As the title says, a life long dear friend gave me a 2005 Polaris Sportsman. It had been sitting in a field near a barn for about 9 years, unused. He told me that if I wanted to rent a trailer and tow it home (400 miles) I could have it. Well, it was hard to turn down, even though I tried to convince him to sell it. I have a steep, short hill just behind my house that I have to traverse anytime I want to go into the back yard which is about 1 acre of brush cleared woods. This will be a Godsend for me.

The ATV was buried in deep weeds. The racks and plastic were rather oxidized and weathered, two tires were flat, and no battery. However, there were attachments. A Kolpin 3 point Hitch with 2 48 " bars, a Kolpin 60" rake, a Agri-Fab sleeve hitch box scraper, tow behind Agri-Fab spreader/aerator, and a Moose snow plow. All the attachments were in fair to pretty good condition. It also has a Warn 2.5ci winch. The cable was shot, but what the heck.

The tires were buried to the rims. I pulled it out with a strap winch and rented a Uhaul 5 X 9 trailer and we all managed to get it all in. Towed it home. Since we went to see him in my wifes Ford Escape, that was what I towed it home June 30th with. Did well. Went on vacation for the next week and started work on it July 8th.

To be continued. Trying to get a some pics ready......

 

Keep us posted! Would love to see some pics. Wish something like this would happen to me. haha!

 

Lichen spots on the racks. You can see the seat cover is shot.

 

here is a picture of the winch (Polaris winch grill cover removed)


The rear bumper is bent a bit.


Seat needs a cover bad


Front lens is still pretty clear. Just covered in dirt. All lights work. Who would have figured? I forgot to mention that a critter had chewed through the wire harness but it was fairy simple to splice the 7 or 8 wires.


It also had these side rails installed on it with passenger foot pegs. I took them off for now. Are they just for the footpegs?

 

So this is where I am so far: Put air in the tires and no visible signs of rot. They are holding air fine for several days now. Got the oil in crank and trans replaced, new fuel filter, new fuel switch installed, Then I rebuilt the carburetor. Since all of the electrical system checked out and the plug had spark, I put some oil in the cylinder, rotated it a few times to get the rings wet, put the plug back in, jumped it to the truck battery and it fired right up! Just had to set the idle down and it holds at 1160 RPM.

All of the electrical checked out. Everything works. 91 hours on the engine and 574 miles on the odometer. Hardly ever been used... once I put in a battery, I took it in the back yard of an acre of brush cleared woods (So did my wife and my 20 something daughter) and it performed perfectly. A diamond in the rough!


Then I figured it was worth putting in the money and time to get it to be able to do what I wanted it for.

 

I did mention attachments.

Kolpin Category 0 three point hitch adapter. 12v power. The lower lift arms had been sitting in the dirt all those years and the ***** were rusted bad. Three hours of beating them into submission with a hand sledge and various chemicals and now they are lubed and can turn with a finger.. Checked out the motor and it works fine, and just had to add a couple of clips and pins to make it complete..




There are two of these toolbars for the three point. In great condition.


A Kolpin 60" landscaping rake that slips onto the toolbars. There is a Moose snowplow too. When I pulled it out of the dirt, the plow was attached, but I had to take it off for transport. It seems barely used. The mounting hardware is in very decent shape with minimal rust. It is upside-down in this pick.


A sleeve hitch Agri-Fab box scraper. I can get a new rear Kolpin rear dozer blade for $200, that fits right on the toolbar. It would require makiing or buying a sleeve hitch adapter for the three point to use this. I may sell this and use the money toward the blade.

 

I ordered and have received, a new synthetic winch rope with aluminum hawse fairlead, a Kolpin rear suspension lockout, a new 20ft 3/16 grade 70 logging chain, and some spray herculiner bed liner for the racks. I also ordered and installed a winch switch and contactor to operate the linear actuator on the 3 point hitch.

Still to come in the mail is a Kolpin 2" receiver and new seat upholstery. Some 1/4 inch stainless staples will be here tomorrow.

 

I'll be 61 years old next month, and there is a 17 degree hill right off the back of my house that is getting more painful and difficult to walk with every passing year.. Then there is an acre of wooded land that is my backyard. Every year I go down and pick up limbs, trees, dead critters and such and have to carry them to a pile to be sawn up. My lawn tractor will not take the hill most days. Now I can get up and down that hill with ease using the ATV, and will be able to pull a small trailer to carry tools down and wood up. Not only that, but I'm hoping the landscape rake will help me move the fallen stuff into a pile without me having to pick it up first. Then, if I add some scarifiers to one of the bars, I can rip up some dirt and move it with the blade to take care of some of the uneven areas. I could even use this to make a fire pit area!

I also have a plot of land elsewhere that is 2500 ft long and I have to go and inspect it for hunting stands and hunters using it without permission. It is a long walk and this will help me clean up the trail back there and speed up the inspection times.

I got my hopes up!!

 

Wow...excellent find! Someone from high above is smiling down on you!! Glad everything works well, you got a real steal!

 

Thanks. It seems like the right thing to happen at just the right time.