A magnum 500 or a sportsman 400. I will be using it for trail riding. Mainly steep stuff with some bad ruts and off camber trails.

 

if your limited between these two machines, go with the Magnum. It has more power and is lighter. Also with a solid rear axle, it will be more stable on hillsides. If you go with the magnum though, invest in some skid plates to help protect the bottom of the machine better (preferrably plastic, they slide over rocks better)

 

As far as the reply by LEP7MM, I couldn't disagree more. (respectfully, of course)

If you'r riding hillsides and ruts, the Sportsman would be better. With a hard axle, if one of your tires drops down into a deep hole, the crosscornered from it is comming off the ground.

Ride 'em both. You decide. I personally will NEVER have another straight axeled quad. But then again, I don't use mine for work. It is purely a toy.

Dave

 

I HAVE A MAGNUM 500 4X4 AND A MAGNUM 325 4X4,THEY ARE BOTH GREAT MACHINES.THEY BOTH HAVE A PLASTIC SKID PLATE ATTACHED TO THE FRAME.I DID OWN A MAGNUM 425 2X4,THIS WAS A GREAT BIKE WITH A TERRIFIC MOTOR.EITHER ONE WOULD BE A GOOD CHOICE.LET US KNOW WHICH ONE YOU CHOOSE AND GOOD LUCK.

 

The Magnum will be lower maintenance (much more simple drive/suspension system) but it will not have as smooth of a ride.

 

They are both great personally if you are going to be doing long trail rides the Sportsman is cleary the choice the ride is awesome! If work is a big part of your needs then possibly the Mag 500. I personally could not go with out the ride of the Sportsman there is nothing like it.

 

Simple...

Magnum 500=A little lighter with more power. Good if you will be pulling stuff, or want a little more speed.

Sportsman 400=Better suspension and ride. Smaller motor, but still far from under-powered. The IRS is a little harder to maintain, but I'm sure it's worth it to most.

Both are great quads. My friend has a Mag 500 and it really flies. I guess it depends on where/how you ride. Good luck with whatever you decide.

-Josh

 

as a reply to IndyDave:

the IRS on the sportsman will not work as good on an offcamber situation because the the downhill side can compress the suspension causing a sudden drop on that side and result in a roll over. The solid axle works as a single unit and will compress the entire back end of the machine, keeping a lower center of gravity.

If one of the back wheels would happen to fall into a rut on a hillside, then the machine has to fall to compress the shock to the point of being able to support it.

 

i have owned both and would recommend the Sportsman for the type of ridingyou plan on doing.
If you can swing it, I would get the Sportsman in a 500...

01 Silver HO Warn 2000 winch

 

I just finished a 3 day ride in the Mountains of West Virginia and TOTALLY agree that an IRS is the way to go.When I was on the mountains sides at 2000ft and hit off camber situations on the hillsides,the straight axle on my Xplorer was tipsy opposed to the IRS atvs and it gets very scarry.
Bill Ciliberti