I have a polaris sportsman 500. I bought a 2 inch lift kit for it but thought I would get some advise before I put it on. I was wondering if I do put this on, will I have to get aftermarket axles or will the stock ones do the job.

 

your axles are definately gonna run at a sharper angle and when you turn they will be much weaker as they will be extended further and if you are running bigger tires its gonna be hard on them

 

Im not going to run bigger tires so that should help. Right now I am running 25 inch tires. I will probably put new axles in but im not sure what I need. Do I need to get longer axles or just aftermarket stronger built ones?

 

If you purchased a HI LIFTER kit just look on the package,it tells you that the kit will put an extra wear on your driveshafts and suspension components. All the other kits are about the same, I installed a bunch of em! I've seen even Gorilla and EPI axles torn all to pieces! I kinda shuddered when ever I saw one trailed in for repair. Maybe its because I had to keep repairing these machines with lift kits (This is from a mechanics point of view,even though it gave a little "job security") We even had to grind the lower struts down to fit the tougher drive cv joints so they wouldn't wear down the boots(per instructions).But on the brighter side most of the customers knew what they were getting into and didn't mind the upkeep! Although some were a little steamed when they had a failure. I guess the old saying is you have to pay to play! I was never into performance mods that sacrificed reliability! I was just an Old Polaris Tech! Good luck

 

It all comes down to your right thumb! Had a 2" lift with stock axles and bigger tires on my 02 700. Beat the snot out of it and never trashed an axle. Just need to be smart when negotiating the mud and such. Aftermaket axles(turner, gorilla, superatv) are much better than stock but even they will break eventually depending on how you ride. No options for a longer axle with a 2" lift that I know of. Just have to live with the steeper angle.

 

I think I will give it a try and see how long the stock axles last. Does anyone have any preference on aftermarket axles, or know who makes the toughest one. I have also found a rear axle from super atv that is u joints insted of cv joints, what is the pros and cons of an axle like this? And is it better than one with cv joints?

 

i added a gorilla lift to my 700 i run 28s with a clutch kit.
i also added gorilla axles so much more beefy on the cv joints and the shaft.
np for me so far other then i had a clamp break and had to pull front axle to clean it up and repack it. love the ride with the lift.

 

Old post, but thought I'd share for folks looking.
I got a full set of these axles for my RZR with a good 4 inch lift on it. 2014 POLARIS RZR 4 900 4X4 HIGH PERFORMANCE UTV CV AXLE SET - Polaris - ATV and UTV
The company said they have these made from the same factory as the Voodoo axles.
I'm stuck in the mud more often than not, but haven't broken them yet.
You'll need some telescoping axles that can handle the strange angle you're creating with the lift/tire combo.

 

Well said OPT! I'd go with taller tires before i'd get a lift. Even then, keep an eye on tire weights.

 

I guess on a Sportsman 500, you can't go with much bigger tires than stock before you need a lift? Most 4x4 quads have a little extra room without having to lift them. A Grizzly has 25" stock tires, I could probably go with 27's without changing anything. The stock 25" size is big enough for me though. The original poster said he wasn't going to run bigger tires, what's the point of adding a lift at all then? A guy I work with put a about a 3" lift on his 01 F150 4x4 but couldn't afford to buy larger tires so he simply has a lifted truck with stock tires on it. Made no sense at all to me. Why put a lift on anything if you're not going to put bigger tires on it? All that extra stress on driveline components but no gain in ground clearance. Not to mention making it handle and drive worse.