sportsman noise in pull rope assembly?

I am trading a 1966 ford truck with 34000 original miles for a 1999 polaris sportsman on saturday. there are some issues and I know that the guys in the honda forums know their stuff so i thought i would ask you guys about this polaris.

it is a sportsman 500

the speedo doesn't work at all but the 4x4 seems to work ok. do these parts have to work in conjunction?

it started with a charger on it and i killed it and tried to start it back and got nothing. could this just be a battery? the winch is supposed to work but wouldn't and i figured that all that had to do with was the battery. is this correct?

it has a pecking noise that sounds like it is coming from the pull rope cover. i put my hand on the top end of the motor and everything seemed to be fine but i could feel it coming from the pull rope cover. he said polaris's are known for this and his friend has one that does the same thing. that is my main concern.

the speedo isn't a big deal as long as it doesn't stop everything else from working.

what battery do i need to get?

BTW I was really supprised the power that this thing has! WOW
this will be my first utility quad. i have always had sport quads but i think i will really like the 4x4...plus it's pretty quick.

anything else that i need to know about on these popo 500's?

thanks alot in advance. i just don't want to get something that i have to work on all the time.
thanks again,
Dan

just get a new battery, the clicking you hear is probably just the solenoid

the speedo not working is probably related to the battery as well

I don't think that it is the silinoid. I am a mechanic and work at a collision repair center. if it is anything at all like a starter on a car i am sure it isn't that. I will for sure check the silinoid though. I heard that it could be the clutch but the clutch is on the opposite side that the noise seems to be coming from.
anymore ideas or things to check out before i finalize this trade?
thanks alot guys, really :cool:

The spedo not working is probably the sensor on the front tire is bad. If the spedo assembly is bad the the 4wd does not work.

the 500 always have a knock on the right side of the motor. I took it back to the dealer and he said that was normal for these machines. If I remember right he told me it had something to do with the starter.

It's the little metal dog that catches the flywheel. When the retractor spring gets weaker or sometimes from new the dog hangs out and taps the flywheel.

does it still do it after its warmed up, does it make a difference between higher and lower rpms?

i think noise from the pull rope assemble is just the nature of the beast

yes rpm makes a difference. it will speed up or slow down accordingly. but... it doesn't do it all the time. it soun's like a loose bolt rattling or something. does this sound right?
the 4x4 seems to work but how much is the sensor? the hour meter doesn't work either. is this the guage or just the sensor?
thanks alot, really

The sensor when I checked into it was around $50.00. My spedo has not worked for 3 years now, but 4wd and my hour meter works fine. I can't make myself spend $50 just to know how fast I am going.