You worth
the "Premium Ride"? Here's one for all Sprotsman 500 owners. It's a review of the quad by ATVACTION magizine on the atving website. Enjoy. Polaris Sportsman 500 September 8, 1999 By Dave Iskierka There's always the rider who seeks the most technologically advanced quad from a manufacturer. He'll walk into a showroom armed with reasons for wanting the best machine money can buy--whether it's recreational riding, racing or utility--and instruct the salesperson to "point me to the model with all the bells and whistles." Every ATV manufacturer has one model that's its "numero uno," its "best of the best," its "cream of the crop" in each machine category. If you're looking for a "Recreation/Utility" type of machine, we'll be taking a look at Polaris' top-of-the-line model in what it calls the "Premium Recreation/Utility" class--the Sportsman 500. With hunting season around the corner, we wanted--and need--to take every advantage we can get to bag some big game, so we chose the Remington Special Edition Sportsman 500 for this evaluation. The RSE is identical in specs to Polaris' flagship Sportsman 500 except for the unique application of the Mossy OakŪ camouflage design of the body panels and a few extra goodies. Let's take a look at how the Mossy OakŪ design is applied first. The Mossy OakŪ Process Polaris made the first innovative move in the industry to incorporate a "from-the-factory" permanent camouflage design of the body panels. Because of the time-consuming process involved in applying the Mossy OakŪ Break Up camo pattern, the Sportsman 500 RSE is once again produced in limited supply for year 2000. The Mossy OakŪ process starts when the camouflage pattern is applied to a specially formulated backing material. The camo pattern material is then chemically activated and applied to the Sportsman 500 body panels. The pattern wraps onto the body panels, hugging every contour of the fenders, headlight pod and side panels. The panels are then treated with a clearcoat for a tough finish. This process creates a high-resolution, detailed camo pattern with an extremely durable bond that is a lot tougher than decals or tape and more attractive than camo-cloth covers. It is also a non-glare matte finish so as to not spook the wildlife you're after. Polaris says that it has conducted extensive testing in hot and cold climates and in brushy terrain. This process also gets the nod from both Polaris' and Remington Arms' quality departments. As mentioned before, the RSE is a limited quantity model and more than likely demand will outstrip the supply this year . . . again. The Sportsman 500 Under the unique "skin" of the Sportsman 500 Remington Special Edition is the Sportsman 500 4x4. Polaris' largest four-stroke--a 499cc, four-valve, liquid-cooled engine--is tucked in the frame. The engine features a counterbalanced design for minimal vibration throughout the powerband. The 34mm CV Mikuni sips fuel from a 5.25-gallon fuel tank for long excursions between fill-ups. We achieved about a 100-mile range per tank. The top speed of the Sportsman 500 was 54 mph, according to the lighted speedometer. This powerplant has been proven robust over the years and we'll let you know if we find otherwise. One of the most talked-about engineering achievements of the Sportsman 500 is the exclusive, independent long-travel (9.5-inch) rear suspension with a stabilizing anti-roll bar. The fully independent rear suspension (IRS) is one of the reasons the Sportsman 500 is classified as a "Premium Recreation/Utility" machine. Its ride has been claimed to be the smoothest in the business, along with its industry-leading 11 inches of ground clearance. Being equipped with such a suspension does create more of a "body roll" feeling when riding off cambers than non-IRS machines, but that's the suspension doing its thing. New riders/owners should familiarize themselves with the machine's handling characteristics and capabilities before attempting to ride such terrain. Having almost a foot of ground clearance would cause one to wonder if a high center of gravity were an issue when ascending hills. With a slightly taller stance than most competing quads, the Sportsman 500's balance felt reasonable on steep hillclimbs. We never felt like we were going to flip backwards on such maneuvers--but then there's no such thing as too much safety. Long-travel (6.25-inch) Sachs strut independent suspension grace the front half of the machine and soaked up the bumps nicely. The front section provides a tight turning radius of about 65 inches. Muscle needed to steer the SP500 was okay--smaller riders might have a little trouble when the quad is stationary--but when rolling, it steers pretty easy. The SP500 is also capable of some aggressive recreational riding. The fully automatic dual-sensing transmission (PVT) with EBS (Engine Braking System) sends the power to the wheels. Forward low, forward high, neutral and reverse gears are activated using the E-Z shift lever on the right side of the machine. The shift lever has a redesigned bend and shifts smoother than earlier models. Gear engagement was precise. The EBS provided nice control when descending hills, especially in AWD. Minnesota is not home to any huge mountains, but in the hilly terrain we didn't have to touch the brake lever unless necessary to avoid catastrophe. After extensive laboring on the trails the clutch housing did not become hot to the touch, leading us to conclude that the venting scheme of the clutch housing is working fine. The PVT vent height is 27 inches from the ground and 11 inches below the engine's air intake that's on the top left side of the gas tank. Let's try one of our favorite tests--the five-minute dunk--to see if we can make this bad boy's PVT belt slip. We let the SP500 sit in 22 inches of rushing river water (the exhaust was almost under water) for five minutes. After a push on the electric starter button, the SP500 crawled right out of the flowing river without any PVT belt slippage. Want to play in deeper water? That's your choice, but it's not our recommendation. The backup recoil starter worked right out of the water as well. Polaris' standard single-lever, all-wheel hydraulic disc brakes with an auxiliary hydraulic rear-axle foot brake worked well. Spending most of our time riding in "AWD", the independent four-wheel shaft drive with On-Demand true four-wheel drive sensed when AWD was needed for extra traction and locked the front wheels in automatically. Briefly, when AWD is activated using the thumb-controlled switch, power is transferred to both front wheels the instant the rear wheels lose traction. When traction to the rear wheels are regained, the front wheels are disengaged until all-wheel traction demands are called for again. Sealed CV joints are used in the front and rear driveline to help reduce breakdown and maintenance chores. Front and rear plastic CV joint guards are standard and performed adequately. We had one instance where a branch kicked up and slid through the front of one rear A-arm. The branch popped the lower clamp loose on one of the CV-joint boots. Lube it: Casual conversation about quads usually turns to maintenance. Counting up the zerk fittings on the Sportsman 500 was a test in itself, and hopefully we found them all. Here's what we come up with as far as "Preventive Maintenance" (PM) goes with a grease gun. Front A-arms: 2 zerks on each side (4) Rear A-arms: 6 zerks on each side (12) Mid shaft U-joint: 1 zerk (1) Front shaft U-joint: 1 zerk (1) Front drive U-joints: 1 zerk on each side (2) Steering stem: 2 zerks (2) Rear stabilizer: 1 zerk on each side (2) Count 'em up and you have a total of 24 zerk fittings that need to have a squirt of lube every now and then. A pain in the rear? Considering the sophistication of the Independent Rear Suspension--where most of the zerks are located--we think a little more PM would be needed and a trade-off exists between ride quality and PM. A new and stronger "On/Off" thumb switch for AWD was updated for quality and ease of use. Instead of the push-button design from earlier years, a thumb-activated slide switch is used for a more positive contact. "AWD" is lit for nighttime viewing as well. Features: Composite front and rear racks support the loads on the SP500 with ratings of 90 and 180 pounds. A standard rear rack rail helps keep the loads from shifting and provide nice tie-down locations. The Sportsman 500 RSE model also includes a front rack rail. The Remington Special Edition model comes equipped with front and rear tubular bumpers for extra protection while riding brushy "Sportsman"-type terrain. The front bumper is ready to accept a winch and hawse roller. A tow hitch is standard, with a towing capacity of 1225 pounds. Standard instrumentation includes a speedometer, odometer, tripmeter and an hourmeter. The hourmeter is nice for maintenance checks when low miles and high run-time is the case. Indicator lights for high temp, reverse and neutral are housed in the steering pod as well. Most of the control switches are lighted, so finding the correct switch in the dark is easier. A high-mounted quartz halogen headlight and two grille-mounted headlights provide decent lighting for night riding. An additional safety feature not normally found on quads is a brake light. Our Sportsman 500 thoughts? The Polaris Sportsman 500 just might be the industry's top selling fully automatic 4x4 quad. The 499cc powerplant is more than adequate for demanding use while playing or working; we never ran out of power. One bit of advice we can offer is to use "low range" when rock crawling or low-speed trail riding, as this will reduce belt wear. With respect to the independent rear suspension, this setup may produce a lower ground clearance at times than claimed--considering the weight of the rider and changes in the terrain. The ride quality is superb in our opinion. The traction that the fully independent/long travel suspension supplied is also highly rated and conforms the tire placement to the terrain very nicely. The spin-on oil filter, along with engine oil and antifreeze reservoirs, are easily accessible. Full metal skid plates protect the machine's bottom while composite floorboards with integrated footpegs protect your feet. One change that made us real happy was the higher reverse speed limit without activating the "override" button. With a new limit of 7-9 mph, chores such as snow plowing should be a lot more fun without having to push the override button to back up easier. Conducting our five-minute PVT "belt slip" test under 22 inches of water showed that no PVT belt slippage was evident after firing up the Sportsman 500 and driving off. As stated on the warning label, do not allow anyone to use the PVT cover as a step. Doing so may cause warping of the cover and leaking can develop. The RSE's application of the Mossy OakŪ camo pattern held up to brush scrapes and general abuse fine and gave this model Sportsman 500 an interesting look as well as hiding the scoot in the woods. If the camo-clad model isn't your style, the Sportsman 500 also comes in red or "camo" green. A couple of areas we'd like to see improved on the Sportsman 500: More protection to the CV-joints and rubber boots from the front side of the rear A-arms. Branches can get kicked up, slide thru the A-arm and tear a boot or worst yet, knock a CV-joint out of commission. We did have one clamp on one boot get pushed off. We'd also like to see all three headlights turn on when "high beam" is activated. The lighting is adequate, but more is always better and if it's there . . . use it. Finally, we'd like to say that out of all the quads we've tested up in the North Country, this Sportsman 500 is at the top of our list for firing up without spitting and sputtering until the motor warmed up. The SP500's powerplant purred like a finely tuned watch. Gear selection was also precise and we didn't have to "double shift" in order to complete engagement. If you're looking for the "numero uno" from the Polaris recreation/utility lineup--and possibly the industry--then look no more; the Sportsman 500 gets our vote. Color: Camo Green or Red MSRP: $6,999 Color: Remington Special Edition Mossy Oak Ū MSRP: $7599 Thanks to test riders: Zachary Brink & Mark Hallen 2000 Sportsman 500 Specifications Engine Displacement 499cc Cooling Liquid-cooled/fan assisted Engine type Four-valve, four stroke with counterbalance Lubrication Dry sump Carburetor 34mm CV Mikuni Fuel capacity 5.25. gal. / 19.87 ltr Coolant Capacity 2.25 qts. / 3.13 ltr Starting Electric w/recoil backup Alternator 250 watts Drive System Transmission PVT (Polaris Variable Transmission) with engine braking system Gear Range E-Z Shift high/low and reverse Drive Thumb-switch engage four wheel independent shaft drive Dimensions Wheelbase 50.5" / 128.3cm Turning radius (approx.) 65" / 165.1cm Dry weight 697 lbs. / 316 kg. LxWxH 81"-46"-47" / 205.7cm - 116.8cm - 119.4cm Suspension Front Sachs strut with 6.25" / 15.9cm of travel Rear Progressive rate fully independent with anti-roll bar / 9.5" travel Rear shock Two 1 3/8" twin tube shocks Brakes Front/Rear Brakes Single lever hydraulic disc with hydraulic rear foot brake Rear caliper Disc hydraulic, opposed piston caliper / rear axle fixed disc Tires Front Goodyear Tracker AT 25x8-12 Rear Goodyear Tracker AT 25x11-10 Load Capacity Front Rack Capacity 90lbs. / 40.8 kg Rear Rack Capacity 180lbs. / 81.6 kg Hitch towing capacity 1225 lbs. / 555.7 kg Hitch tongue capacity 35 lbs. / 15.9 kg Electrical Brake light Standard Handlebar headlight 1 single beam high 60-watt quartz halogen Grill headlights 2 single beam low 27-watt quartz halogen DC Outlet Front receptacle / rear plug-in Instrumentation Speedometer, Odometer, Hourmeter, Tripmeter, High beam indicator, Reverse indicator, High temp light |
thanks for posting this review, i had not seen it before. its nice to see some positives about my SP500 after reading all of the negative things in these forums.
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This was review was done by the ATV Connection, not ATV Action. Also, posting a link would be better reproducing the whole article. It takes a while to load...
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ATTENTION GRIZZ OWNERS!!!!!!!
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