Dude! With all the Poo-dollars floating Chris's way he would not dare tell you the truth. Sorry, I think he's a great rider! But he knows who butter's his bread, if you know what I mean.
11-12' 800 Pro Reliability
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Hey 2 out of five thats only 40%.
I rode with Dan earlier this year, the Pro he was riding went down, around 2800mi. The sled was a 12 pre production proto. Dan is employed by Polaris as a Pro Rmk ambassador. He is not going to tell me or anyone for that matter, exactly how many motors have bombed. Sounded like very few. We have three 12's in our group, one 11, and two of us had 11's, no engine issues. Worth it to me to pay $400, keep it stock and have peace of mind that comes with a warranty.
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Freeride1
Well-known member
My 2012 broke a piston skirt with 600 miles on it while I was riding Alpine Wyoming. Luckily I had my 2011 shipped up from Park City to bring back to New Hampshire with me so I had that to ride the rest of my trip. The hunk of piston knocked a hole in the bottem end as well so there is nothing left of the motor. I was barely moving on the trail about 4 miles from the truck when I hear a wierd noise like a loose piece of metal bouncing around the clutches but when I shut down the motor was locked up. It also got a runaway idle when the hole busted open in the case.
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scott t
Active member
Thats just it, everyones seem to run perfect until they let go! I have wanted a pro for two years now. The wife gave me the ok to order one last season but wouldnt do it because of the reliablility factor. To alot of people it doesnt seem to be that big of a deal when a sled goes down. Warranty or not it would be a big deal to me because most likely I will be on a trip and dont have a back up sled. I have too many hobbies to buy a new sled every year or every other year so reliablility does factor in when I am going to buy another sled. I will just wait another year to see if there is any improvement to the engine.
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Oregonsledder
Well-known member
Your post and attitude reminds me of the old days with Harleys. I have ridden Harleys since the late 60’s. Many of those years all you heard was how unreliable they were... and they were! I traded an 95 Roadking back a few years ago that had a little over 100K miles on it, and yes it did have problems from time to time, and I did find myself on the side of the road a thousand miles from home at least once. But... you can either set on the sidelines or get in the game. I wouldn’t trade my Harley memories for anything, and I feel the same way about snowmobiles. They all break, you can either set on your butt and worry or get out there and live a little. If you wait for the snowmobile that will never or nearly never have a mechanical problem, you will be older than I am, and never have experienced the amazing world of mountain riding. Your choice.
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Slick
Well-known member
x 2, awesome post, awesome attitude.
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scott t
Active member
Yes I do agree with living and not missing out on experiences and realize no sled is 100 percent reliable. Yes the sled i ride now could easily let me down. But if I drop 12,000 plus on a sled that i know has issues and goes down then im sitting on my butt anyways probably miles away from home, or shelling out more cash for a rental. Not sitting home worrying either, I got a good sled and go out west every year. And i will never be older than you are!! LOL! It would be nice if the polaris 800 had a better track record! Would you buy and avy pack that is known to have issues or other safety gear known to have issues or go with one that is known to have a good track record or rating. I dont sit in a corner at home and watch life go by. I guess my way of thinking is a bit different than many. You get what you pay for, right? but do you with the polaris 800? For me i probably will not get one until it gets better, thats my opinion! thanks for the feedback, even though i dont own a pro i will still be enjoying the mountain riding experience.
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I have to agree with you the early years of Harleys were not that stellar I still have my first Harley 56 pan but could not get rid of my 79 fxe fast enough.Harley lost a lot of sales until they came out with the evo or should I say a engine you could trust and not have to rebuild every 1000 miles.
I stuck with HD thru it all and am trying very hard to stay with polaris. The only bad part is Polaris dose not increase in value or even hold a good resale value with out a warranty.
If you had to purchase a used sled with out a warranty would you buy a polaris 800 or a M8?
A few will stay with pro 800 because it is the lightest mnt sled but the majority will switch brands for a more dependable engine in the long run .Majority always rules and those peeps do not want to have to worry about there engine blowing out the cases warranty or not you are still out time and $$$$.
60s to the 80 Hd lost sales to the metric bikes until they improved there engine reliability.
I stuck with HD thru it all and am trying very hard to stay with polaris. The only bad part is Polaris dose not increase in value or even hold a good resale value with out a warranty.
If you had to purchase a used sled with out a warranty would you buy a polaris 800 or a M8?
A few will stay with pro 800 because it is the lightest mnt sled but the majority will switch brands for a more dependable engine in the long run .Majority always rules and those peeps do not want to have to worry about there engine blowing out the cases warranty or not you are still out time and $$$$.
60s to the 80 Hd lost sales to the metric bikes until they improved there engine reliability.
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Super Sled
Well-known member
Sorry to paraprase only parts of this entry.....
About part one, This is a unique sled for sure and the best offtrail chassis ever IMHO. I love mine. But Polaris better wake up about their motors. They are gaining quite a track record over the last 5 years with poor 800 motors that have no reliabilty and grenade often. Some don't, but many do. And early. Dare I say any of them making it past 2,500 or 3,000 mile per engine is about what you can expect. Hate me for saying this, but you are in denial of reality if you don't recognize this fact. It just is what it is.
About part two, If even half of us would follow this advice then Polaris might do something about it. But we keep buying defective products so Polaris will certainly keep selling them to us.
#3 for sure. There are other great sleds and eventually these poor motors will do Polaris in. Sorry but its true.
When I first voted I had about 200 miles on my '12 800 163.
Went to Arctic Man last weekend and rode the glaciers. I had 748 miles on the odometer on Friday and came home Sunday with 966. I made at least 50 pulls of WOT for 30 seconds up to a minute. Some were gains of 1,000 vertical feet.
My sled is bone stock except that I filled all my electrical connectors with dielectric grease and turned my oiler up (I'm at about 48:1) and I add 8oz of Poo Blue to each tank.
My plugs are brown and I have yet to experience a bog, burble or hesitation at any throttle setting. The light clunk at clutch engagement bugs me but all the Poo peeps in the know say that is normal for the Team clutch.
One thing I did notice was a loss of max RPM in the higher country (6,000+) but I attribute that to being clutched for sea level. Even on climbs at higher elevation where I maxed out at 7,700-7,800 RPM the track hooked up well and the motor felt torquey.
Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, but this sled continues to impress.
Went to Arctic Man last weekend and rode the glaciers. I had 748 miles on the odometer on Friday and came home Sunday with 966. I made at least 50 pulls of WOT for 30 seconds up to a minute. Some were gains of 1,000 vertical feet.
My sled is bone stock except that I filled all my electrical connectors with dielectric grease and turned my oiler up (I'm at about 48:1) and I add 8oz of Poo Blue to each tank.
My plugs are brown and I have yet to experience a bog, burble or hesitation at any throttle setting. The light clunk at clutch engagement bugs me but all the Poo peeps in the know say that is normal for the Team clutch.
One thing I did notice was a loss of max RPM in the higher country (6,000+) but I attribute that to being clutched for sea level. Even on climbs at higher elevation where I maxed out at 7,700-7,800 RPM the track hooked up well and the motor felt torquey.
Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, but this sled continues to impress.
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My 100% Stock sleds
1999 XC 700. 17,000 miles zero engine problems. ZERO!
2011 Pro RMK 155" 1883 miles zero engine problems.
2011 Pro Rmk 163" 863 miles zero engine problems.
Yes the Pro is a great sled but they should not be having these engine problems I have been reading about.
It seems to me anyway that engines going down seem to be more exceptable than in the past. At least that's what I get out of this forum at times.
......just saying
1999 XC 700. 17,000 miles zero engine problems. ZERO!
2011 Pro RMK 155" 1883 miles zero engine problems.
2011 Pro Rmk 163" 863 miles zero engine problems.
Yes the Pro is a great sled but they should not be having these engine problems I have been reading about.
It seems to me anyway that engines going down seem to be more exceptable than in the past. At least that's what I get out of this forum at times.
......just saying
So far I do not see a pattern on engine failures such as miles,type of rider or year. Some try and blame it on doing engine mods or not adding oil to the fuel,running it to hot on trails ects. I have asked engine builders and dealer ship mechanics to explain this to me so far no one can. I have heard peeps say it happened loading into the trailer' to I just got done climbing a hill and It would not turn over after I shut it off. So you can take all the precaution and it might still happen.
It sucks when you are afraid to ride it after spending all that $$$.
If it does not have a warranty do not buy one. This issue should be a recall not a warranty item.
It sucks when you are afraid to ride it after spending all that $$$.
If it does not have a warranty do not buy one. This issue should be a recall not a warranty item.
2012 Mag Cylinder Skirt Broke
Lost mag cylinder skirt on bone stock 2012. 860 miles on stock 60:1 oil ratio. Will post more pics elsewhere.
Piston had 4 thou clearance, or 0.10 mm. Minimum as per the manual.
Might post more later. Wondering if I should by extended warranty for 5 years for 2300.... Canadian.
Lost mag cylinder skirt on bone stock 2012. 860 miles on stock 60:1 oil ratio. Will post more pics elsewhere.
Piston had 4 thou clearance, or 0.10 mm. Minimum as per the manual.
Might post more later. Wondering if I should by extended warranty for 5 years for 2300.... Canadian.
Steel sleeve + good piston.
I said this would be my choice if I was stuck with a D8 out of warranty, thought the pro had many improvements on the engine and took a chance.
Still running w/o issues, but my warranty expires come newyear so I have to pick my poison soon..
RS
I said this would be my choice if I was stuck with a D8 out of warranty, thought the pro had many improvements on the engine and took a chance.
Still running w/o issues, but my warranty expires come newyear so I have to pick my poison soon..
RS
Curious if anyone with '11/'12 motor failures has measured their pistons and cylinders? I'm wondering if failed motors are still showing excessive piston clearances as seemed common with failed CFI-4 800s. I can't see cylinder skirts breaking like that without the piston clanking around in the bore.
C
clamlake600
Well-known member
Got over 1700 miles on my 2012 800 assualt....not one issue....knock 
on wood...
on wood...I hat 2800 miles when mine went. Lost my piston on the PTO side and lost a skirt.
