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.