My brother and I went riding last evening and he ripped a knobby (split) and now he is in the tire market.

1st ?

The machine is 10 hour old and the rip in the tire looks like it was caused from tourque and not a cut. Should Polaris (Goodyear warrauntee the tire?

2nd ?

If he buys tires, how much wider can you go on the front without having tire rub on the strut?

3rd ?

I had Bearclaws on my old Trailboss and wondered if anyone has run them on a Sportsman?

4th ?

Do all Sportsmans have a ticking sound to the engine? Both our machines make the same sounds.

5th ?

I am considering a K & N filter. Do you change the jetting if one is used?

We ran down some really tough trails and the Sportsman really is an incredible machine. I

 

1: I would try polaris first as long at its under warranty
2: On the FRONT tire i would not go more then 9 or 9.5 it gets to hard to turn
3: Do a search under polaris for the claws
4: Yes, sports mans do make a ticking sound. Mine does.

5:I have a 2000 STOCK sportman 500. I installed the K&N filter. The sports man comes stock with a 152cfm jet. I went to a 162.5 main jet. I also installed the green spring from Ritter Racing. No other mods.

Reason for installing it: Mine seemed sluggish in the mud and at 60%-100% throttle.

Results: With the green spring I can almost flip the sportsman in low gear when doing a wheelie! How ever in High gear I did not see much of an improvement. I don’t know if I was expecting to much. It seems to give just a little more snap off the line. It's not jumpy or jerky. The K&N WITH a jet did make a HUGE difference. The throttle response has largely increased but its not a racing machine. I got what I wanted from the mods, more power under load. I was VERY impressed with the machines performance in thick mud and muck. It was able to keep them tires (stock) spring to the point I could let off throttle then hammer it back and it would speed them up again. The changes I chose made the machine feel lighter in the aspect of power on the low end during heavy throttle.

In conclusion I am impressed with the changes and would recommend it to people that might have experienced the same issues. I no longer lack power when I need it. The total package costs $75 and WELL WORTH IT!
Hope this helps..
I would look at a cluch kit if i were you also. HPD rear roller clutch and the HPD aggressive front cluch.. Makes a bid differance. I have heard of some problems with the Heel Clickers in the front. But the are nice if you get them working perfect.

Hope this helps!

 

I went by the dealer and they did not warruntee the tire. After closer inspection with the parts manager we both agreed it was a cut. I got some Super Seal Formula 100 tire sealant that is used in farm equipment and will give it a try. He highly recomended the stuff and said it can seal close to anything. If it does not work I am getting a tube.