[QUOTE=scrambler400enoge;2810527]Weight is very important. Look at the DS650 for example, every pound lost equals 1 horsepower gained on those bikes which one holds a drag racing record. QUOTE]


I have heard that quote before about the DS 650 but it's bunk, just do the math. It doesn't hold water, at 494 lbs and about 50 HP ROUGHLY 10lbs lost will equal 1 effective HP gained. Not flaming or anything here! Just doesn't make sense.

Q

 

That won't be light either... it will be more of a pig than the 500.

My sport is a 2x4 and only 475 lbs... and it is a pig to me.
It is very fast... blows my 400EX away... and maybe even my 450R right now.
But I can still feel the weight... I can feel it bad any time it gets off the ground a little.

My buddies are all floored how spunky it is, even being 100 lbs heavier than a Jap sport quad. And they all notice how easy it is to ride it really fast in the woods... for a while... and then they start to notice the energy they were saving on the easy riding with no shift work IS NEEDED IN RESERVE TO HANDLE THE WEIGHT. Its a lot more to man-handle, and a lot more man handling you back after a while.

 

[quote=QBall;2810529]Thats what I meant. 10 pounds lost= 1 horsepower gained

 

[QUOTE=scrambler400enoge;2810539] Can,t be, I race and ride my friends 100lb lighter 27hp 500 Foreman and it has only 8hp less than my 35hp SP500. When you race them the much lighter Honda loses on take off, acceleration and top end and does not have the power to to steer the rear end with the throttle alone.


With the10 pounds lost= 1 horsepower gained idea, the Honda should have the upper hand in power. It would not surprise me if I could beat the Foreman with a passenger because when I have a 120 passenger on the back the ATV still behaves close to the same in acceleration and speed.

I think 1hp represents more power then people think. My 12ft bulky aluminum boad with my Honda 2hp outboard goes faster then 2 fit people paddling a light slim cameo.

People also pay $600 for stage 2 kits that just gain 5 hp from these guys Aaen Performance - Polaris ATV 500

It would be alot easier and cheaper to just lose weight instead.

1 hp = 50lbs seems more like it to me.

 

I'll bet your friends Foreman 500 doesn't have 27 HP. Didn't someone do a dyno test on a Rincon 650 and show that it only had 16 HP at the rear wheels. I would suspect that your friends Foreman only has about 12 HP (It is a Honda afterall, LOL). And if you're comparing 12 HP to 35 HP, then, well yah, 35 HP wins.

 

But it depends on the motor and those numbers your using are at the crank How much is getting to the ground? The DS has a DOHC 4 valve 653cc motor, and it is built like a tank. Comparing that motor to that Honda quad is not a fair comparison. It's an established fact that the DS650 will gain 1hp per 10 pounds lost. The builders have proven this. Every motor is different and that formula won't work on every quad.

 

I think that formula was developed in drag racing. A top fuel dragster that has 12000 HP (or however much HP they have) and weighs 1800 lbs (or whatever they weigh) will gain the same improvement in its ET by either losing 10 lbs, or by gaining 1 HP.

 

Did the sales manager specify more about what CC range it would be?

 

Those were crank hp numbers I got from this site.Quads.ca - ATVing in British Columbia - View topic - horsepower of a 2003 polaris 600 twin

 

I would luv to see that! I have a 09 Scrambler and really like it. I would definately consider buying an updated one after paying this one off.
Hopefully they will release 2 motors like a 550 & 850. Not sure, but I think I prefer the idea of IRS over straight axle. Modern plastic, double a-arms and digital instrumentation are no brainers.