Output shaft broken

I would replace it with a turner setup. turnercycles.com They use a cv joint.

It broke the output shaft or the rear U-joint?? Usually the U-joint will break and bend sometimes bend the output shaft.

i had the same thing happen to my 2005 2x4 500......first time i was pulling someone out with 26" mudlites only 2 weeks old and it broke.....second time was the day i put on my 27" mudlites ......my honda shop covered it both times under warranty and i was told that it was happening to other bikes so i would talk with your dealer and see if they can do something for you.....i don't know how much it cost since mine was covered by my warranty.

The turner setup is cool and all but i wouldnt want to do that because the ujoint is your weak link and once you strengthen your weakest link what else could break then

Broken output shaft

The shaft broke clean off (spooky clean) and took the rear seal with it. The U-joint was not hurt at all. When I removed my boot I found it full of oil, this was when I knew the shaft broke and not the u-joint. I had a new joint ready to install during teardown based on what I seen posted here. It looks like a complete teardown but the rear cover suggest that it may not be an engine pull? Either way I do not mess with trans work and was wondering what the dealer charges for this repair???? Honda repair guys???

Just curious,Did you have a lot of "wheel hop" when you were trying to pull him out? I've had mine in some hard pulls andwhen it wheel hops I get worried about something braking.

Wheel hop was not an issues with my machine. It just broke very fast and clean due to the great traction I was getting (no wheel slip at all) for the first five seconds. I have seen a "wheel hop" that resulted in a broken U-joint very quickly... I was just quoted $500 to replace my output shaft from my local dealer. But was advised that it may have caused other damage also. I don;t think this is the case because of how clean the shaft broke and how quickly I shut it down after this.

Man that sucks!! My buddy(nickname fear on forum's) has an 05 500 2x4 foreman and he use's tire chain's for plowing and riding in the wood's you would think tire chains would put more stress on u-joint's and shaft than mud-tire's...He has not broke anything yet and he run's it hard....Sorry to hear about your quad toms500...

Sorry to hear that toms500 Usually the main shaft/u-joint will break before the output shaft/pinion shaft, and judging by the "clean break", i'd say it was defective - it should show signs of "twisting" if it was a stress break.
Like TrailRunner said, I use ice chains on my 500 2x4, and run it hard - need to if I want to keep up with everyone on 4x4's - haven't had any problems yet.

Can you or anyone else take pics of a broke U joint and your broken output shaft .Just interested to see what it looks like and also how big they are and were at the joint are they breaking