Category: Forum News

Hi Everyone,

I've been hunting an ATV for some time now, seriously for maybe 1 month.
I've seen many, and most were in terrible condition (even ones with much lower mileage).
I finally ran into one this evening which checked all the boxes and seemed like "the one" so I bought it. It is a 2004 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO. I originally was avoiding these because I heard their 4x4 capability, because it would engage only on demand gave you less control and would get you stuck in the mud more than other brands. That said, the suspension and ride quality reviews were really good and I have a bad back (have had surgery, may need more) so comfort is more of a priority.

Since I am pretty new to this, I was a bit naive with respect to knowing what was considered high mileage. Only now reading mileage specific threads am I seeing that I might have made a mistake. Now I can't sleep... worried I did something stupid. It has 12,000 km on it, so 7450 miles. The guy did all of his maintenance, and the bike looks, feels, sounds, really good. There is a link (tie rod I believe) with some play in it, and a slight bit of play in one of the rear wheels (bearing)... and the rear brakes don't seem to be doing much (same story with 4 different Sportsmans I have seen).

The purchase is done, I will live with what I bought, and hopefully this lack of sleep is for nothing. Worse case I slowly swap parts until its a new machine again. It still pulls very strong, no smoke, perfect idle... a bit of oil around the valve cover area... new tires... mags... rear seat with front storage and windshield. I don't plan on doing too many big trips, mostly riding around my cottage and in the field with my 7 yr old daughter.

Anyways, since I can't sleep and was bored I decided to introduce myself.
- Adam

So I just recently bought a new 2017 outlander 850 xt and I'm having tons of fun with it and love the huge amount of power can-am offers. Since upgrading from an Arctic cat 500 that was an absolute slug compared to my 850 I have been a lot braver going into deep mud and other places where I might otherwise get stuck and thats made me think about a few things. I'm lucky enough to have a group of friends that I ride with that can pull me out if I get stuck somewhere where my front mounted winch can't be of much use. but since my last ride at a local trail where I will admit I acted pretty dumb and planted my front tires in a large mud pit that I couldn't pull straight out with my winch (unless I wanted to pull my quad through water up to the handle bars). After doing that it took my buddy and I a good 20 minutes to get me unstuck with his little 500 with no winch attached and it made me realize that if I were alone in that situation I'd be completely screwed. So I started looking into rear mounted winch and different portable options if I ever got into a situation like that alone and seemed to find a few good options. One was a winch system from super winch called "winch 2 go" and it seems like it should have plenty of power to get me out of most situations but I'd like to get some more advice on this and hear about what you guys have done for a rear winch and if you think that the winch I talked about is worth it.

Here's a link to the winch on Amazon Superwinch 1140232 Winch 2 Go 12V 4000SR Portable Winch System (4000lb with Synthetic Rope, Pulley Block, Gloves, Straps and D-Shackles) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0166H2V0C/..._pOuIzbAGB6ZJX

Need some help....so i wanna do some upgrades to my Rene xmr. I no one of Best performances upgrades are clutches which i plan on doing. Also I wanna do hmf dual exhaust which I no you gotta do the fuel optimizer.. so my question is this do I leave the factory setting alone or do I have to change them. The other thing is do I need to reflash my ecu? What are the benefits if I do? I wanna get the most out of my bike. What are your suggestions..

so I just recently bought a 2017 outlander 570 xmr and am wanting it to be louder but I can't seem to find an aftermarket exhaust system or slip on exhaust for it. want to know if I can use from another model?

Can anyone tell.what weights are.in which kits for 650xmr with the green/yellow primary?

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Hello All,

I have a 1998 Sportsman 500. It is a great machine and generally runs great! However, recently when I put the ATV in reverse, the motor stops running. Anyone know why or how to fix? It runs great in forward but not at all in reverse. Thanks in advance. Im stumped!

I have an 03 Sportsman 6x6. This picture is of the rear mid axle wheel/tire. Size is 25-11-10. I'm looking for a used replacement but will buy new if I have to. The problem is that I cannot confirm that the photo is even the correct wheel and if not, what is it off of. I did not buy the bike new and the parts/owners manual does not have photo of the original wheell. All the used wheels I find do not match year or size.
Any help would be appreciated!

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Hello All,

I have a 1998 Sportsman 500 ATV. It is a great machine and runs great! However, recently when I put the ATV in reverse the engine stops running? Anyone know why or how to repair it? Thanks in advance. I'm stumped!

My father and I went to remove the engine from, and noticed that almost every bolt is some type of hex bolt. Does anyone know what type of wrench we need to remove them?

Hi guys, i bought a 97 magnum 425 for real cheap. It had been sitting for God knows how many years... has about 5000 miles on it. Great shape just faded and REALLY dirty. I've repaired a bunch of things and found the original reason it was parked (exhaust lobe was completely flat). Had I read around that would have been the first thing I checked lol

anyways, I've got it running great. Still fighting with the idle a little, sometimes it's high sometimes it's low... but overall it's running great. Here's my questions, hopefully someone can help!

When it idles low, shifts into forward or reverse great. No problem at all. When it's idling higher, it grinds like crazy trying to shift to either. Shut the bike off and shifts either way no problem. I've adjusted the linkages per the manual until my head explodes... right where it is seems to be the sweet spot. One turn either direction and it will shift to F but grind shifting to reverse, or vice versa. Are these things really that damn picky about the linkage or am I missing something?

Secondly, runs great and rides great. Trans behaves wonderfully... smooth plenty of power. I've changed the trans oil. Oil is nice and clean but there's consistently a pile of glitter on the dipstick magnet when I remove it. I can wipe it 2 or 3 times and after that it doesn't pick up any more. Until I ride it again. I've only ridden it short trips around the property (couple miles at a time) and nothing over about 30mph until I get new tires on it. But I suspect the glitter is from the grinding when shifting into gear vs. Internal issues due to how smooth it rides. There's a little whine noise but nothing I would consider abnormal. After watching a few YouTube videos of people riding the same quad it doesn't sound any different... quieter if anything. Any ideas of what might be causing the glitter that wouldn't affect performance or drivability? Or do you agree that it's probably just from the shifter grinding? I'd rather not pull it apart if I don't have to. Might just try to change the oil a few more times to try and flush whatever it is out and start fresh. I have absolutely no idea of the history of this thing...

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm just not real familiar with this machine.