Could all of the sportsman owners share their comments/complaints with the machine, and how reliable they have been? Also, how well do they pull heavy(700-800lbs) loads?

 

My dad has had his Sportsman 500 for almost 2 years.....It has been a wonderful machine...we havent really pulled heavy loads with it but he did push a dually out of the mud with it one day...mud wasnt deep but it was real slick...he did scorch his belt when he did that and the next day his belt broke but if he would have used low range there would have been no problem..It is in the shop rite now gettin the coil replaced but that is the first thing to ever go wrong with it besides breakin tha belt bye tha way it has never had anyprobs besides tha 2 above and it has about 1500 miles on it

 

You really want to here ALL of my grief? I'll be typing for along time. So, in order of occurence... 1. Overheating...Sent to shop, found out fan was not connected from the factory 2. Overheating again, temperature sensor replaced at shop on warranty, took 10 days to return. 3. Jammed in reverse, pawl at rear of gearbox released via wrench 4. No rear brake pressure, foot brake, still not fixed, use the hand brake all the time 5. Front left wheel still pulling after AWD switch turned off, dealer replaced "disc" in the front axle 6. Front left wheel/tire air leak from day 1, can of fix-a-flat repaired that 7. Engine sounds like it is in reverse, without override switch pushed in...ALL THE TIME, that is the latest problem, as of yet haven't figured it out. Get this, bought the quad Dec 3/99 odometer reads 1100 miles with 61 hours on the meter. Ridden in the snow all but 7 days might explain all the problems, but a company that manufactures sleds should have some forethought about that.

 

Wow! I’m impressed! 1100 miles in 7 weeks. That’s ridin’! I’d say you done wore it out! (come on, you know I’m kiddin’) At this rate at least you’re likely “flush” all the problems out during the warranty period.

I’ve owned 3 Sportsman 500s, the latest is a ’99 I bought at the end of last April with 2100+ miles on it now. This last one’s been going through outer tie rod ends and rear brake pads like candy (every 500 miles). Other than that it’s been flawless. My other two Sportsmans were good to me too and they both had a couple thousand miles on them when I traded ‘em.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

WHEN it was RUNNING the Sportsman was an awesome puller, I dragged a couple of big honkin' moose (dead) couple of hundred yards without any troulble (in LOW). Around here, most of the Sportsman owners have been impressed with its moose hauling ability. And were talking about 600 pounds plus. Not them gargantuan Alaskan Bulls. I'd say that 80% of the utility quads around here (Ontario just north of International Falls, Minn.) are polaris.

 

I currently hold the record for most problems with a Sportsman.Since I got it back from the shop from having the engine rebuilt,everything has been fine.Im not even going to start typing my problems,most of you's allready know anyways.======BILL

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Hey Bill, how much trail time do you have on it since you got it back?

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

I have about 450 miles on my 99 sp 500 and no problems other than a cracked floor board which was my fault. Brakes are still in good shape, but they are a little noisy. They rattle a lot.

It will haul a load! I have pulled a trailer with a rick of green red oak in it with no trouble pulling it at all, a little tricky in the stopping dept. though.

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Four_Play aka davidg

 

Floodrunner,I cant say for sure exactly how much trail time[in miles] I have on the rebuilt engine,I do have 12hrs on the rebuilt engine though.Mechanic says break in is at 10hrs.My book says 20hrs I think.Any ways,I've allready done two oil changes on it with the rebuilt engine,So far,everthing seems to be going fine.===BILL

 

4-play, I think most people don’t realize the tow rating on these machines has more to do with the weight they’re designed to STOP than the weigh they’re capable of pulling.

So far so good Bill, glad to hear it!

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River