Polaris update

[600xc4me]

If it's my comment that your debating, about me pulling my valves every 1/4 tank to check my pistons, well I don't see why an 800 owner wouldn't. They are know for problems, and you can have some scoring and it might still run just fine. You won't notice it unless you have EGT's, till it's done more damage than it would have needed to do. I have had so many problems with the 800 that I didn't trust it, so why not check? Takes five min to pull the valves and find out how it's going in there. I'm no super wrench head, but this is something I can myself no problem, so why not? I would recommend other 800 owners also check theirs now and then. You have nothing to lose and it might save you from needing cylinders as well as pistons when and if it decides to score on yours as well.

 

[2007dragonman]

600 xc for me

Its just you sled so dont say dont buy a dragon 800 all ours have many miles on and still look great

 

[600xc4me]

Its just you sled so dont say dont buy a dragon 800 all ours have many miles on and still look great

No it's not just my sled. But I'm glad yours are working well. I'll change it just for you. Beside somebody needs to buy mine....

 

[skibreeze]

Its just you sled so dont say dont buy a dragon 800 all ours have many miles on and still look great

Polaris has redesigned the fuel programming twice now.
Polaris has redesigned the head twice now.
Polaris has redesigned the pistons.
Polaris has redesigned the monoblock.
Polaris has redesigned the upper case half.

Yup, it's just his sled.

Your statement, well, it's just .......

 

[2007dragonman]

Sorry i know they changed alot but is not all sleds. i sold 50 2008,2009,2010 800s and only 3 went down. some had 3000 miles and still great and work better now with the update!!

 

[constructionLake]

Sorry i know they changed alot but is not all sleds. i sold 50 2008,2009,2010 800s and only 3 went down. some had 3000 miles and still great and work better now with the update!!

Am I wrong or did not all 50 of those sleds you sold need new tops. They might not have had scored pistons, but they all had bad top ends.

That statement of only having three go down must be what poo is telling the dealers to tell the consumer. I was in the poo dealership the other day and asked about the update. The dealer told me the exact same thing, "I sold 50 and only 3 have been bad".

 

[Ron]

Not exactly, the fuel mapping worked well at some elevations. In our area I didn't see any down in two years, lots of mod sleds around here. i.e. Piped, ported, BB's Turbo's etc. Carl's had very few issues with sleds they sold but then a lot of the initial testing was done near here.
On the other hand my sled had a LOT of piston rattle at idle so the skirts wouldn't have lasted even if I didn't scuff a piston. They were all going to fail at some point or Poo wouldn't have spent millions on a recall. That takes some serious balls to go to a board meeting and ask for that kind of approval. They took the high road this time, maybe like they didn't with the 9's. Head's rolled over the 9 fiasco, maybe they will again...but that doesn't change the fact that they put out another poorly designed engine/fuel map.

 

[Meat Head]

i got to wonder..why are some guys taking it apart to look? have you ever heard.."can of worms! do not open" if it runs good ..why the hell would you rip into it? maybe thats whats wrong.put your tools away shut up and ride! if it blows take it to the dealer and let them fix it..just becuase you think you can dont mean you should!

So if you had a car and the front tire keep falling off, you would not check the tire from time to time so it would not keep falling off? If you did not than you would be considered really stupid..... you should just blame the dealer like everyone else is, just be way easier to.

 

[thefullmonte]

Ok, guys cool the jets a little . Keep er on track at least. Nobody is right or wrong here.
I see plenty of people each day that shouldn't be working on their own equipment. Regardless, for the more capable crowd a little peek inside can prevent a ruined day on the mountain. How does the saying go, an ounce of prevention........Hey, we all had to start somewhere.
Polaris is good to be standing behind their 800's, but with all the motor and mapping changes we can guess that they may have found more than a couple things wrong. Hopefully, it is just a few unfortunate instances and they find the prob and get everyone on the snow quickly.

 

[jbusch]

I am not a mechanic, but here is my theory on the motor problem. It seems that some 800's have just run fine for 2 seasons & some are P.O.S's. (mine is classifed as a P.O.S.) I had my motor go down twice last year, had new pistons, cylinder block & head & reflash each time. I just got my 4th set of pistons last week. I know of dragons, even turbos, that have had no problems. for 2 years. Could some of the motors have cranks that are out of balance, or manufactured wrong so the pistons are scuffing the cylinders no mater how many rings there are? my sled was stock. On the bright side. I did put a quart of oil in the tank and have ridden it a couple times last weekend on the couple acres I have since it snowed last weekend. (maybe a whopping 15 minutes each time). So far it starts & idles fine, seems to rum ok without flooding. time will tell.

Where did you buy yours? Powersports?

 

[suitcase]

I have to say that the 800 has had reported problems in this area, but on the other had I have yet to see any brand of sled not have there own set of issues. Like stated above polaris has done a super fine job of standing behind there product, and problems or not I will continue to buy them.

 

[barkbuster]

Sorry i know they changed alot but is not all sleds. i sold 50 2008,2009,2010 800s and only 3 went down. some had 3000 miles and still great and work better now with the update!!

My dealer here in Minnesota sold 15 800s last year, and at one time had 6 in the shop, burned down, waiting for parts.

 

[dragonfire]

to 600xc4me --Why don't you take the advice you got from the guys on the cat forum and buy a 800 Cat and be happy. It makes no sense to ride a sled you don't like,life is too short to go thru it being miserable . Happy trails on the Artic Cat sled.Keep us posted if you do and how the sled works

 

[1Mike900]

Here is just a thought, Some have never had any problems that is a given. Others have burned down and stuck it! Polaris has had crank issues in the past! I wonder if the dealers are checking the cranks for out of phase or twist, Especially for the ones that have seized once or more? These cranks will take a lickin if stopped abruptly. This is why you are seeing ea. piston scuffed almost immediately, And they shouldn't be! They could have a design problem if the piston drops below the lower edge of the cylinder and rocks and creates scoring? But that would be on all, Not some! Even though I ride a cat, Polaris has always been the sled to have for chassis design and ride ability. I want one as an alternate sled but not until they cure their ongoing engine failures. Someone knows whats wrong, Either engine design, Mapping, Boot delamination, Inferior engine materials/clearances etc... I really feel for you guy's that have hauled these back and forth to the dealer, Get towed out and be ridiculed by your buddies! Hang in there and don't give up hope!

Mike

 

[milehighassassin]

Everyone has motor problems. Look at all the problems Doo had with the 800 HO

 

[tukernater]

800 ho? ive got over 7400 miles on my ho with over 400 pounds of NOS threw that engine30,60 and the last 30 pounds was a 90 shot,1 set pistons,1 set of rings,i now use the sled just for ashfault drags,good fuel+oil goes a long ways.gone threw 5 sets of reedsV-FORCE ,800ho was a good engine just needed good fuel.

 

[600xc4me]

to 600xc4me --Why don't you take the advice you got from the guys on the cat forum and buy a 800 Cat and be happy. It makes no sense to ride a sled you don't like,life is too short to go thru it being miserable . Happy trails on the Artic Cat sled.Keep us posted if you do and how the sled works

Thanks. Not sure if how that ment or how to take that comment, but I am planning to. Not the 2010, but an 09 I hope. As soon as my D8 sells I will be looking to pick up a new one. I don't want to come across as bashing the polaris 800, and to you guys who have not had problems I can under stand you get fed up with me, and others who have had non stop problems, and our bringing them on here; But you also have to under stand our side. Would any of you trouble free guys want to keep your sled if you haven't been able to ride it more than two tanks of gas max, per motor? And that's only the engine. I mean I loved polaris, hated cat. Swore I would never in my life get close to buying a cat. But here we go....

That wasn't just for you dragonfire. Don't want you to feel like I'm picking on you. To anybody who still loves their 800 cfi I'm happy for you. I hope you can keep loving it for years to come. But it's just not working out for me.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

Thanks. Not sure if how that ment or how to take that comment, but I am planning to. Not the 2010, but an 09 I hope. As soon as my D8 sells I will be looking to pick up a new one. I don't want to come across as bashing the polaris 800, and to you guys who have not had problems I can under stand you get fed up with me, and others who have had non stop problems, and our bringing them on here; But you also have to under stand our side. Would any of you trouble free guys want to keep your sled if you haven't been able to ride it more than two tanks of gas max, per motor? And that's only the engine. I mean I loved polaris, hated cat. Swore I would never in my life get close to buying a cat. But here we go....

That wasn't just for you dragonfire. Don't want you to feel like I'm picking on you. To anybody who still loves their 800 cfi I'm happy for you. I hope you can keep loving it for years to come. But it's just not working out for me.

I feel for all you guys that have non stop problems with your sleds...doesnt matter what brand..its supposed to be fun..not constant worry about when its gonna leave you stranded...good luck with the new ride...

 

[600xc4me]

I feel for all you guys that have non stop problems with your sleds...doesnt matter what brand..its supposed to be fun..not constant worry about when its gonna leave you stranded...good luck with the new ride...

Thanks. I may still be here for a while. Maybe till next year, will depend on when my sled sells, and if it's not before my surgery coming up quite shortly, then I will hold off with buying anything till spring. As I won't be able to enjoy it anyway till after my recovery. So I may still be around. I want to know if this is a real problem again or if it's just us few.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

Thanks. I may still be here for a while. Maybe till next year, will depend on when my sled sells, and if it's not before my surgery coming up quite shortly, then I will hold off with buying anything till spring. As I won't be able to enjoy it anyway till after my recovery. So I may still be around. I want to know if this is a real problem again or if it's just us few.

my gut feeling on this is its a select few..sleds that have consistently ate pistons since day one..you, mag, and some others on here..I will get a better feeling when mine gets ridden(been sitting for about 6 weeks since the dealer did mine)my guess its gonna be something odd..bad injectors, ecu clitch, mismachined case halves throwing off cylinders, torn boots,who knows but the answer is out there..just gotta find it..looking at mags I am thinking a computer glitch coupled with a bad injector....I am hoping polaris will step up for you guys that are still having issues and just hand you a brand new sled...I know this..when they run right..very very good sleds....