# my '96 Sportsman 500



## Blake.

well I've been wanting a new (to me) atv for quite a while. well ever since i traded my '97 honda recon for an '86 bronco 2 4x4.

97 honda recon with gbc gators and snorkeled. wish i never got rid of it. that little thing was unstoppable to be a little 2wd 250. should of never got rid of it. it was a beast. 




















so in order to get a new quad, i ended up selling my old 1978 suzuki 550 bobber.











and then to make sure i had parts money, i sold the bronco. had it on 32's. 











found a '96 Polaris Sportsman 500 that needed a little this and that for a pretty decent price. so i got it. 

day i bought it. 










then i started fixing stuff, ordering parts and whatnot

still stock




























and now with 27" mud bugs on ITP black steelies




















my girl friend hiding in the dakota. dont pay attention to how dirty the truck is. it's been raining at work and the roads are MESSY!










it almost will clear a 5 gallon bucket with no lift. 










Now I'm working on a radiator relocation. sorry i dont have any pics of it yet. it's about 1/2 done. snorkels are coming in the next couple weeks. i'll have more updates soon.


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## Polaris425

looks good so far.


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## Thom

Quad looking good but I really like that bobber. I love the old bikes. And that was a nice job on that.


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## Blake.

Polaris425 said:


> looks good so far.


thanks!



Thom said:


> Quad looking good but I really like that bobber. I love the old bikes. And that was a nice job on that.


yeah, i kinda miss the bobber. i'll end up doin another one sometime in the future. It was ridiculous the amount of attention that thing got. it was a crazy quick too. thanks!


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## Thom

This was my 1975 GT 550 I wanted to Cafe but it looked to good to chop.


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## Blake.

yeah, mine was REEAAALLY rough when i got it. 
That thing looks very nice! mine was a GS. 
if it was in as good of shape as good as yours i wouldnt have done it.
i want to find another old suzuki to bob again.


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## Blake.

Sorry i havent been on lately. I've been preoccupied with another project. I just acquired a 1982 GL1100 (thats a honda goldwing!) yeah i know thats an old man bike. but the plan is to strip it down to the bare bones and put a cafe styled seat on it. It'll be a really fat cafe. they actually are good looking bikes once you get the bs off of them. 

I dont have any updates, but my battery wont stay charged. I dont know what the deal is. while riding it's fine, but parked it dies. also my 4x4 doesnt work... any suggestions?


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## JFred

Check power going to the battery while running, the system may be not be charging. I would check before the voltage regulator, and after. (it's located behind the front bumper near the lights, it's a black box attached by 2 screws to the bumper). If it's charging before, but not after, then you'll need a regulator. If it's not charging at all, it may be the solenoid. If it's charging, it's probably just a bad battery.

AWD could be a number of things:
The pre 04/05 Polaris AWD uses a hilliard clutch engagement system. It operaites via an elctromagnet that engages when the AWD flip is switched. Once the rear tires rotate about 1/8th of a turn (which is barely noticeable), the front hubs engage. There is no need for a locker, as they are both engaged at all times while AWD is on. 

The easist way to check the system is to lift the rear end off the ground, engage the front, and see if your bike moves. Conversely, you can lift the front and rear up and do the same thing checking to for front hub engagement. However, with this method it is hard to tell the difference between a locked hub and an overly tightened lugnut. 

If you are having troubles engaging AWD, there are a few things and procedures to go through to check:
The first thing is fluid level. The hubs require Polaris On Demand drive fluid, and needs to be filled within about 75% capacity. It's easiest just to fill the hub all the way up, and let it drain at the 2 o'clock position. 

The second test is for voltage going to the hubs. It is usually in between 12-13 ( I cannot remember off hand the exact amount). The hubs require current to lock the electromagnet into the axle output shaft splines. 

Third, there is an armature plate inside of the hubs that sometimes becomes warped. If this is the case, it needs to be replaced. Don't worry though, they rarely exceed $15.00 new in the package, and are easy to work with. 

Finally, if all else fails, the hilliard clutch itself could be damaged. It cannot be bought in parts, but in whole assembly form (of course). The only way to test this is if everything else is in working order... and your AWD doesn't engage. However, if you have one hub engaging and the other not, you can simply mix and match parts until you find the culprit. 

I doubt you'll need all of this information just to troubleshoot right away, but it will be useful information nonetheless.


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## Blake.

tracked my charging problem down to the voltage regulator/rectifier. got a new one on and it reads 14v at the battery while running.

so i can ride it again as long as i just ride normal. there's still some things i want/need to do before i can get in anything too messy.

been busy with work, my motorcycle, and just recently our newborn baby girl. so i havent had much time to get the polaris back up to speed, but the tempurature is getting just about perfect to go riding and with all this rain recently it will make for good fun. In the next couple weeks I plan on having the sportsman ready for the riding season


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## spencer

*gbc garors*

what size gators were on the front and back of your old recon 250?


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