Ok I droped off my 08 800 last thursday the 20th. They said they'd call me in 2 days when they looked at it. I didn't hear from anyone on Sat, so I called them on monday....Closed. So I called on Tuesday the 25th.. He said I was next to be looket at.......we will call you when we know something. Never called!
I call them today and he says their waiting for a belt to come in. Could be in today or tomorrow, maybe early next week........ *&$%^#%@*&%$#^^@&&#*\$#@

So I guess it was the belt I asked him how it could fail after only 25 hrs, he said
maybe it wasn't stitched right...he didn't have a clue>

They are coverig it under warranty as it's only 4 months old, 25 hrs and 160 miles

I asked him to change all the fluids except for engine oil as changed it the day my bely shredded.... 1 hr labor plus oil cost Bout $75 so I'm going to get that done too...

Lesson learned.....Do NOT powerbrake a POPO....

AND IF YOU DO....do NOT tell the dealer you DID..lol

 

Consider yourself lucky...rare to get Polaris to warranty a belt unless there is a known issue in my experience. Sounds like you have a good dealer. I would bet he is suspicious,but is giving you the benefit of the doubt.
Powerbraking in low is hard on one. Powerbraking in high is brutal,as you now know.
Glad it was't an expensive lesson.

 

I'm guessing he told Polaris that it looked like the belt had failed due to a defect!

Take out the powerbraking thing.. which they aren't aware of,

there is no reason why a belt on a basically brand new machine should fail!!!


??? For you...

So when I'm trail riding with my dad and 1/2 the time we are in the 5-10 mph range cruising up and down hills and the other half is above 10 mph when we hit a flat section, should I be shifting constantly to avoid belt wear?

 

Even so they like to fight warrantying belts most times unless they can attribute it's failure to something else like clutch alignemt issues,usually ones that fail that soon are caused by hard use prior to a proper break-in being completed or improper clutch alignment(broken motor mount..which you might want to have your dealer check if he hasn't. Powerbraking in high is a good way to break the mount and they are known to break occasionally even without abuse)
So there are reasons besides powerbraking for a belt failure on a new machine.
Giving one hell in high while it is buried in some good sticky mud can have a similar effect. As can aggressivley trying to pull something very heavy in high with good traction...alot of ways to trash a belt through negligence other than powerbraking IMO.
Anyway I'm glad they took care of you.

IMO the biggest issue with extended low speed operation in high range is heat build up and therefore lowered belt life. In high at low speeds the cluthes don't spin fast enough to move enough air to keep everything cool. I'd say if the slow areas are short and you move through them without any stop and start (by start and stop I mean engaging and disengaging the belt which you do not have to actually come to a stop to do)and the faster areas are longer I'd you would be ok to stay on high the whole time. Disengaging and engaging the belt multiple times back to back at low speeds in high without subsequently getting up to speed each time to cool the clutches and belt builds alot of heat. So if you have to stop and start alot,or the hills are steep or the majority of the time you are slow I would say you need to shift to low in the slow areas or stay low the enitire time if you aren't getting much over 10 in the straights. Obvioulsy that will affect mileage and put more wear on the engine. Bottom line if you can stay above 7mph most of the time and minimize disengaging the belt and the hills are mild you'll be fine in high.
It's kind of something you have toget a feel for. On the hills at low speeds in high the engine isn't in the best power RPM range so if the motor sounds as if it is straining that is a good indicator that the hillis too steep for high range at that speed and you need to down shift.

 

this has ben talked about alot about the using low range. the main reason polaris says to use it under 10 mph is so the engine turns faster in low and keeps the belt cooler which is the hardest thing on a belt is the heat build up.

 

If you go so slow the belt is barely engaged it will slip and the slippage causes excess friction which causes heat which causes belt failure. That's what Polaris says anyway. If you put it in low the belt won't slip like that when you go slow plus the belt and pulleys spin faster creating more airflow. It eliminates the main source of belt-destroying heat.

 

well the dealer didn't call me today, no surprise to me, so I guess I'll have to hope I can get it first of next week....

 

keep us updated .

 

thanks everyone here at the forum yall have helped me out on alot of stuff...i didnt know i low the belt keeps cooler...i guess it make sence....good luck with ur 800 mtnhiker!!!

 

What is powerbraking a POPO....