Maine--todays paper claims we busted the 4.00 mark,filled up yesterday and went for a 34.9 mile ride according to GPS by time I got back by gas station, refilled did the math and averaged 23.4mpg. Surprised me how crappy the gas mileage was with the 99 500Magnum, stock sized tires, only mod is K&N Filter and K&N Jet Kit - I would of thought it should of gotten a lot better then that.

 

alot of it is depending on the area you ride in and the staedy on the throttle and how fast you go. when i play in the mud w/ mine i see a huge decrease in milage. i think you can get up to around 25 to 28 mpg w/ the 500's. its just a guess though.

 

stendori I was looking at your "more pics" and was wondering about your winch, I bought one of those gorilla 2500lbs w/synthetic cable and mounting plate model specific@ $99.99 + 26.99 shipping brand new and been hesitant to put it on because it seems as though its going to block the radiator. A couple of quick questions if you don't mind.....How has it held up&do you think it was worth the $? Were you able to use stock bumper and still have it bolt up? Have you noticed your fan kicking on more often? A buddy of mine claims that I need a different bumper or a brush guard to have it bolt up without interference to the cooling system and that they are junk compared to a warn winch thats the reason for me asking.

 

I cant imagine getting more than 16 mpg with mine, part of that distance being hauled in the back on my pick-up!!!! I'd be satisfied with what you are getting. I had a 99' 400 two stroke and got about the same as you. Good luck.

 

Is a 100 mile son a 500 sportsman the average? Thats what I got the other day trail riding.

 

I would be happy with your miles per gallon.....I have had 5 500's and have never been able to get more than 50-60 miles per tank riding in High gear around 15 mph. How are you getting such high MPG? Riding it like a vehicle down gravel at 40 mph? I am also at 1100 feet for elevation.

 

23 mpg is great, Thats 120 miles on 5 gallons. My sled needs 10 gallons to go over 100 miles.

 

Terrain makes a huge difference for me. In my 05 Sportsman 600 I get less than 10 when crawling around the rocks of Moab, but get around 17 when riding the more traditional trails.

 

I was just trail riding. My average speed was around maybe 30 mph. Its an old rail bad trail so its pretty easy going.

 

I live in Franklin County Maine and ride state ATV trails, old unused logging roads with plenty of mud holes and some off road hill climbing and all the usual and UNusual messing around that us guys tend to due and for elevation my house is at 1260 so its safe to say anywhere from 500 to 3500ft GPS elev. in my area is easy to ride in. The way I was thinking is that my 2 stroke 3cyl/3carb modded big block snowmobile gets 12-14mpg cruising basically SOME of the same trails and my HD Fat Boy gets 34-42mpg city/hwy and I was just thinking that a 500 single cyl/single carb 4 stroke would do a lot better stump jumping/puddle hopping and cruising at slow fun speeds then what I been getting 18-24