Okay, anybody else out there with a Sportsman 500 fnd that they hit a wall at about 44 mph? Well, I sure do. Seems like I just get to about 40 or so mph at thats it, she don't want to go any faster. I know this is not a racer, but what is this point where the quad just stops? I put on a pipe from AAEN and changed the main clutch spring and weights as well. I find a little better lower speed rpm increase, but the wall is still there. Anyone else encounter this wall, or perhaps done better than this?

 

That is a common problem with machines with low mileage. The best way to obtain maximum speed, is to make at leat 1,000 miles and then give the machine the ride of her life for 100-150 miles at full throttle varying speed often but keep on coming back at full throttle. The reason for this is that those motors are build so tight that somebody cruising at normal speed, it takes 2000-2500 miles to break in the machine: but do not do this before the machine has at least 1,000 miles on it. I garanty you that after the ride you will go at least 55 miles per hour. Se cond do not forget that the clutch should be in top shape. On problem I had on my EBS was that one rolle in the torque was not rolling on the helix but sliding and I was going maximum at 45 miles per hour; so be sure your torque is ok by dismantling it and cleaning it with air. Third get rid of the paper filter you have and buy a KN filter instead: give your machine some air. Do not forget that the valves should be ajusted every 5,000 miles. Another thing to check is that the rear brake does not create any friction: one of my frien had that problem: it xhould be completely freeé. By the way, 1998 sportsman 500 has 11,500 miles logged on it and it still performs at 58-60 miles an hour(no jokes). If you cannot make it run, e-mail me and I will get in contact. Good Luck

 

That is a common problem with machines with low mileage. The best way to obtain maximum speed, is to make at leat 1,000 miles and then give the machine the ride of her life for 100-150 miles at full throttle varying speed often but keep on coming back at full throttle. The reason for this is that those motors are build so tight that somebody cruising at normal speed, it takes 2000-2500 miles to break in the machine: but do not do this before the machine has at least 1,000 miles on it. I garanty you that after the ride you will go at least 55 miles per hour. Second do not forget that the clutch should be in top shape. One problem I had on my EBS was that one roller in the torque was not rolling on the helix but sliding and I was going maximum at 45 miles per hour; so be sure your torque is ok by dismantling it and cleaning it with air. Third get rid of the paper filter you have and buy a KN filter instead: give your machine some air. Do not forget that the valves should be ajusted every 5,000 miles. Another thing to check is that the rear brake does not create any friction: one of my frien had that problem: it should be completely free. By the way, 1998 sportsman 500 has 11,500 miles logged on it and it still performs at 58-60 miles an hour(no jokes). If you cannot make it run, e-mail me and I will get in contact. Good Luck

 

That is a common problem with machines with low mileage. The best way to obtain maximum speed, is to make at leat 1,000 miles and then give the machine the ride of her life for 100-150 miles at full throttle varying speed often but keep on coming back at full throttle. The reason for this is that those motors are build so tight that somebody cruising at normal speed, it takes 2000-2500 miles to break in the machine: but do not do this before the machine has at least 1,000 miles on it. I garanty you that after the ride you will go at least 55 miles per hour. Second do not forget that the clutch should be in top shape. One problem I had on my EBS was that one roller in the torque was not rolling on the helix but sliding and I was going maximum at 45 miles per hour; so be sure your torque is ok by dismantling it and cleaning it with air. Third get rid of the paper filter you have and buy a KN filter instead: give your machine some air. Do not forget that the valves should be ajusted every 5,000 miles. Another thing to check is that the rear brake does not create any friction: one of my frien had that problem: it should be completely free. By the way, 1998 sportsman 500 has 11,500 miles logged on it and it still performs at 58-60 miles an hour(no jokes). If you cannot make it run, e-mail me and I will get in contact. Good Luck

 

I've had that Sportsman punched at full throttle since day 1, trying to squeeze a little more speed out of her. Get this, its 65 days old, and I've logged about 1100 miles on it. It spent about 20 of them days in the shop, getting an overheating problem and a sticky front left plate in the drive hub. It wouldn't disengage when the AWD switch was turned off. Now its overheating again, the radiator fan is not turning on. I bought the SP in December and plan on driving it all winter. After I changed the clutch spring and the weights, and put lift kit on it, it overheats again. I put a shield in front of the rad, to keep the snow out, but the rad still gets plenty of air. All I have to do is drive as fast as I can for a few minutes, and then the overheat light will go out. Dealer said he would fix it again, even though I put the mods on. So now I have to find a truck to bring it 40 miles to the dealership...what a hassle.

 

I have a '97 Explorer 500 (same as the Sportsman w/out the big headlight) and have never hit the "44" mph wall. Mine would run up to 50 pretty quick and then slowly climb up to 55. My friend bought a '98 Sportsman 500 and his would hit 55 from day one also. Maybe you have a sticky brake??? Or restricted air flow to the carb, or low flow fuel to the carb? Hope you get it working!

Roger
'96 Mustang Cobra
'97 Explorer 500
'98 Scrambler 500

 

SWAC1 What was the problem that caused the AWD to not disengauge and how did you fix it? If the dealer fixed it is there anyway you could find out what caused it? Im having the same trouble on my front left side and want to know if it is something that I can fix myself.

 

The sticky plate in the front was part of the "hub" that was not disengaging when then AWD switch was turned off. The dealer at first said to back up like you would with manual hubs on a 4 wheel drive truck. So I says, hey this is not a truck, and its on warranty so fix it! I don't know much about the drive system, but was told theres some plates in the front gearbox somewhere that were sticking "ON". Also, it was jumpint in to drive on the one left front wheel spontaneously which was not safe. It appears to be okay now, just overheating as usual....

 

Can't say I've had a problem with 44 MPH. At 6 months old I could quickly get up to 53 MPH, but no faster.

As to your "sticky hubs". I understand what the problem is but I'm not a mechanic so I won't try to explain. I've come to realize that I can keep bringing it back to the shop, or deal with it (usually by backing up). My case isn't a major problem and doesn't keep me from riding. The shop told me this is a universal Polaris problem and they are trying different ways to rectify it. They did alleviate some of the "sticking" and I give them credit for that. Lets hope they find a permanent fix.

 

Swac1, my 99 Sportsman had a problem when it was new, the snorkel was laying against the gas tank limiting the amount of air to the carbeurator. The fix was to trim it back at the top of the snorkel.
Check out the previous posts on overheating and to many keys on the key switch.