I just picked up a copy of the July 2000 issue of dirt wheels. On page 57 are a few pics from the Cochranton ATV Ralley.

Earlier I had noticed at Mike Chero's personal web page that he has pics posted of the Cochranton ATV Ralley as well. Looks like Mike and Celeste has a good time there. Anyways on page 57 of Dirt Wheels mag is what I think a pic of Mike and Celeste near the starting line.

There are 2 Polaris's on the R.H. side of the pic.
The 97 Sport 400L is just leaving the pic with the red seat and yellow fenders. It appears that Celeste is right behind him on the Trailblazer. (white & purple).

Check out the pic...Here is the URL

http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/recreati.../MikeChero.JPG

Is this a coincidence? Is this you Mike?
I just thought this was a neat bit of info that we could share.

Keith

 

Keith,

Thanks for the kind words, I guess they didn't have a wide enough lens to get all of me in (LOL).

Seriously though, the poker run was a lot of fun and would have been more fun if my Sport hadn't seized a piston. Still I roached the piston and cylinder by beating a Banshee every where from take off to top end. It really doesn't make me feel too bad because this Banshee guy we were riding with had been running his mouth (in a friendly way) about beating up on my Sport. We showed him a clean set of heels before the seizure. He faired no better on trail C because both of his rear tires went flat and the skidplate was ripped off his swingarm.

Frankly the ride was fun, but the atmosphere was even better. The picture in DW was just the icing on the cake.

 

Mike just courious how did you blow up?

 

jad,

It could have been any one of a number of things from a cold seizure (improper warm-up) to excessive piston skirt clearance, due to improper warm up. The piston left deposits of aluminum on the cylinder walls.

It was a bummer, but the Sport is now back together with a coated piston and .003" piston skirt clearance. I was going to run it last night when it was put back together, but some dummy (namely me) forgot to bring out the gas for it (DUH).

Break-in will be for one tank of gas using Bel Ray MC-1 at 40:1 with the jetting set really rich. Hopefully the motor will last slightly longer than the 2 hours from the last rebuild.

 

Mike,

Was that the original Polaris piston? Rick Ritter
told me I should chage mine before it goes because they have weak skirts.

 

I am curious about this piston skirt thing. I have a 95SC 400 that is piped, has the head milled, cluthch kit and have never had this problem. The motor has never been gone thruough and I have who knows how many hours on it. I also have a 98 SC 400 my wife rides and all I do is regular maintenance. We ride trails and dunes and I push mine pretty hard sometimes. In fact I snaped the original chain just last week jumping it. Maybe I have been lucky or something but I dont agree on all the stuff said about Polaris reliablity? Should I be concerned about the 98??

 

I rode my Trailblazer hard. And i never had any piston trouble.

I broke my transmission case, 1 chain, and bent my swingarm. but! the piston never broke.

 

atv_guy,

No it was a Wiseco. It was also the reason I didn't have to buy a new motor. Wiseco pistons are a lot softer than the stock cast ones and thus will bend instead of break. If you can imagine the havoc the would have resulted in a chunk of piston jamming itself in between the crankshaft and case then you'd buy a softer piston too. Steve (my mechanic/Celeste's brother) just tore apart a Honda CR125 motor that this happened to, it wasn't a pretty sight. Both case halves were cracked in several places. Can you say "New Motor Time"?

Rick is right, get a Wiseco.

 

ray,

I had done all of the modifications I could except porting to my Sport's motor with the stock piston. The problem with the brittle stock piston's skirt is that it can't handle high rpms of most aftermarket RACE pipes. Once you get past 7000 rpms with a stock piston you are, as Molly Hatchet once sang, "Flirtin' With Disaster".

Also it's been proven that the stock piston won't survive higher horsepower of a modified ported engine When you port a motor you allow it to breath a lot better. This results in serious horsepower gains. To put a stock piston in it would have been foolish at best. At your first rebuild put a Wiseco in it. The piston won't give you any more horsepower, but it will give you peace of mind.