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Hey Guys I just wanted to let all you Polaris Sportsman 500 HO owners know what I came across today while working on my bike. I decided to pull the bike out today to start getting it ready for my trip up north next week. When I started it up I noticed the infamous Polaris Sportsman ticking that comes from the front right of the engine. From what I read on all the different forums is that the ticking is from the water/oil pump. I also read that this sound is normal on most SP500 HO's and so I thought I would have to live with the sound. But what I did notice when I started the bike was the noise was a bit louder than I last remembered it to be. So I decided to changed the oil and I followed the procedure in the manual right to the letter! I used a K&N oil filter and 2 liters of Amsoil 0W40 4 stroke synthetic. When I was done changing the the oil I pinched off the vent line to the top of the oil tank to prime the oil pump and started the bike. I held the vent pinched for around 15 seconds and released it untill I heard the air release sound. Now the pump is primed and the oil is flowing like it supposed to be but the infamous ticking is still there but a little quieter. This difference in sound had got me thinking about what could be causing the noise and what I came up with is a air pocket that is trapped in the oil pump. You may think that sounds a little far fetched for air to be trapped in the oil pump, but what I did next seems to have solved my ticking noise. I started the bike and I pinched the oil return line that comes from the pump and goes to the tank. I only pinched it off with a pair of needle nose pliers for a few seconds at a time. Each time I pinched the hose the tone of the engine would change and sound as if it was loading up. I also noticed the hose expanding slightly from the oil pressure, when this happened I would release the hose and you could hear the oil rushing back into the tank. After doing this about 5 times my ticking was 95% quiter if not completly gone. Now I don't know if this will work on everyones bike but it seemed to work on my bike and I now love the sound of my bike, it sounds like new again! P.S. If anything changes on my trip next week I will post back my findings. I hope this helps! Rich