One thing to consider when adding a lift kit,
it may not tear up your quad, but rolling it will.
I have 26 in tires on mine, and the center of gravity is a lot higher. I rolled it on an off-camber turn and I was hanging off the side like I was riding a snowmobile. I love the ground clearance, but I have had to walk mine on some technical trails for fear of rolling it over a cliff. I want to add spacers , but do not want to bend an axle ....

 

When you buy the lift kit make sure you buy a set of new cv joints also. You will need to replace them soon. The bigger the rubber the worse and quicker it happens. Too much stress.

 

Once again, thanks for the insite into these lifts. The common theme seems to be to only lift the front end on the sportsman 500. Also the home grown lifts seem to be more popular than the ones from aftermarket companies like highlifter. It seems most people are saying that 26 inch tires are the way to go over 28 inch tires. I haven't heard any real pro's or con's behind wheel spacers yet.

If anyone has experiences with wheel spacers I would like to hear about them. Would running 26 inch tires with wheel spacers and stiffer front springs be the best way to accomplish the higher stance, more aggressive traction with the least amount of wear and tear on my bikes components?

Does anyone have really detailed instructions on these custom lifts. bowtiepu1, your pictures and basic specs got my interest up but I am afraid I still feel as confused as when I first heard about lifts. I can't see myself building my own and I now feel hesitant to spend a few C notes on a highlifter lift. gregsims, you seem to have started something with your innovations. If you have a simple templete that I could have custom built, or if you wanted to make a few bucks and sell a set, I would be very interested.

 

i have a 99 sportsman 500 with 26" outlaws. about the wheel spacers i wouldnt go with them i would go with the off set wheels highlifter has. i do have 2 front wheel spacers for a sportsman 500 and a lift kit for sale lift kit never been used.

 

By installing a lift kit you most certainly change the cv angles. In general, if you are increasing the distance from top strut mount to the ball joint, you are increasing the angle of the cv joints, plain and simple. The only way to avoid this that I can think of would be to create a "body lift" but quads don't have bodies! Just think about it for a minute. Tear it up, but tread lightly and pick up other's trash. you'll feel better.

 

tmbk2,its simple to do..all you need is 2-1/2 inch and 1-3/4 pipe.cut 2-2"tall pieces of the 2-1/2"pipe..make 2 pieces of the 1-3/4 pipe 2-3/4 inches long..put the 1-3/4 inside the 2-1/2 flush on one end and weld them together..having the piece of 1-3/4 stick down 3/4 of an inch will keep it on the spring..after you weld them together cut them in half..jack up the quad,use spring comprssor and pull the spring down,install 2 halves on top of the coil spring and release the compressor so the spring pushes the spacer up into its original seat..drop the jack down and now you just lifted the quad 2 inches..simple as that..

stew you apparantly havent lifted a quad in this way other wise you would know that it does not increase the angles of the c/v`s,i have proof of that..about c/v breakage ,alot of the reason they break isnt the angle because of lift its because the added weight and stress the oversized tires when the quad gets in a bind

 

Dear Mr. Bowtiepu1, Lets think about this for a minute. If you increase the distance between the upper mount of the strut and the lower mounting point (balljoint),you have now theoreticly pushed the suspension out towards its fully extended limitations, right? Are you still with me now? The axle half shafts are still coming from the same location, however the outer end of the axle half shafts are now going to a lower point than when we started, resulting in increased angles of the cv joints. I'm not trying to sound condesending but think about it for a minute or two. There is no practical way to overcome this problem. I would like to believe that professional companies like high lifter take this into consideration when they engineer a lift kit. I'm sure they do. The end result is maybe you decrease the life expectancy of the cv joints, you know the saying: "If you want to dance, pay the fidler". Tear it up! but tread lightly

 

I have not put in a lift kit in my sportsman. But if you have raised the hight of the racks 2" than you have changed the angle of the cv joints! The simple fact is that the front diff rides in the frame, and that it would also be raised two inches over the normal stock ride hight. So if the diff end of the cv shaft is two inches higher than the wheel end of the shaft than it's not the same and is at a different angle than stock. It is the same deal with the chevy ifs in order to put a big lift in these trucks you have to lower the front diff.
As I said I have not lifted my sportsman but this is my two cents.

 

Bowtie,

Thanks for the details. Do I need a top plate for the two pieces of pipe to be welded onto? This sounds like a pretty simple weld job. Have you ever tride it for the rear end?

If anyone has expierence with a highlifter lift, how is this home made lift any different?

What about the wheel spacers vs off set wheels? Should I expect any decrease in axile strength? with either?

What about the "Easy Steer Kit" I heard about a while back? Should I look into such a thing for a non H.O. 500?

Thanks for staying interested guys!!! My wife wants me to spend my money wisely if you know what I mean...

 

That method of lifting the front of a polaris is fine. Its like adding preload to the springs. Going over bumps the suspension would extend at times anyways. A lift kit actually makes the travel longer, which would make cv angles more extreme. If your breaking cv`s w/o a HL lift kit, its probly tires that are to agressive.