i have a 05 700efi with only 134 miles on it now. i was riding last week and it made a racket and it made a loud noise sounding kinda like a blown tire with the rim rolling in the dirt. i checked all the tires and they were fine so i got back on the atv and tried to pull off and it woulnt move and the belt started smoking so i turned it off and took it to the dealer. the dealer called today and said the only problem with it was a shredded belt. no water or mud in the belt housing just a shredded belt. now my question to all u polaris owners is with my atv only having 134 miles on it should this have happened. is this normal. my dealer said what probably caused it was getting stuck and it being in a strain or gunning it from a dead stop. my friend has a 02 praire 650 and he has done burnouts on rough asphalt holding the front brakes with 27inch 589s. he has been stuck up to the handle bars in googy thick mud gunning the hell out of it and never a shredded belt. his belt has slipped from getting wet butt never shredded.this is my first belt
driven atv so i dont know what to expect. but i would think with only 134 miles on it this shouldnt happen.
i do gunn it and i have had it stuck but i dont feel like im all that rough on it. now this is what really gets me.!!!!! the dealer warrantied my belt and he told me that would be the only belt they would warranty. i told him that the polaris belt suppose to have a limited lifetime warranty on them and he said it does its limited to one belt and after that you have to buy them. so another words they give you one free one and thats it. polaris tries to make everybody think that they have the best warranty going on there belts but the second, third and so on doesnt even have a warranty. did i just get a faulty belt on my atv or do i just need to putt around on my 700 efi so i dont tear it up. i will say i love the throttle response on it and the ride is awsome but i would love to ride it aggresive and the belt not come appart on me. thanks for any replies in advance.

 

Well i really can't say what happen to it, but the first ride out on my new 02 Sportsman 500 HO i smoked my belt on a tree I went over,I smoked it again the next ride out, I didn't know about shifting in and out of low and high in rough terrain under 7 mph. its in the book. Well I have 500 miles and just had the belt replaced at the dealer,it was about gone,may have got 1 more ride out of it.Well I do the shift in and out but havent smoked this 1 yet.

 

my 02 sportsman had its first and only belt replacement last summer. My scrammy, well it isn't a 700 but I power brake a storm, gun it and pull wheelies, and ride it hard, like in deep snow. If the belt was going to mess up it would have. I say either it was a bad belt, or something is in there causing it to rip. My dealer told me the same thing about the first belt only, but he also told me the belts should last a long time and unless they do he will replace it. they aren't too expensive so it isn't like he's going to go belly up if he needs to replace it a few times, and it keeps the customers coming back. If you need another belt push the issue with your dealer. This is the second quad I bought from the same dealer and never had to bring my first one back. I don't plan on having to bring this one back either, but if I do I know he will stand behind the Polaris name for me.

 

The 500's belts hold up good and have good pulling power in high range! I had one! I sold it got a 05 sp700EFI have smoked my first belt in 20 miles and the second one by the time I turned 35 miles! This wasnt in the mud It was when I was hunting (NOT BEING ROUGH ON IT)My 500 never went into low range on this trail but this 700 needs to stay in low! I now have 45 miles. WHAT'S NEXT!! GOOD LUCK!!

 

trog, i feel your pain!!!!!!!! no more belt problems yet but, i tore two more boots while riding in a creek. i ordered 4 thermoplastic boots for the front axles from the cv man and i hope they will be here sometime next week. i wont put another boot or belt on mine from polaris even if it is under warranty. i bought my polaris and fell in love with it and now if it caught on fire i wouldnt **** on it to put it out. all because polaris wont spend the extra money to put quallity belts and boots on their atvs.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

my 800 hasnt torn a belt yet, and my 500 with over 4000 miles is on its second belt

 

TRUE THAT!!!! THEY ARE SO GOOD BUT SOOO BAD !!!!

 

yeah from what ive read in the forums the belts on the 800 are thicker and better made.

 

I can see where the dead stop take offs and being stuck and throttling it would be hard on a belt but lets face it, we are spending alot of cash on the machines and when were out in the middle of nowhere nad a belt gets shredded we become screwed. I would thing a belt should last alot longer than 134 miles. My 04 700EFI has more than that on it but I think is still under 200 miles and the belt hasn't been an issue yet(knock on wood).

did the dealer replace the belt under warranty, cause the belts have a limited lifetime warranty right?

 

I can't really say how the dealer replaced the belt under the regular warranty or belt warranty, the dearler told me the 1st replacements free no questions asked, but after the 1st belt they have to call in and get an approval of the belts before they can warranty any more. I don't know if this helps you or not.