Would you buy a used 09-10 800??

[reldridg]

Hey guys so I am thinking of switching out of my older machine but money is a little tight.

I read a lot of the bad about the bad that has occurred with the Polaris 800s but they seem to ride well and due to the reputation the prices are pretty low on newer machines.

I am wondering if people would recommend buying one, I ride about 500 miles a year not super hard but want something that rides better than my old 2001 600 mountain cat.

Let me know what you think.

 

[jim9006]

Absolutely... If it's in good shape. But IMO you will need 3 things to make it a reliable sled.

#1 The "Fix Kit" from PMS
#2 PC5
#3 Spare regulator (keep it in your pack).

 

[skibreeze]

Absolutely... Not!

 

[TGitt]

Personally, I wouldn't get one. I would suggest an 09-10 700 RMK. 140 horsepower and so much more reliable than the 800. That chassis would blow your Mountain Cat off the snow. The 800s are a fun sled, but its not a matter of if, but when your motor is going to go down. Then your out even more $ Our family has had a few Polaris 700s over the years. THey are a super fun sled. Literally just gas, oil and go. I had a buddy who had an 08 700 with an SLP single pipe and can, I hate to admit this, but it smoked my M8... Hope this helps!

 

[defysgravity]

I just did...but then again I'm not afraid to wrench on my own stuff and would prefer to.
I would agree with the above posts however I could not find a 700 that already had a ton of miles on it.
This is the best place to get reliable real world info and when you sort through what you need answers too you can end up having a reliable sled for a long time.

 

[liberty]

I would't have any problem with buying one. I would look for a low mile one. I bought new, an '09 Dragon 800, that now has 2500 miles on it. The only problem I've had is the voltage regulator went out recently and burned up the ecu. My dealer totally took care of me though. I do think the 700's have a better reputation.

 

[Ryan-41]

I agree with TGritt buy the 700. They are much more reliable and will be a major upgrade over your Mountain Cat!

Good Luck,
RYan

 

[reldridg]

thanks guys I really want to step up to something better, after riding the cat this weekend I am just worked over and want something that I do not have to put all of my effort into make it sidehill, or even worse at the end of the day be too tired to make it sidehill.

Not to start a battle between brands but how would the ride of the RMK compare with that of an M8 I do not have much to any time on either chassis.

Thanks.

 

[Boondocker82]

I recently bought an 09 assault and it has been a great sled. The first thing I did was get an extra voltage regulator and carry it in my back pack. As for reliability only time will tell. The M chassis is a great chassis, if you havent ridden one try it out. Very nimble and fun. either one would be a great sled.

 

[KJAssault]

Absolutely... If it's in good shape. But IMO you will need 3 things to make it a reliable sled.

#1 The "Fix Kit" from PMS
#2 PC5
#3 Spare regulator (keep it in your pack).

absolutely agree only things you truely need to make this sled reliable, just dont forget to change your fuel filter. i change mine 500 or every year. had one lean out and burn down not gonna happen again. good luck with one you will love it.

 

[milehighassassin]

I would for the right price. I am still using my IQ and feel confident it will be fine. With that said I have done some protective measures. I did not install "The Fix". I think it is a great kit but I chose to go another direction for a couple reasons.

1. I am running a high compression head, the fix increases compression and it was questionable if I can handle any more compression. The high compression head I am running does generate more heat, which I think produces a better piston fit. It is not a big secret that the turbo IQ's have been super reliable and I think the heat is why.


After talking with several people on this forum, and seeing some of these failures up close and being able to look at the part and now after having my motor apart, I feel the pistons do not fit well into the cylinders. Pistons are simply out of spec. Solution is to replace the piston. Sure the fix does that and increases the length to help prevent rocking. I chose to go with a Wiseco aftermarket piston with my high compression head and modded pipe, and will plan on running a PCV once I can get a good map for it. I am also running the orginal 2009 Flash that came on my sled. Wash looks good, so no reason to change it. I also run a little race fuel (gallon or two per tank) to help in case I get bad or dryer fuel.

After much debate I also am choosing to run without a thermostat. I know some don't like that and after adding the forged Wiseco pistons I had a very long debate with myself over this. For ANY sled and especially if you are not running a thermostat you need to make sure the motor and sled warms up before putting a hard load on the motor. This included once you stop. I am fine with this. There is info from a well known builder in the Denver area here and from Carl's that shows that the lower you get your coolant temps the more power you produce. This is why I am running without the thermo. I have ran this way since practically new and is has ran great. I have had ZERO issues with my sled. This will be the first year on the Wiseco pistons. I chose to replace the OEM (updated) pistons as a safe measure and after getting them out, I'm glad I did. Cylinders were perfect, and one piston was practically perfect but the other showed signs that the skirt had been rubbing or knocking, something. I'll post pics at some point.

-Update your pistons, after market or fix kit
-PCV
-Good fuel
-ENJOY

 

[reldridg]

After reading more on it it seems like for the money I would like to spend either the 700 rmk or possibly 800 with some wrenching on it are the biggest bang recent mountain sleds for my buck. I have ridden cats since 1994 but right now I do not ride a ton but I want a newer machine that will take me where I want to go.

Let me know if you all have any other thoughts.

 

[pleasesnow]

I owned an 08 800 163 and polaris bought it back in 2008. I then ran cat for 3 years and that was a great sled. 4k on the ticker before I went the turbo 4 stroke route. If I were u, I would look at anything from an M7 to an M8 or a D7. Stay away from the D8.. I know this is one of those my buddy who knows this guy topic, but I had to work this week and a buddy with 09 D8 said he just burnt up his motor again this weekend. Out of warranty and motor has the "fix" in it. He runs 2 gallons of race and oil in the tank and she still went boom. Lost power and then died. Plugs dont look good. He does have a pipe on it and said it was running great right before it died. I wouldnt take a chance on one. Some have better luck, but poo's 800 motor has a problem.

 

[defysgravity]

There is also one other thing many forget about....the ethanol plug.
I believe the used dragon I just bought had the top end done due to the prior owner not managing his fuel properly and/or and steady trail buzz at 6k rpm.
Ethanol fuel is the scourge of our sport.
If your sled has the option of "unplugging" when using less than premium fuel, use it. I also believe this makes it harder to add aftermarket parts, manage the fuel and get top performance with out going all out and using fuel controllers when you start adding pipes and cans, heads etc....Sleds are coming out of the factory under such tight tolerances due to EPA regs that it is no longer possible to "bolt" on aftermarket parts for instant horsepower with out some serious changes in fuel mapping....JM2CW
On another note more to the point of the poster's original question...There are some serious deals on used M8's and that would be a great sled also. Suzuki has a fairly bullet proof power plant and the sled works great in the tree's.

 

[reldridg]

I am starting to look at the m8's and d7's may even consider a d8 if the price is really right. I just posted my mountain cat and maybe I will find something this year so I can get a few rides in on it before the season ends.

I wish I had a few more $K and then I would step up into the pro but I do not think I am going to get sign off on that ... I am going to try though.

 

[GasGas300]

Good question - I struggled with the same thing. Owned Polaris since 1976 - a 340 TXL - had a 81 Indy 500 - great sled. Had a 83 600 that Polaris stepped up and replaced the crank in when it was bad from the factory. Had a 85 and 86 600, a 89 650 and the first 650 RXL - still have the Select Monitor tool to tune the EFI! The 700's were great sleds. I kept my 04 800 too long - first I did not want a 900 (POS) then I sat on the sidelines watching the D8 fiasco - and seeing many of my friends loose engines in very specatular ways - not just a siezed piston, they would blow holes in the cases - lots of speculation as to the problems, but it just keeps coming down to Polaris just does not want to focus on their core buisiness - their focus is on other things - motorcycles, rangers, electric vehicles etc...
I just bought a carryover M1000 and I love it

Flame away - I learned my lesson

 

[Boondocker82]

Think about it, there are a lot of people running D8's without any problems. Yeah, you see a lot of people on here with problems but think about it this way. If you had an 09 D8 and it was running perfect and you didnt have any problems with it, would you be on snowest looking for an answer on how to fix it? It seems like there are certain ones that have problems, not sure if they were made on friday or what but the ones that dont have problem, just plain and simple DONT HAVE PROBLEMS. Think about how many D8's were sold. It is a very popular chassis. I do agree that there are more D8's that have problems than other brands of the same year but your chances of getting a good one are still better than getting a bad one. My advise is to do some research on the sled before purchasing it and dont buy one just because it has new pistons. Just my opinion.

 

[reldridg]

Thanks Boondocker. I pretty much think that way but reading all this on snowest sure makes a guy wonder.

For less than 5k in some cases for an 09 it is hard to over look the sleds.


What would I need to look at on a D8 to see if it is not one of the problem sleds?

 

[lbp287]

Agree with most of you here. I have owned an 08 D8, 09 RMK 700, then the 10 D8. had way too many problems with the 2008. LOVED the 09 700! Never had a problem, so smooth. The 10 D8 was much better then the 08 that's for sure! Then I got a PRO!

 

[Iowa__Freeriders]

just bought a '09 d8 today, 1400 miles, I'm also skeptical and didn't look on snowest before hand! but i hope it works out for me, no updated motor on it i don't think