so we finished putting the new cam and rockers in my 97 sportsman 500 last night. it ran nice, but when i took it for a spin i knew quick it wasn't any better!!!!! It doesn't have the power it should and it won't get up and go like it should. the timing was spot on. i don't know what to do from here!

 

Have you considered adjusting the clutching any?

 

most noticeable gains come from clutch upgrades or adjusting.

a 97 sp500 will never "rock your world" compared to the newer 500's & 550's

in 97, polaris 4x4's were being designed and geared for one thing only- to be used as a utility atv- "performance" was really not on the front burner like it is today.
today's 4x4 atv's are merging "utility" with the performance to give the owner a more sporty ride-

before dumping all that money into an older antiquated atv, consider selling it and putting that money into a newer model.

 

i know it won't go like the new ones but it used to go like mad a few months ago. it should go like that again. i'd like to buy a newer one and i could afford to finance one but my parents won't co-sign a loan for me!

 

the dealer thought it was the clutch so they looked at it, but we didn't adjust the cltuch. wouldn't i still get the high RPMs if it were the clutch? when i hammer it, the RPMs aren't there right away!

 

you changed the power curve with the new cam- your power curve might peak far after your clutch stalls- which would make it feel very doggish off the line. your old cam may have put the powercurve at a lower rpm, matched with your clutch stall, so you would have felt that peak power curve earlier in the rpm range. reclutching might solve this.

people don't understand that every aspect of an atv is engineered and designed to sync with other aspects of the drive train & engine- you really cant expect to just swap a cam and get instant power gains- doesn't really work like that. a cam swap effects the way your motor eats fuel, rpm, hp / tq peak range.... you need to do the math and adjust ALL other areas of your engine to reap the performance gains from swapping out a cam.

 

how do i reclutch?

 

find the clutch kit for your atv and follow the directions that come with the kit
the cam kit you installed might actually suggest other upgrades to consider along with the cam swap...

 

Best to get a kit. You might want to talk with someone for EPI or Dalton and tell them what you're wanting to get out of the power band. Different weights and springs will give different results. They'd be able to get you pretty close to what you're wanting. You're probably looking at another 250 bucks though.

Might find one on ebay cheaper.

 

Sounds alot like this guys problem which he fixed http://forums.atvconnection.com/pola...rformance.html
Same motor and year.
Another cheap problem is worn clutch buttons that will make a 55mph 500 do 40mph with no acceration.

Yes your 1997 should fly, My dads 97 Sportsman 500 (Non H.O) is just slightly slower then my 500H.O and I ride with new SP500 H.O and 500EFIs and they have nothing on me in performance.

If any thing,since you have the new high duration H.O cam now your 97 should be a 55+mph ATV easily.Its almost a 500H.O now just that you have the 34mm carb rather then the 40mm. But the Cam was really the trick vs the carb when the H.O came out.

Don,t give up . Cant see it being clutching My dads 97 500 has stock clutching and that ATV has 7000 miles on it and spins wheels and hits close to 55 mph any day of the week. Love to see the H.O cam in his also.

Have the clutch buttons checked, there only $3 and will kill your performance.