Howdy, I currently own a Honda Recon, I want a four wheel drive four wheeler that can be switched in and out of four wheel drive, my question is, what is the top speed on the Sportsman H.O.? I need 4 wheel drive for mud and hunting, but I'd like to keep up with my friends on open roads also!!!

 

I don't know the top end personly, but unless your friends all sport quads they may have trouble keeping up with you on a 500 H.O. It's top speed
is around 60+ mph.

 

I have a 2002 500 H.O. sportsman that is all stock with 500 miles and 25 hours my top speed is 62 mph

 

Top speed is dependant on "elevation", at sea level, from what I hear on this forum, the HO can reach speeds of approx. 65 mph. Where I ride it's about 2500 to 3500 ft and my top speed is 58 mph checked against my GPS. For every 1000 ft you will lose approx. 3% power. Another factor, of which there are many, is how loose is your engine. My HO has only 130 miles on it so it should do better after another 1000 miles or so.
Just my thoughts.

 

Traildog, according to Dirtwheels, your GPS reading is about right for a Sportsman's top speed regardless of elevation. The Prairie 650's top speed is only about 65 and it is definitely faster than a 500 H.O. Sportsman.

 

Talk to somebody that has checked it on a GPS. Different people get different readings, and also tell different stories. Thats why I always give my speed readings from runs on level pavement. Also, speedometers are never right. ATV Magazine did a test early this year with a radar gun. I think their readings were a bit on the low side but this is what they showed.
HO 500- 54mph
Grizzly600- 52mph
Traxter500- 52mph
Rubicon500- 50mph
AC 500 auto- 48mph
Quadmaster- 46mph

As for the 60+ readings, here is this much for you. On level pavement, I can eventually hit 65mph on my 660 Grizzly's speedometer. At that speed, the GPS reading is dead on 60.0mph. I think its going to be faster than a Sportsman, and it won't go over 60 itself. On a side not, most of the time, the GPS speed varied between 48.5 and 49.5mph. Only at the end of the run did it finally hit 60. I would figure a Sportsman to top out a couple MPH lower than the Grizzly 660.

I think the sp500 will have a good top end though. The grizzly will accelerate faster, and sometimes that can lead people to believe that it is a going to be a ton faster on top end. Not always the case.

 

I rode the Piute trail last weekend with a bunch of friends and just like Andy Bassham said the speedometers were not right according to me GPS I checked it against a Grizzly 600 and my Sportsman 500 the Grizzly speedometer was 6 MPH off at top speed and my Sportsman was 3 MPH off. On a flat straight away after about 1/8 to a 1/4 mile with my head down to the handle bars I hit 61.3 I would run consistent at 59 to 60 MPH if I was sitting up that number would be between 55 and 58 MPH. The Grizzly 600 the most he could get on the GPS was 56 MPH. There was one down hill road that I got my Sportsman up to 64.9 on my GPS. My Sportsman is a 99 so it is not a HO but I was riding with a guy who has a 2000 500 Scrambler 4X4 and he could only get his Scrambler up to 61.7 on my GPS.
I was wondering after his Scrambler would not really pull a faster top speed then my Sportsman are the ratio in the gears the same?
One other thing my Sportsman has a K&N air filter I don't know if that would make a difference but it is suppose to give it more power.
Here are my pictures from the Piute trail

 

I have a '99 (non-HO) Sportsman. When it had about 50 miles on it, I took off on a road that had a slight incline to it and got up to 58 miles an hour. Too darn fast for me. On the trail, it will go faster that I want or need to go.

 

if you can keep up with your friends on open roads with your recon the sportsman will to it goes about 10 mph faster than your recon 60 compared to 50