A quick question for OPT...
 

Just got a 2000 Sportsman 500 and 2004 Sportsman 600 in to service.. neither of them have four wheel drive..What to look for ????????

On the Sportsman 500 check the valve clearance and the camshaft exhaust lobe for any wear as this was in the year models on heat treatment problems (1996-2000) Sportsman 500s
If the 600 is an early or later model ,you can tell real quick if it has the Kokusan ignition or the crappy Ducati ignition prone to fail. Just pop the front panel,if you have a separate cdi and coil,it has the later (Kokusan) ignition. If it has the combo cdi/coil Ducati ignition,I'd tell the customer he's in for trouble if it hasn't already failed! Kit #2202603 around $450 ball park plus about 3-4 hrs labor.On the awd,the the most common problem on the centralized awd on the 600 was the plastic roll cage failure in the front differential,but check the wiring going into the front diff also. On the 500,could be as simple as wiring problem,or could be a problem in both hubs,plus I believe this was the first year model had the awd system that went through the speedo also! Could be some by passing on the wiring needed or a new speedo head replacement if you track the awd problem to this. Service on both the 500 and 600 past these potential problems isn't any different than the others. OPT

If your speedos do not work you will have no AWD. Here is the by pass trick. My 1999 polaris explorer will not go into 4 wheel - FixYa

Finally found problem (no four wheel drive)The prop shafts from the transmission were stripped at trans end...

That will do it too. :) At least the prop shaft is softer metal than the output shaft. That one zerk fitting on the shaft along with the u-joints a lot of people just overlook or neglect to grease. Glad you found the problem and posted. It might make people start greasing their machines a little better. OPT

Maintance is the life many machines..Cannot believe the atv's I get in to service..Some have never seen a grease gun..My take on that is "maintance is cheaper than replacing parts"

That one is hard to spot let alone get a grease gun on.

That's why I had a flex hose on the air grease gun I had at the shop! Some fittings you just can't get to with a regular grease gun and I found a lot of fittings that people didn't ever grease. OPT

Welcome to my "ex" world :) I think half of the machines I had in for service,the manuals and tool pouches were still in the plastic bags,never opened! I tried time after time on people (doesn't do any good when it's a ranch machine with multiple operators though) to try to tell them there is still "average maintenance" between the year or so that they brought em in for me to service or repair. Some were a little po'd when something broke and I told them the price of the parts and labor. Some just said fix it,had others that would just haul em home! If you can keep your sanity(and temper in check) when some even think it's your fault,you'll last! It's hard sometimes dealing with the public as many techs know because every customer is different! Keep turning those wrenches! OPT

I get the same thing.. I have got atv's in two years old any have never been serviced or when they break something it is always "they sure don't make them like they used to"Same things with cars and trucks..I hear all the time "I lease them for a couple years that way I will not have to worry about all that maintance"..I pity the next person ends up with one of these..