Hey guys, thinking about going to look at a 2001 sportsman 400 today. Guy said it started and ran a little then died. Battery is dead and gauge cluster doesent work. Not sure how related those two things are. I can get it for what I think is a fair price given the engine is mechanically sound and only needs fresh gas or a carb cleaning. Don't know how many miles are on it, but it has original tires that are a little worn so im thinking it shouldn't have too many miles on it.

Anything particular to look out for on these if I go look at it? I know these are basically identical to a sportsman 500 aside from engine displacement(455cc) which is a pretty solid machine. Never had a Polaris but wouldn't mind to try one out.

 

Apparently after some research the 2001 sportsman is 425cc. Dont know when they went to the 455cc engine in the 400's.

 

See if this discussion helps any or just confuses you more. http://forums.atvconnection.com/pola...ris-400-a.html

 

It helps, thanks. I watched ATVTV.COM's youtube video review of the 2003 Sportsman 400 which I think is the same machine as the 01. They praised how smooth the engine was, but over all they dont seem to like polaris real well so there wasnt a lot of good said. I didnt get a chance to go tonight. It was raining cats and dogs, so I came home and worked on my Grizzly (got the crank out!), and Im going to be busy tomorrow night as well, but if he still has it Wednesday I may go look at it.

 

How is the 425cc engine in the 400 OPT? Is it based on the 500 engine?

 

The 425 and 455 are both based on the 500.

 

There all the same Fugi built motor just different bore and stroke for the 425. The 455 shares the same stroke as the 500.

The 500 just had a higher duration cam and a larger 40mm carb to make it a H.O in 2001.

As far as I know the the only difference with the 425 vs the 500 chassi wise in 2001 was it had no EBS engine braking .

If it has stock tires it should have goodyear P Trackers.

 

Thanks guys. After some research looks like the gauge pod/ speedo go bad pretty commonly which also causes 4wd not to work. The new speedo isn't cheap and even though I read you can bypass the speedo I'd have to think on it some.

Can a bad speedo keep it from running?

 

Yes the reverse limiter is built into the speedo on the 2001 400 also. Not common for it to screw up and limit in forward,but has happened. We didn't sell a lot of 400s for the reason that most people just jumped up to the 500. Nothing wrong with them,especially if you can get one at a good price.

 

He said $1000 was his bottom dollar. I figure it's a $2000 machine when it's running right. It looks nice for the most part. Front rack has a small piece broken off, front tires are worn. Other than that and it's current not running issues it looks real clean. I figured that the 500s were a lot more popular but since the 400 is the same machine minus some horsepower, then it is a tried and true design. Never had an IRS ATV but I know Polaris has one of the most comfortable suspensions and seats and figure it would be real comfortable with my wife and I on it. I'm thinking on it. I'll be going tonight if I do decide to look at it. Thanks for the info guys.