clutching

[beaverlakeman]

If i get my xc500 clutched,, will it beat a stock xc600??

if not, what can i do to my sled to out perform a stock 600?

[TNT4ME]

Beav,

the easiest solution here would be,

buy a 700.

clutching will do alot of different things,but the riding conditions make alot of difference also. no one setting on clutching is an easy answer to out performing another machine, i know a guy that tried every thing thoughout the years, if ya want to hear some of his tried knowledge i could put ya in touch with him. but as said earlier buy a bigger machine, easiest fix.

tnt

[Macgyver55]

Clutch mods alter the engagement RPM, the shift RPM and the maximum engine RPM. You can change any or all of these but the only thing that will make your sled have a higher top speed is to change the maximum engine RPM (which you don't want to do without engine mods) or to change the gearing. Changing the gearing can raise the top speed, but only if the motor has the power to pull a higher gear. This in turn, will take away acceleration on the bottom.

If you just want your sled to accelerate faster, but not necessarily have a higher top speed, you can gear down. In this case you will lose top speed but have more bottom end power. Traction devices can also help with acceleration depending on the snow conditions.

In most cases the manufacturer has found the right mix of both acceleration and top speed for each of their models. Any tinkering you do will usually net at most only minor changes. And if your buddy makes the same changes, you'll be right back in the same spot. Just like all types of racing, if you wanna play......you gotta pay!

[Steve Bakken]

Alot depends on how you want to ride it too. If you clutch it, and also add a good set of aftermarket pipes, re-jet to match the pipes, re-set your suspension both front and rear, and replace alot of your parts with lighter weight pieces, yah, you could maybe beat a 600. But......... it'll suck trying to trail ride it. If this is going to be a drag-only sled, this would be a good set up, but all these mods make it very difficult to ride on the trails. Kinda like trying to drive a tubbed out pro-street drag car through downtown Minneapolis. Like the other guys said, the best thing to do (and you don't have to worry about weather all the mods will work or not) is to trade in on a bigger sled.

[hanson]

I hate to say it but you should have ponied up the extra $$$ for a higher hp motor if you were looking for the performance of a bigger sled.

You might be able to get that 500 close to the performance of a bigger sled with clutching, pipes, and some carb tuning but like others have said, it'll cost you some bucks. Maybe rip the motor appart, overbore it and stuff some bigger pistons in. Hire out a port & polish job on the ports. The thing with mods is each one will give you a little performance but you'll get better performance when you balance all the mods out together. You'll also tend to lose reliability in your motor also.

[hanson]

Sorry Steve-

We were typing at the same time and probably covered alot of the same info in our posts.

Ah well, its worth mentioning twice I guess.

[Steve Bakken]

Great minds think alike.

[gjk1970]

Steve and Hanson are 100% correct with the relaiablity part of the sled. Since I sit here with a SRX700 PRO built for racing with papers it has done 164 m.p.h in a radar run but the sled is useless cause it is in the shop more then it is in my possesion.So if you want a faster sled buyy a bigger sled don't spend the time or money building what you want when there is something right off the factory floor with the power you search for. Cause the money does not stop at the end of the build it seems to go with you on every ride you take on that sled. If not a fuel pump then a piston or rings or a complete overhaul. I know from owning a built sled that it is not what it is all cut out to be.

Plus what kinda 600 are you trying to beat? Cause if it is like the Polaris 600XCR well that sled came direct from factory race ready. That goes back to one of these other posts stating the factory went for the most power for that sled without piping...

[beaverlakeman]

not so much as "beat" a 600 but keep up with it toe to toe..

mainly i guess an xc600,mxz600,zr600.. I know i screwed up by getting this sled, cause i did get approved for a xc700 hold over from last year at 6100 bucks. Only reason i went with this 500 is because the 700 they wanted $700 down, and the 500 was $350 down.. couldnt come up with the 700 dollars.

So now i am thinking of trading the 500 in already for the 700 when my taxes get in. Ive put 224 miles on it. total milage is at 958. so hopefully they will give me 3,000 for trade in since they sold it to me for 4,000. hopefully i get more for it, but who knows. salesman said the sled books for 4,400. Im just confused on what to do right now it aint even funny.

btw.. I have gotten the 500 upto 95mph. I thought it would break 100-105 .

any suggestions as what i should do, or what you would do in my shoes...

thanks

[hanson]

Beav-

I guess the question now is what are you trying to accomplish with this/next sled?

-Just trying to beat your buddies for bragging rights?

-Looking for top end speed across the lake?

-Looking for that 0-60 time in a ditch and that quick acceleration from corner to corner on the trails?

$2,000-3,000 is a lot of money for what I see as a minor improvement in performance. Yes, the 600 & 700 will both hit a higher top end, and they both pull harder through the powerband but I don't know if the performance is justified by the extra money on your part.

[lawdog]

Totally agree with Hanson, you will spend a ton to trade and get only marginally better performance. If this is just a ditch/trail sled, its more than adequate and 95 mph is awful fast on a sled. I've gone that fast (and a little more) but not more than about twice... If you are looking to really race something that may be different, but if this is just my buddies get ahead of me a little, SAVE THE CASH!

[beaverlakeman]

My main and basically only means of riding will be trail riding. And yes i want the 0-60 corner to corner sled that will stay with the bigger boys. i could care less about top end really, just good handling and a fast trail sled..

thanks..

keep the info coming,, you are making it alot easier to make my decision... i really do like the 500 but havent had it on the trails yet.. I ride hard on the trails and just want something that will stay in front of the pack on the trail..

[Steve Bakken]

Here's some food for thought. Of all the numerous sleds I have ridden with through the years, the guy who beat us all every time we went out rode a 440 ZR. There wasn't a 600 or 700 among us that could touch him. Two reasons. The lighter weight gave him the advantage in yanking that thing around in the corners and moguls. And, most important, he was just one heck of a rider. You want to keep up with your riding partners? Get good at handling that sled. The lighter weight will be to your advantage and I gaurantee that you will keep up with the bigger sleds on the trails.

[knoppers]

steve hit the nail on the head. I had a scary fast ZRT, but the added front end weight slowed me down in the trails, riding with 440 racers, I did what I could just to keep up. most of the newer 500 liquid cooled sleds are more than enough for trails, ditches is were the 600 will excell. go light weight, I have a 04 firecat f6, the f7 was only 250 more bucks, but I new the 600 was more than enough, and I was right. the only place a bigger sled will even come close is in a long run across a lake.

don't mod your sled, I tryed this years ago, you gain one thing, but loose another.

[Crappie_King_04]

if you want to out perform a 600 I suggest throwing on a turbo and a NOS kit hellyou will be able to beat a 700 and 800s

[gjk1970]

They are right I own a 500 V-Max a 650RXL Polaris a SRX 700 and a Storm 800 and trail riding I will take the 500 it is like a cadillac and is comfy compared to the big ones. The big ones beat me up after hours of riding trails and the 5oo well I can go all day on that and have never been left in the back.

[nitro640]

I would keep the 500. It should keep up with the 600 on the trail, get better fuel mileage, and save you some money. clutching will help some. I have a 97 ZR 440, and on a trail I can run with or ahead of most 600 & 700s. I just bought an 04 firecat 600. I went with the 6 because they don't build the 5 with efi. If you trade it in I think you will take quite a kick in pants.

[beaverlakeman]

thanks everyone for the info. Based upon all of you i will keep the 500. I am not a seld head but i do ride alot and the only sled i have riden is my mothers 96' indy 500. I have been the only one that has ridi=en the sled due to my mom developing elbow problems which prevent her from riding. I'll tell you one thing right now. The xc500 i just bought is scary compared to her indy 500. Dont know what the big different is but its there big time. If i had to compair the 2 sleds would be like a indy 500 to a 85 articcat cheetah with the metal bar lugs..

As far as the weight issue, the dealer told me that the weight difference between the xc500 and xc700 is 12 pounds.. So weight on the trails dont make a difference nowadays. They also told me that if i were to line up with a xc700 that they would go nose to nose till about 60-70 mph, then the 700 will pull away due to a more powerful top end. Also, they told me that the 700 top end is only 3 or 4 mph more than the 500. any truth to that?

thanks again fo everything you all helped me with..