My friend and I were out riding all weekend and we raced 4 times with the exact same results everytime. You can see below what I ride and he has a 2005 sportsman 400 (425) with a k&n air filter and 26 inch goodyear rawhides. We are about the same weight so that was not a factor. We were racing on a 1 mile dirt road. Off the line we were even, when I shifted into second we were even, in third I pulled 5 feet ahead, fourth the distance stayed even, and fifth(top end) we were exactly the same speed. So in a 1 mile drag race I beat him by 5 feet all 4 times.

That 5 feet and my ability to go through the snow better earned bragging rights. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

ummm congratulations...u almost beat a utility? LOL, interesting though very interesting

 

And he owns a 4wd quad with 75 fewer cc's so I would say its a noteworthy post.

The sp loses a lot of power and speed with those 26" tires but could theoretically gain some top end. Of course there is a large weight advantage for the wolverine as well.

Nice job though, sounds like you were pretty closely matched. I'll bet it was a lot of fun having such a close race, its no fun if one person blows the other away.

 

Interesting post. It's always good to hear about a heads up race between two closely matched machines. I guess the 400 sportsman has some guts. I've heard that the wolverine runs close with the Rubicon, Sportsman 500HO, and Eiger as well. I've also heard of them beating 300ex's. You just never know.

Hey MNWolv:

Yank out your spark arrestor and add a few psi's to your tires and run him again. Then post the results. I bet you will be surprised at the difference. You may even be able to beat him on top due to reduced rolling resistance and slightly taller tires. I would be very curious to see the results.

 

Hey Madwolv,

I have raced and beat a 300 ex with a less experienced rider on it. Never raced one with a real good rider. My dad's 2001 sp 500 HO is faster though, especially off the line, top end they are close. As to a rubicon and eiger, I have never raced either one.

As to the spark arrestor, where is it and wouldn't it be bad to "yank out"? What exactly does the spark arrestor do?

 

The spark arrestor is in the end of the stock muffler. It is designed to be removed and cleaned periodically. What it does is just what the word implies and it also reduces sound. You can take it out and re-install it later or just leave it out. It will make your bike a bit louder and will give the exhaust more flow. This is free horsepower, although just a little.

Do a search to learn more about the spark arrestor. It has been discussed alot in the past.

Also try the tire pressure trick I mentioned. Just put them back to normal after your finished experimenting.

Let us know if you race again after trying these things.