is it actually possible that my brakes are spent? i know they are after only six months on my 00' 325 trailboss. have any of you had this? and the brakes for that model are $68. just for the one back brake. help with good brake prices other than stock polaris. thanks truely.
jeremy
filinfuze@gamerplanet.com

 

some people are hasving them go really early on them, not just Trail Bosses but all Polaris models, some people will tell you stock are junk and apparently they are. Get the severe duty one from Polaris but that sounds like allot of money for the rear? People on here will definetly give you the facts on brakes what to buy and were.

 

I have seen several posts on rear brake failure. Personally I have never had a problem with the front brakes on any of my machines.The rear mind you is a different story. First you have to find out if the pads are worn out, by this I mean, is the braking material worn down to the back plate. Every time that I had a problem (very little braking power using the footbrake)it has always been due to a grease contaminated brake pad. The newer design 99+ concentric drives have a poor design, Although better than pre-99. When the rear bearing carrier is greased the extra grease will come out on both sides via the oil seals. The problem is that the disc is only about 1" away from this point and will eventually pick up some grease. Even if you wipe off the excess after greasing, the hot/cold expansion factor while riding, will tend to push out a small amount after any long or hard ride. Riding through tall weeds or grass will eventually smear a tiny amount on your disc, and that is all it takes. The only way that I have found to deal with this, is to use a rag with some acetone and clean the disc side of the bearing carrier on a regular basis. If the pads are contaminated, I remove them, clean them with acetone, wipe down the disc and put everything back together and braking power is restore as if everything was new. Pre-99 models which have the brake mounted at the motor output shaft, have the same problem when greasing the output shaft. The differance is that it is a difficult area to get to.

Everthing I wrote above should apply to all polaris bikes with the exception of post 99 sportmans and magnums

 

325blazin

Yes the rear brakes on the trail boss are junk. The ones on my wifes trail boss wore out at five months. I have replaced them with sintered metal pads. I would not give Polaris another dime for their brake pads. There is a guy in here offering solid brass brake pads for $35 for the rear on Polaris's. You can go to his website at www.boxbrakes.com. Email him and he will send you all of the details. I plan on buying some pads from him in the near future. The main reason with the rear wearing out so fast is that it is right down in the mud and water and the soft crappy pads that Polaris installs will not hold up under these conditions.

 

polaris has 3 grades of brake pads,you get the lowest,cheapest grade from the factory..my old magnum wore all 3 sets of pads evenly in about 65 hours..i put polaris severe duties on it,cost me 85.00 for the complete set of 6 from the dealer,they seemed to hold up good until i traded it..when i need brakes im going to look into those brass ones myself..i do alot of mudding so i expect brakes to wear faster..keep an eye on your fluid reservoir,when it gets to just above the low mark thats usually a good time to start keeping an eye on the pads so you dont ruin the rotors

 

Polaris pads are one of the WORST on todays market.They make soft,medium and severe duty pads.A little water/mud,there GONE.All the new quads are equipped with the soft pads.In plain english,THEY SUCK.

Go to the brass pads that Gary Box makes for the rears,they should last 3-4 times longer,someone in here earlier gave his e-mail address.Use it.

Im currently working on re-lining my own brakes,that is,a friend of mine who works at a local brake shop give me the name of a local brake re-lining place that will re-line my old pads with a higher quality material than what Polaris is giving us,I'll keep you guys in touch,
Bill

 

Bill, I sent an email to Gary at Box Brakes and he said that I should email you to see how your brakes from him are holding up. Are they better than the Polaris severe duty or EBC sintered metal? Please let me know your findings. Thanks

Ken

 

DesertSportsman,
I feel that Garys brass pads will out last anything out there today.His pads are thicker than anyone's,stronger,and seem to be built to withstand severe mudding.

I took the spec thickness from Garys pads [300 thousands]and am working on relining my own.Im getting help from a friend who works at a brake place who knows someone in re-lining.

For overall wear,you are not going to be able to beat Mr Box's Brass Brakes, [tougue twister- lol]

Bill

 

The brakes on my 00 Scrambler also went after 10 months and even scored the rotors because i wasnt paying any attention to them. Figured they were new enough that didnt really need to check them yet. However, once i realized they were shot i took them to my polaris dealer and he called polaris directly and polaris is going to pay for new brakes and rotors. They are going to put on the new style rotor which is on all the 2001 models and are putting on the EBC heavy duty pads.

 

Bill

Thanks for the info. I will be placing an order with Gary. Seems to be the hot product!!

Ken