I've winched many a scrambler out of the mud. Those little tires don't seem to have what it takes. Its more than having some rackage - its having a winch, maybe a snow plow (does dirt and rock too), windshield (popular here) bumpers and working fenders. Just say no to chains. I have front and rear trunks and winches, saddle bags, tank bags and canteens, GPS etc etc. Sportsman works for me. Its like a jeepcycle, road warrior, hummer and plow all in one. More options than the scram..

And those hubs are not a problem once you understand how they work and how to adjust them. Buy a service manual. Its worth its weight in gold.

Good luck.

 

You should get one of each! Just kidding. Here are the differences I’ve found between my machines:

The Scrambler

Much quicker and a littler faster on the top end.
Handles much better. The straight axle and lower profile tires make a big difference.
Much easier to handle in the really tight woods. I’m always backing up the SP500 to get around the tight corners.

The SP500

Much better ride. The Scrambler has a nice ride but the SP500 is the best in the business (I’m sure the 700 is the same).
This machine can go through the mud much better than the Scrambler. The centerline of the machine is the lowest point for the Scrambler and the highest point on the Sportsman. I’m always getting the Scrambler stuck in the mud with the sprocket and disc brake dragging. I’ve also skipped across the top of some mud holes with the Scrambler and had the SP500 sink like a stone. All depends on the conditions.
Low range. This thing feels like it can pull a house out of the ground in low range. You don’t want to be pulling too much weight with the Scrambler’s high range only tranny.

I hope this helps.

 

hahah, thats funny because my dad is gettin the sportsman for sure so i wasnt sure which one i should get becaue i knew he was gettin one and i wanted to go in the deep trails (muddy) with him. But I wasnt sure which i should get.

 

see I want something that can to the trail thing but i want it to be sorta small, fast and freakin sweet lookin (sproty).

 

my friend has a sportsman 500, and he trail rides with us all the time. he is religous on his maintance, and has only had the tierods go, and a cv joint. his complaints are small, but i will list them.
says it is hard to steer on all day tight trail rides.
says it slows alot at the 45 mph range, but has gotten it to 58 over a long distance.
says my grizzly has power steering next to his sportsman.

pro's.
loves the ease of starting.
loves the ability to get through the thick stuff.
says it has gobs of pulling power.
ride comfort.
being he is such a big man, 6ft4, 250+, loves the fit to him.
duribility.

if i were looking between the 2, i just know i could manhandle the sportsman, but in the deep stuff, i would get stuck on the scram.
good luck with the desition!!!


my pictures

 

Ghost,

You have to remember here that I am not slamming Polaris. I love their ATV's. But their marketing is tainted. They tell people that their 4 wheel drive is true 4 wheel drive and they got you believing it. It is in fact electromagnetically actuated all wheel drive. Not true 4WD like a Griz 660, Suzuki, or a Kawi 650 with the locker engaged. Its not a fault of the 500HO that the drive does not engage on occasion. Three different dealerships told me this. Its a fault of the mechanism that happens on occasion. I personally did not like the AWD kicking in after 20% wheel-spin already getting me stuck. I was not going to go into the faults of the Polaris because I said that Kawi vs. Polaris EACH had their advantages and disadvantages. But you dragged some of us into this debate. For you other Polaris owners out there I know that there are disadvantages to the Griz, 650, and Suzuki. Just trying to make a point here because all the brands have advantages in certain features. Polaris's advantage is that their 4WD is smarter than the others, just not as effective. Yes, I have to finger lock my differential, that too is a disadvantage. Suzuki and Yamaha have to stop and shift the ATV into a locked diff. mode. That is a disadvantage. Polaris can make a seamless integration into its AWD mode but with the disadvantage of slipping and being AWD not true 4WD.

Daryn

Daryn

 

I still love the 500 HO. And I am sure I will love the 2003 SP700 with all its little bugs cleared out. I would still be riding around at 25 MPH if it were not for the innovation of Polaris. They do seem to listen to what we riders want and they work on getting what we want. So its because of Polaris creating a competitive ATV atmosphere that we all are riding ATV's of various band names with lot's of rich features and innovations.

So Ghost, don't go slamming my choice of ATV or calling me a bozo for not knowing 4WD. I think I could out-debate you when it comes to the mechanics of 4WD. I do not like Bombardier and it would be easy for me to say they suck. They don't suck just because I don't like them. They have a lot of nice features even though "ATV Mag" or "Dirtwheels" has nothing really positive to say about them. The Traxter has probably the best 4WD system with clutch packs; 24 bronze plates with Kevlar end discs; that make this a smart and awesome system. Its disadvantage is that its always on taking away a sportier ride desired from some riders. But for pure utility, this ATV rocks. But I don't as I respect the owners who like them. And if you respect us all, quit calling us names, and dissing our ATv of choice, we all won't go around thinking you are a immature, uneducated, bonehead for your disrespectful posts.

Daryn

 

Like I said before...Its just my opinion...and don't take it personaly!!


ROFL!!!

 

Well, lets review Daryns post …

Point #1 – True 4 wheel drive. If all 4 wheels are pulling (digging up dirt) then its “true” 4 wheel drive. If the machine has a limited slip differential in the front – one wheel will be spinning and the other won’t – not true 4WD (example - Rubicon). So point #1 is inaccurate.

To continue - what difference is there between having the “locker engaged” or “finger locking the differential” and having the Polaris on-demand 4 wheel drive turned “ON”? Each are methods of switching between 2wd and 4wd. Both are a selectable engagement of the FWD. If you want a example of full time 4wd see Arctic Cat – not selectable engagement and all 4 wheels turn up dirt. So the 2nd point is inaccurate.

The FWD on a Polaris works great! Because it is a more sophisticated system of being the best of both 2wd for steering and 4wd for traction - it requires a little more maintenance (read keep oil in it) and adjustment (read put the damn thing back together correctly). It is usually after someone improperly reinstalls the hubs that problems of not engaging correctly begin. Strike 3.

Your 3 different dealerships are wrong. There are 5 hex ramps inside the roller cage of the heller clutch in each hub (it looks like a big hex-nut). The rollers move up the ramp less than half way to engage. Do the math – that would mean less than 10% of rotation (100% / (20/2). If the wheel were allowed to turn 20% the rollers would advance to the summit between ramps and not be very well supported and would go “over the top”. I would think that 10% would be a nominal slippage amount of the rear wheel, which is what- A few inches before both front hubs are locked. So again, inaccurate.

I beleive that most people don't know how the Polaris hub engagment works. So its easy to be missunderstood. Its OK to be wrong. This is not the weakest link. Nothing personal.