Hi guys,

Got rid of my 2000 Honda Foreman after years and years of abuse.. it never let me down.. I pulled countless amounts of large trees and stuff around the house with it... did alot of mud riding too..

I bought a 2010 Sportsman 500 (brand new) and now looking at adding some protection.. The bike is poorly protected underneath from objects.. things like the belt case and the oil reservoir should be protected...

What is the best skid plate kit that I can get.. I'm constantly in the thick brush with it and I have a feelin' I'm going to break something like a CV boot or even the belt case..

Also, what can I do to prolong the life of the belt if I'm going to pull stuff often besides the obvious of using LO range? Is a clutch kit what I would need?

Bought the Sportsman because it's the smoothest riding bike out there and I was tired of being bounced around on my old Honda.

Thanks,
Mike

 

welcome to the forum. the 500(at least the older ones) have a good full skid plate vs alot of other brands. the biggest issue that you might have is the cv boots which can rip easy w/ a stick going through them. they make good cv and a arm protectors that helps fairly well. as far as the belt goes always use low range while pulling w/ your bike and it will help 100% in belt life. while going slow in high range also creates heat which is hard on thebelt as the turning clutch is what gives air flow to it to keep it cool. in low range the rpm's is higher which helps cool it.

 

Ricochet makes a lot of good aluminum products for protecting your quad.

If you keep the transmission in low the 4 tires are going to dig holes well before the belt slips if it slips at all. I put over 3000 hard, hard miles on my belt before I changed it due to weather cracking.

 

Ricochete has about the best products out there for protecting the whole underside of your quad. As for prolonging the life of your belt, about all you need is low range.

 

EPI makes good clutch kits that will give more low end grunt and I have always used popo belts.

 

You only need a clutch kit if you do to taller wider tires, in low range it will out pull your Foreman,I also came from a 450ES Foreman.
The Older Sportsmans came protected fully underneath and needed nothing,maybe the newer ones do not now?

I was not to crazy when Polaris stopped making the oil tank from Aluminium Alloy and went to plastic but if you see a older one I hear they can bolt right on since the frame never changed.

My advice to all SP500 owners is to silicon the pull cord handle over it,s hole. Water and crud will work itself down into the recoil where there are many expensive parts inside that do not like dirty water.

 

I also don't like the plastic oil tank and remember the older models being aluminum... About the pull cord, I think I don,t even have a pull cord for the 2010.. they cancelled it... cutting costs I guess...

I looked at the quad again last night and I guess the underneath isnt too bad except i don't like how the belt case is so exposed.... seems like a bad idea.. also the front rad is prone to sharp branches... ughhh I miss my honda for these kinda things...

 

Not really familiar with the new 500, but the floor board should completely protect the bottom of the belt housing and the fenders should protect the front and back. My friend has the new 2011 SP800 and yes they really have a flimsy plastic front bumper,I would invest in a front bush guard.

He poped out one head light on his second ride. He bought this bumper guard from Guru. http://www.atv-guru.com/Polaris%20bumpers.htm

 

One more question guys...

I found out that you can re-adjust the spring rate on the rear suspension.. I'm very glad that I found this online cause the thing is way too soft right now..

I understand there are 5 settings... any opinions as to which one you use and why?

 

Just keep adjusting the spring stiffness one notch at a time until you like the ride. Really depends on rider weight and ride preference.