Well SWAC you aren't the only one to have this prob! Last night I was riding with one of my friends at some homemade trails and I went to cross a mudhole and it had too much water in it so I backed out and when I went to shift into forward, bam she was locked up tighter than anything. I wrestled with it, pushed it forward and back, monkeyed with the selector and the linkage but to no avail. I too ended up driving in reverse two miles down a gravel road to my house. And of course I met about 12 cars on this normally vacant road. Boy the looks I got from those people!! All I could do was wave and look like I knew what I was doing! I took it up to the dealer today and I'll find out what the prob is tomorrow I hope. I'll let you know asap.

Mudman '00 Sportsman 500 Vamped (Mean Green Muddin' Machine) especially in reverse!haha

 

I had chased the 23 connecting rods that run to the back from the gear selector, and I was working on the wrong one. The REARMOST drive pawl just got a little twist by a coarse fitting wrench (tough fitting a wrench around the connecting rod fittings) and I heard a CLICK and I was able to move the selector handle once again. After this fiasco, My Sportsman started okay, but would not rev up with out coughing and gasping like it sounds when you reverse on a Sportsman 500 and do not depress the override switch. Happens in Low, high, reverse, and even in neutral. Depressing the switch while revving in neutral makes no difference either, still coughs and barks. It sounds like something wdsman mentioned to me, a stuck or defective override switch. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start cutting wires on a warranteed machine.

 

23 connecting rods???? I mean 2 connecting rods, sorry!