If you could do just one thing to improve the Sportsman HO's performance what would it be? Pipe, Cam Carb etc? Let say a limit of $500.

 

What kind of gains do just clutching mods get you? I've heard that this can help a lot, but I don't know much about it.

 

When the prototype 700 Sportsman came out, it first used the stock clutches from a 500 Sportsman. The people at Polaris found this to be way too radical of a set up and softened the engagement quite a bit. The trouble was that it was too easy to pull a wheelie on the 700, so they changed the clutches.

I've heard that to keep the power under control, Polaris decided to make the clutches shift out either before or after peak power was reached. Properly tuned clutches could make this machine respectable and make the machine run a lot closer to the Praire than most Kawasaki people would like.

If I had my choice, I'd start with a decent clutch kit and work my way from there.

 

With a limit of $500, I would first say talk to Rick at RCR (618) 644-3211.
He will tell you exactly what you will need. I would suggest the GREEN spring for your HO. That spring is only about $30 from Rick. You are now left with $470 to play with. I say go with a pipe and snorkle kit. That HO will be set up for just about anything you can throw at it.

I am assuming that you have good tires on it. If not, performance mods are useless.

 

Thanks for the responses.
Mike Chero, you mentioned the clutches! I have never liked the clutch engagement of my HO, many times I longed for the clutch setup as my 98 none HO. Has anyone tried this? What are the clutch differences between HO and none HO?
mudislife, what does the green spring do for the HO?
Thanks again guy's.

 

Traildog,

Whoops, I thought for some reason you had a 700 Sportsman. I'm sure that you won't get much, if any gain, with just a clutch kit on the 500 H.O. As much as I hate to say, there really isn't anything you can do for the 500 H.O. for around $500. The real bummer is the fact that without extensive modification (the FST 628 kit comes to mind $$$$), you won't get a single extra useable horsepower out of that motor. You can try pipes, carbs, filters, widgets and doodads until you go broke and not see any gain. In this case the old sacred mantra of "There is no replacement for displacement" bears true.

The difference between the non H.O. and the H.O. are mostly in the motor. The non H.O. has a smaller carb (34mm) and lower compression while the H.O. has a larger carb (40mm)and higher compression. Because the non H.O. had a smaller carb, the low speed air velocity was much better. IMHO, Polaris didn't raise compression enough on the H.O. to compensate for the 6mm larger carb, thus slow speed running suffers. You might be able to compensate for this with different clutching, (lowering the engagement point of the primary clutch) but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Give HPD a call at (763) 389-3336, they might be able to help.

Again, I'm sorry. I thought you had a 700 Sportsman.

 

Man, I really like the green spring on the HO. I'm not currently using it on mine, but when I had it in there I liked it. Back then I was mostly riding trails and some mud. The green spring seemed to give me just a little more umph on the low end. I'm not talking about HP... that's not what the spring will do for you. The spring will change your point of engagement and you have to try several before you decide what is best for your set-up and riding style. Sorry I can't tell you exactly what to do.... I am no clutching expert, but Rick is. Call him @ RCR (618) 644-3211.

 

Thanks again for the input. The 628 kit is certainly the way to go but it's not in the budget right now. Maybe later though?
What I don't like about the HO clutching is that it takes off gently then hits hard causing the rear wheels to spin in wet conditions. This has almost cost me a wipe out when loading my quad onto the trailer. As I was halfway up the ramps and needed a little more power, a slight touch of the throttle was enough to engage the clutch hard, the rear wheels spun and caused my quad to slip off the ramps. The ramps were wet and slippery which did not help and if it wasn't for my buddy standing beside me and grabbing my quad preventing it from falling I would have been laying on the ground along with my SP.
I am intending to buy 27" tires but a little concerned if my HO has enough power to push them. Any Ideas?

 

Dude.....plenty-O-power!!!! You will be suprised.

 

a few simple easy horsepower decently priced mods

K&N air filter, and an isd2 supertrap exhaust simple bolton horsepower
if youre looking for more go to www.fourstroketech.com they make 628cc bore and stroke kit if the pipe and filter doesnt do enough for you but the pipe and filter alone should give you a good bit more power