whats your thoughts on a 73 500 , good sled ?

[Mac67]

hey guys , my brother just finished going through one of his sleds and was curious to see if it was a very desirable sld or not ,, or what is its pros and cons , it is a 73 500 with electric start , he had some problems with the wda walbro that was on it so he switched it to the wf series which really seemed to make a good improvement over even a good wda style , anyways was wondering your thoughts on one of these particular sleds , are they rare ? he isnt wanting to sell it would just like to know some info or history on them , any help is appreciated

[400brian]

I can't give specific production numbers, but there is no way this is a rare sled as far as how many were built. You might consider it rare in that not a huge number of sleds have survived over 30 years, at least not in running condition.
The electric start is fairly rare, In my opinion.

Enjoy it.

[Mac67]

yeah i guess your right , there are not many that have survived , its just i dont see alot of 500's well like you said you dont see a big load of john deere sleds but i see very few of the 500's and not many with electric start

[JDFanPa]

They surely arent the rare breed but you know what Ive never seen 1 in person as far as that goes. Deeres didnt seem to be very popular in our area. Out of 40 or so old sleds including parts machines I own the deeres in general were hard to come by almost all my deeres have come from neighboring states and not in my area.

[X's&O's]

I would say yes its rare. I have one but they (supposely) made one of the most But were are they "Hmmmmmmmmmm" <_< . I have a 72' 400 and a 73' 500 And I'm yet to see some one with a 72' 500, but you know gee I guess the must have gone to the junk yard <_< right!!!!!. But anyway hang on to it

[JoeRainville]

Hi Guys,

Deere's first sleds were the 1972 Model 400 and 500. They are much harder to find than the 73 and up sleds, since the actual production numbers are ambiguous. Those I rate as a 'sort of' rare sled, and desirable as Deere first model year. They had unique head and tail lights, instruments, motor covers, motors features, etc.

However, in 73 Deere built a ton of sleds, and I think they built around 40,000 sleds in 74, about there best year. For 73 Deere updated the 400 and 500's, added the JDX-8 and steel tunnel JDX-4, not to mention the wide track Model 600. All had Boggies, only the X-8 had a case reed motor (KEC-440/21).

So, even if a 500 not common in your area, they are not rare, Deere built a ton of them. Electric start make it pretty neat, especially if it works. I 'think' those with electric start had it added on as a kit at the dealer, but I am not absolutely positive.

But, as your guys noticed, how many survived is a different deal. Look around at vintage shows, or when trail riding. Not that many guys are into Deere sleds, even though they were the last brand out of the business.

But, for referance, here are a few typical examples of rare, hard to find Deere's: 82 Snow/Sprintfires, only about 200 built. The cross country race sleds: 295/s, 340/s and Liquidator, around 600 of each built. The 78 Cross Country, about 174 built. A few month back, the western guys listed the rares and most common Deere's built, but I forget the most common sled. It may have been the 78 Spitfire with many thousands built.

Have fun guys, and enjoy your sled,
-Joe Rainville
"Tech-Ed"


:huh:

[JDXsand00s]

500's do seem rare where I live in northern Michigan. My 2 are the only ones I know of. I know of a lot of 72 400's, X's, and Liquifires just sitting at farms around here, but no 500's. The 72 500 I own my grandpa bought brand new in 72 I believe. I can't say much about its performance as the only time I've ever seen it run was held in the air for about a minute this summer. My 73 though I know is a nice sled, but it hasn't been ridden much either. It is my most favorite to look at because I like the greeen machines and it is near mint condidtion. I put about thirty miles on it last winter, and it performed well. Ther was about 2 feet of snow though so I could only get to about 50. I thought it could do better as I'm used to 60 down the road from my 400 so I leaned out the carb and blew it up. It will be one of the first few I ride this year. For the electric start, I have 3 sleds with it: my 72 400, 73 400 and 74 X8. It's nice to have when it is 30 below and the engine doesn't want to start. It seems to be a rare option though. I think that your borhter should hang on to his 500 and enjoy it; they are fun recreational sleds.