I had never ridden an ATV before, but put on around 100mi of technical riding this past weekend. I learned somethings about the sport and the 700xx on my trip. A few questions also popped up.

-Transitioning from a snowmobile to a sport quad was easy. I bought the right one, it really reminds me a lot of my sled. I love it.
-Gas mileage is TERRIBLE. I ran out crossing the deepest water I was in all day in the middle of it. Of course that made me assume water ingestion, wet ignition, etc, especially when it wouldn’t fire right away. Nope, out of gas.
-Had no idea the 700xx was such a mud beast. Went through areas that the guys on modded Sportsman 850’s were unsure of going.
-Is fast. There were 3 850 sportsmans I was riding with and once I realized i needed to start in 2nd would beat the fastest one 100% of the time.
-I need some shock work. The trail chatter was painful but I didn’t blow through the travel. I have the sag set on the springs about right, but there isn’t much travel yet. Indicative of too firm of a spring if I treat it like other motorsports. Assuming some dual rate springs a revalve will do wonders.
-Bought a bad Kenda Bear Claw. Wobbles like a mofo. Super annoying. Better get replaced this week.
-The anti-vibe handlebar mount is awesome. I do NOT like the way it feels, but you get over that and assume I would have been exhausted if not.
-The push everyone says plagues the 700x, I don’t see. Sure it isn’t ass happy like I assume a straight axle sport quad must be but if you use your body the rig will turn. To be fair, I have 22“ XC Masters and DS450 shocks on front.
-13T is almost too much. Had to use the clutch in addition to gas to control the machine a bit too often. If this is how these guys ride a 12T may work better for me. Not going to do that yet as competence on the machine helps too.
-Riding a big 4wd afterwards feels like going from a dirt bike to a humvee. If you want to rape mud holes and tromple all over everything they are blast. If you want to articulate the weight of the machine in a turn/whoop/jump/curve/hill then the 700 is an absolute blast.
-Machine definitely prefers a very active rider
-I do not like the angle of the stock handlebars
-The stuff that makes big 4wd units slow down you are much better off speeding up for.
-The reverse nanny is ridiculous
-After 7 uses, my parking brake has failed
-Seat isn’t soft enough. Needs some more cushion. I don’t want a spongy seat, but a little love will go a long way.
-Big Gun without any additions to make it quiet, make it loud. Not my thing. If someone has a stock muffler, right now I’d buy it.
-Deep water crossings concerned me. Probably more than necessary, but nonetheless I will make a thread to prepare for next time.

...if anyone has a seat or exhaust recommendation I am all ears.

As for the reverse, there's a post on here about having the reverse on the handlebars. It's somewhat hard to push in, but I did it and really like the new placement. https://www.club700xx.com/vb/17-pict...e-my-mods.html

Good to hear that you got out for a long ride. I have found the 700xx to be a very odd bird in the world or ATV's but after 1 year of owning one we are starting to gel and actually do some fast riding. Before I added the bang bang rear sway bar I found the fastest way through a turn was to lean to the inside and rail the corner on the inside line. This is the opposite of what I am use to from my previous sport quad and canam 4x4 experiences where you flat track the turns from the outside line back to the inside upon exiting the turn. Now with the bang bang sway bar I can get through a turn with either technique and carry reasonable speed. At the moment the only thing I hate about this 700 is the flame out and stalling. I just cannot seem to resolve this issue. And I agree I think the 13 tooth c/s sprocket does not slow 1st gear down enough. If I keep this 700 long enough to wear out a sprocket set I will use a 13 on the front and go up a couple of teeth on the rear.

Interesting. Lean and rail is how you turn a sled so it seems natural to me. I don't take the inside line however as I like to have my wheel or ski off the right side of the trail in case there is oncoming traffic.

That being said, I love to slide so a bit less side grip in the rear would be helpful. I waited to buy a sway bar from Bang until after my trip, but of course he sold the last one while I was riding. Elka is building me a set of shocks though so that alone may make a difference. I am curious to see.

I do love the quad. Was thoroughly underwhelmed by the larger 4wd units except in the case of just powering through deep water and ridiculous mud. Amusingly to my group I was able to go through any mud they could, but I did turn around when the water was up near the seat and they could still run through it. Going to add an EHS lid to give me a bit more confidence here.

To deal with the gas mileage I ordered up an IMS tank. Handlebars are being addressed by first extending all the lines. Motion Pro makes cables for the 700xx that are 2" longer and really cheap $10-15. I am scrapping the e-brake and putting on a block off, contemplating the Streamline stainless brake extensions, and think I am going to redneck myself a taller seat on the stock pan. Have a few other mods planned, but they require a welder that I don't have so still working on that.

Elka shocks are a great improvement but they will not solve the "body roll" issues. Guts racing might be willing to build a seat for you but it will not be less than $150.

Can someone clue me in to what to be concerned about in the body roll domain? I am used to a ton of body English on things I ride as my snowmobile doesn't even have a sway bar. Conventionally they do, but they take bumps so much better without that I had my shocks revalved so that I don't need the sway bar. My 2nd sled I run a smaller sway bar than normal. That being said, these are both on the front not the rear. My general concern based on my history is that I will lose articulation and suspension capability to make turning easier. I don't need it to be easier. That being said, if it makes it more fun then I am interested. I am all about doing anything to make the machine more playful and fun going over different terrain.

I did shock absolutely everyone I rode with. They were surprised a 2wd could make it where I did, they were surprised I could keep up over any terrain right from the get go, and they were even more surprised that this was my first day on an ATV. I only say that as I am highlighting the strength of my internal bias and would love to hear why/how almost everyone on the board feels that the machine needs a sway bar. (I did search and see the conversation about the front a-arm geometry also being a cause, but I just ordered stock length Elka's as finding different a-arms doesn't look to be an option anymore so that is off the table for me).

I would also point out I am not doubting the difference it makes, I just want to make sure that it is a difference that I want. After one ride with the slow 4wd beasts the Elka's were a no brainer for me as the performance in the stutters versus the whoops was adjustable enough for my weight/riding style in the shocks I had. Adding new springs and probably a pair of revalves would put the cost near something which should be a better baseline. That being said, I have some DS450 shocks I will be putting up for sale.

These landed yesterday. So did I as I was in Europe. I have some garage projects now this week since I have a huge bucket of other parts as well. Going to get this thing completely setup soon!

Nice, but curious as to what you paid for rears only. As they've had killer deals on all 4 for awhile now.

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I bought all 4. Going to sell the DS450s

Nice, and fyi you can add the rebound clickers if you want.

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