Went on the annual ATV trip this weekend. It was a 5 day trip to northern Wisconsin. We went with 10 machines. My brother got rid of his '99 Sp 500 and got the new 700 about a week before the trip. Later on about day 4 after we got back to the hotel he noticed a sucking sound coming from the engine. I looked around at it and noticed the rubber intake manifold was cracked top and bottom. The seam opened up on it-this is the part that connects the carb to the engine. We were gonna try to duct tape it so we could ride the next day but we couldn't get tape in there without pulling out the carb, airbox, etc. Now, is there anyone else with a Sp700 that had this occur? Was wondering if they got a bad batch of those. The problem is it was extremely dusty and I'm sure the engine sucked a lot of dust in. What would you do in this situation? The engine runs fine, but I don't know if it got hurt or not. Let me know what you think.

 

Common problem. The dealer will change it under warranty.

 

Yes, this is very common. I would recommend keeping a spare boot with you. It only takes about 30 minutes to change. Also, keep an eye on the waterpump cover, those always leak too.

 

So how common of a problem is this boot thing? I'll have to locate the water pump cover next time I see the Sp 700. Any comments on the engine. Do you think the dust hurt the engine? This all leads me to another problem, but it's kind of putting the puzzle together. From day one when he got the machine, the top end was choppy and it could not hit 50 mph on the speedo. It acted as though the main jet was set too rich. The dealer told him they set it rich for break in. But if the boot was tore right away that is probably what made it run like that on the top end. What kind of speeds do you other guys get on the speedo with your SP 700's? Thanks a bundle for the info. Rooster

 

Top end should be around 67-68, it takes a little while though! Mine gets to 50 pretty quick, but needs @ 1/4 mile or so to top out on a flat road. I have heard of the boot failure before, but haven't notcied any problems with mine yet. Good luck!

 

My intake boot ripped as well. My 700 would not run well afterwards though, it would idle OK but would not accept any throttle input. I also had the bad water pump cover. After waiting for a response from my dealer I just took the darn thing off and fixed it myself with some high-temp silicone sealer.

 

MY intake boot did not have any cracks but my dealer replaced it anyway. He said that even though it did not have any cracks, the boots were collapsing under a load. The new boot did seem to be a lot stiffer. My carb was also running rich. Fouled the plugs out at 300 miles. The dealer reset the whole carb, took out the #155 main jet from the factory and replaced it with a #162.5. The water pump cover also leaked. Dealer put sealant around the o-ring in the water pump and I've not had a problem since. Everything was done under warranty. A little off topic but I had the clutch kit from AAEN installed and it did wonders. Ate up a 660 grizz with it. I weigh 230 and the grizz rider weighed around 170. Before I had the clutch kit installed, my son's 02 500 h.o would run about even with my 700, now it's no contest. He does have a darn good running 500 though. Completely stock. I havn't seen another 500 keep up with his yet. Go figure.

 

VeryPicky,
What is the name of the clutch kit you installed on your 700 and
what was the price? Is there a website for AAEN, or maybe a phone number?
--------------------------
02 Sportsman 700

 

<< VeryPicky,
What is the name of the clutch kit you installed on your 700 and
what was the price? Is there a website for AAEN, or maybe a phone number?
--------------------------
02 Sportsman 700 >>



VeryPicky,
I too would like this information. Please post any ifo you may have on how to get a hold of AAEN.
Thanks!

 

<< ... My carb was also running rich. Fouled the plugs out at 300 miles. The dealer reset the whole carb, took out the #155 main jet from the factory and replaced it with a #162.5. ... >>



Hmmmm... I have changed plugs twice on my 700 in 1000 miles. Once because when the intake boot ripped it fouled the plugs out and the second time was to replace the stock Champions with NGK- some one on here recommended them over the stock Champions. I do notice that my plugs are covered in black carbon. I suspect it's running rich. I also notice that it seems to bog down ever so slightly when climbing hills in High range and near WOT. I know you should use LOW usually but these hills are WAY steep and loose gravel and need lots of wheel spped to climb. Could this be caused by running rich?