Dont get me wrong, Kodiaks are amazingly kickass machines but I wanted a different quad for him since I would ride it too and that way Its like having 2 quads instead of one, and counting my brothers Recon, then its like having 3 quads to choose from :)

The only major thing that is different between the magnum 500 and the sportsman 500 is the sportsman has independent rear suspenion and the Magnum doesn't. Oh, there is also a difference of about 500 bucks the Mag. being the cheaper one.