Well im new to this and am looking for some help. I have been riding dirt bikes for most of my life, so I could use some good suggestions. I bought a 2008 Polaris Sportsman 500 H.O. and I know that most of these come from the factory pretty watered down (performance wise). So I was wondering what kind of engine modificatgions I can do to get the most out of this four wheeler, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

welcome to the forum. the 500 is a good bike but not the most powerful. you may get a few ponies by changing the exhaust but i dont think you'll get alot more out of the engine w/out major mosa. imo.

 

Greetings and congrats on your new 500. I guess i gotta ask why you bought a 500 instead of a larger motored machine? I feel the 500 is the best all around machine for power versus economy. One thing you shouldnt do is increase the size of your wheels/tires because this will have the opposite effect on power that you are looking for. Perhaps if you do a search on here, clutching might be to your advantage but not being a mechanical guru like others on here, its just a guess. Enjoy your 500....I wish I had my old one back!!!!

 

I agree with Liam51, the 500 is the best machine for power versus economy. Talking about tires, if this came with the Polaris Extreme Radials...well they ride nice, and hook up pretty good, but they get punctured really easy. If your going to keep the stock tires for a while the first thing I would do is buy a couple cans of fix a flat, at least 24oz of heavy duty Slime, a pack of plugs with the plugging tools and a small electric air pump. Throw it in your rear trunk because you will end up using it as long as you keep the stock tires. Fortunately the sidewalls of these tires do plug. I tore a hole the size of a quarter in my front, crammed three plugs in it with a lot of glue and am still using it hundreds of miles later.

Since this ATV is so heavy I don't know if adding a pipe to give it a couple more ponies would help. Maybe someone else who has done the mod will know. I would change the paper filter to a K&N with a prefilter. If you go up in altitude (over 5000ft), pulling the air box lid off makes a huge difference.

One last thought...If you plan on getting into the nasty lands with lots of big rock, of canter, rutted out trail on the side of a hill type ridding, a winch will become invaluable. Not because your ride is going to get stuck but because there comes a time when she will want to tip over on her side and once she starts going it's almost impossible to stop. That's the price we pay for having a quad with long legs. (Basically anyone with an independent suspension will have this problem if they push the limits.) The Sportsman is fat (I think around 750lb) but built like a tank. Unlike the other makers who skimp on things like plastic, rack, and skid plate thickness, for the sake of keeping the weight down, Polaris doesn't. I have ripped things off my Kawi Prairie that would not have fazed the Sportsman.

Congrats on your new ride.

 

You will find you will have not want to do much. On the open wide (boring) gravel roads sections the 500 is uncomfortably fast as is. At 55mph 5 psi balloon tires and speed do not make for great handling. On the 20-35 mph trails you will never find a place you can open up the throttle anyways. No 800 can leave you behind like wise you can not leave a 300 behind on the these trails as well. I ride with 680s and 700s there is no place I can get lelf behind in the country side I live around. You run out of nerve before throttle I find.

 

Opening up the airbox and exhaust, with proper jetting, should get you some power gains.

 

Short of being able to pull the front wheels off the ground by nailing the throttle (I am a big guy) I find my wife's 500 has plenty of power. I bought an 800 for that kind of horsepower but I pay for it in Gas Mileage.

I concur with the performance statements above regarding out of the hole, and riding on trails with it.

As far as brute force, my 500 was only 40 or so feet short of my 800 in a sled pull. That is with me riding on both of them and the sled was the same although the 800 was able to pull far enough that the sled ran out of track vs the 500 it still had a foot to go on the rails. That does mean a difference in final apparent weight for the two.

 

Hey I appreciate the advice, I am getting ready to re-jet it this weekend. I bought the 500 because it is what my wife rides. I ride a dirt bike but also wanted somthing I could use too if needed. The 500 was the best ride and most power for what I was going to spend. We really like it but I love to tinker and get the most out of my machines. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

Buying a 500HO and then wanted to hot rod it, is kinda like marrying Whoopee Goldberg then trying to change her into Paris Hilton. Gonna take a lot of work and a lot more money and then, what have you got?

 

re jet it,put a clutch kit in and do the exhaust and you pretty much have it done..