my bone stock 98 Scrambler 500 4x4 beat a Yamaha Warrior and a Wolverine. And the 98 wasn't that fast to begin with.
Wolverines are cool though; about the only sporty 4x4 other than the Scrambler

hey kblazk, I rolled my 700 onto it's handlebars, and it didn't make it any faster.

 

northstar2,

just curisous... how does the sp 700 (stock,before the upgrades) compare
to your wifes 500 h.o.

 

When we first got the 500, we went out and dragraced them across a big huge parking lot, unplowed during the winter, at least a foot of semipacked snow. Mine dug a lot harder at the start, and the 500 was able to stay up on top a little better. The brand new Rawhides seemed to make a difference over the 1/4 worn ones on mine. After about 50 feet of worrying that I was going to get beat, the 700 hooked up and pulled even. I eventually pulled about a half a length ahead and stayed there . At one point she started gaining on me a little, then at about 50 mph I started pulling ahead a little bit. Then we ran out of room and had to stop. I weigh about 80 lbs more than the wife, plus the winch and heavier machine. I think if we had switched rides the 700 would have beat the 500 by a little bit more, because of the weight advantage.
So, my experience has been that the 500HO is so close in performance to the 700 that I wish I had bought one for myself. And like Ive said before, I don't understand how there is room between the two for a 600.
The 700 does seem to have a slightly lower seating position, which I am more comfortable with. The 500 isn't uncomfortable, but it seems like you're a little higher above the handlebars instead of behind them
The 500 HO with Rawhides is an awesome machine, and it's enough of a price difference to make it a better buy than the 700. I don't know if the 500 would handle the big tires as well as the 700 does, power-wise. Even with the extra torque of the twin, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing a clutch kit before long. It still feels just as strong, but I am able to slip the belt in high range now, which I couldn't do before. Of course, now I can stay in low range more than before.

 

northstar you just convinced me on a 500 h.o.

 

glad to hear it, if I had to do it over again, I'd go with the 500HO, and I'm a power hungry nut. You won't be dissapointed.

 

around where I live the price difference is 700 bucks between
the 500 and 700.. for that you get the larger parallel twin engine,
front and rear racks, chrome wheels, in line drum shifter with park, a
76" turning radius on the 600/700's vs 82' for the 500.

That's a lot for 700 bucks.... and only 400 bucks more for the 600.

I think I'd be hard pressed not to go with the 600 or 700 for
the upgrades you get for the price difference.

 

I guess your right, I was thinking of a larger price difference because I bought the 700 when they first came out and there were no deals, they couldn't keep them in stock, so I paid full price and then some. I don't even want to say how much. When we bought the 500 last February we did a little dealing and got it for$1050 less than I paid for the 700 in January of 02. I was a little ticked that 3 weeks after I bought a brand new 03, the 04s came out. In february!

 

'04 design looks like something the JAPS would make, i don't really like it at all, at my dealer we got about 6 yellow '03's left and a red one, we got one '04 in and its a blue 600. I'm going to hang around there and buy the last yellow '03 he's got because I don't like them '04's at all.

 

I agree with the you about the looks of the 04 600 or 700, I don't like the front end at all, it looks like
a cardboard box. But I guess that we will get used to it and after a while start to like it. Like everything else it grows on you after a while. That is one of the main reasons that I bought a 03 instead of the 04, the dealer had both, and I just liked the way that the 03 looked over the 04, and of course the fact that he had the 03 marked down to the same retail price as a 500 H.O didn't hurt either..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

How can you compare a wolverine and a Sportsman 500? Ok so theres the argument of CC's woopdy dooo. Look at dry wet. Better Yet look at the weight after being fueled and liquified~ not nearly the right word but whose counting~. The sportsman weighs in the ball park of 700lbs. prolly more, not sure. The Wolverine weighs 3 hundred pounds less. Ive raced a brand new wolverine stock vs. my machine stock and i beat the pants off it. That was with my 560 pounds of dry weight.