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.