpm's. the big reason to use low is to keep the belt cooler as well by turning it faster. and yes that it normal use. hope this helps ya.

 

ok, thanks alot. what is the highest riding speed i should use while in low?

 

We can only hope Polaris starts using the Arctic Cat/Suzuki/Yamaha starting clutch tight belt setup. Low isn't needed on those nearly as much. Belt slippage is dramatically reduced. Polaris is dabbling with that setup as it is on the Hawkeye. No belt lag on the starting clutch setup. INSTANT movement in high gear with throttle input. I have owned both and the starting clutch tight belt setup is FAR superior and more forgiving.

 

Soon as I am out of rocks, mud etc I go back into hi. Mine will do 20-25 in lo but is really reved, 10-15 is about all I do.

 

depends on the model on the speed. i beleave the book says under 7 mph for some and under 15 mph for others use l.range just to keep the belt cooler. so between 15 and 20 i would say will tie it up.

 

Beside speed talks here w/r to LOW range, what about "how long
should one leave it in LOW?" I thought I understood that you shouldn't
run your Quad contineously in "LOW" for a long duration? Any truth to
that?

Regards,

R'

 

why not? as long as you dont over rev the engine the worse thing is going to be very gas milage and maybe more hrs on the engine. just my opinion.