I have a '99 Sportsman 500, bought it over a year ago and am very satisfied. If I had it to do over I'd buy the same thing. I've lifted the front end 2", made and put on front & back bumpers, put a couple lights on the rear, added a front rack extension, just put on a set of 26" MudRunners, last night put on custom made steering limiters (thanks Denny), AND I'VE CHANGED OIL, GREASED ALL FITTINGS, and MAINTAINED MY MACHINE THE WAY IT SHOULD BE MAINTAINED! Knock on wood so far I've not had any trouble. Also, I ride it like it's a Sportsman and not a Sport!

 

The Magnum is #50 pounds lighter. The top speeed is 1-3 mph faster on the magnum. The rear suspension has no CV joints. The center of gravity is lower to the ground for better handling. The magnum is also 300-500 dollars cheaper than a sportsman. I would opt for the Magnum myself. If you like light weight, fast 4x4 get a 00 Explorer 400.

 

Tim1. The truck was the easy part. I had a Nissan CrewCab. The truck was awful. Noisy, underpowered, and the quad barely fit in the bed. In fact, I'm guessing it was easier to steal the whole truck than it was to get the quad off the back.

I replaced it with a 2001 F-150 SuperCrew. The Polaris will fit much better in the larger bed. And I'll have a real truck rather than the last toy I bought.

I'm on my way to the dealer right now to look at the Sportsman and Magnum again. He built up a Sportsman 500 yesterday so I could compare the two in person. I'm bringing home a quad tonight, which one is still up in the air. I'm leaning towards another Magnum, but I'm keeping an open mind about the Sportsman.

Thanks for the help,

Jack

 

Well, what did you do? I am curious!

 

I went, I rode and I bought. I bought a 00 Sportsman 500. I mentioned the concerns that had been brought up here and the dealer gave a 120 day guarantee that nothing would go wrong with the Sportsman, and if it did, he'd replace it with a new Magnum.

So, out the door for $6300 with the new mount for my plow and the bump adjuster for the plow and a 120 day exchange warranty. I'm planning on spending tomorrow(oops today) with my new toy. I'm going to have to get up and break in my first couple hours early, before my son gets up at noon so I can at least keep up with his Scrambler for the rest of the afternoon!

Thanks for all the help,

Jack

 

I realize that the decision has already been made, but I still thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.
First off, sorry about the theft. I had my 3 week old Magnum 500 stolen out of my truck in my driveway at christmas. If they had stolen my 2000 F250 crewcab at the same time, boy would I have really been pissed. But at 8MPG and gas at $1.60 and climbing, I'm almost hoping that my truck gets stolen so I can replace it with something that gets better mileage.
I replaced my Magnum 500 with the Sportsman 500 as well, and have been very happy. I had only 20 miles or so on the Magnum, so I didn't really get a good impression, but I had enough experience to realize that I wanted the EBS.
I'd be curious to know if they ever find the guys who stole it. It has been 3 months now and no news on mine. There were about 15 stolen in a 3 week period around mine, and only 1 or 2 in the past 12 weeks. Nearly all of them were new or newer Polaris's.

 

Stupid thieves!!!!!!!!

 

Go with the Sportsman. They are basically the same, but the sportsman has a plusher ride, better suspension, and more ground clearance. There would be no Hesitation if i were to choose.

 

A lot depends on where you ride. If you are in the woods or rock climbing a lot, the IRS will pay huge dividends in ride, comfort and handling. Remember that the straight axle is just that, straight. Just ride over a very rough trail, logs, rocks, it's so easy to tell the difference. If you live in the desert or don't ride heavy terrain, get the Mag. It's really a no brainer.

 

I just had heard from the New Hampshire State Police. They found my old truck in a junkyard stripped a couple weeks ago. Seeing as I have never actually seen another CrewCab Nissan, I'm guessing they stripped it for fun, not for the wild demand for spare parts. The quad alas is still missing.

I am, however, loving my new Sportsman. My *** is a tad more comfortable on the trails, and it plows snow like a trooper. (Okay, so I actually plowed most of my street with it because there really wasn't enough to push around in my driveway)

I can keep up with my son on his Scrambler as long as we're not running full throttle, ***** to the wall. I have yet to have a problem and I have now crested the 30 plus hours of operation. The quad still feels solid, and if all goes well this weekend, the flight attendants will strike and hello more riding time!

I'm quite happy with the Sportsman, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quad. I know that some on the boards have had problems, but I have yet to have any. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will continue to be trouble free.

B/W,

Jack