Just wondering what people thoughts/ expiriences are on this? I have had a Honda for six year doing this: I start it up in the morning babysit it till it will idle pon it's own. Go inside have breakfast then pull it to first job maybe half hour initial warm up. Then I let it idle between jobs 5-20min all day for about 8 hours. This has never caused any issues with the honda. Original spark plug, runs like the day I bought it uses no oil. I only replaced the OE battery two weeks ago. Just wondering if this same treatment would be bad for the EFI 550 XP?

**EDIT**I should have added that this is while plowing Snow commercially.

 

I'm sure this will wear belt grooves in the clutch sheeves sooner than later. But if you are sure to always be in neutral this will help, as the belt and secondary clutch will spin freely. Is it that hard to shut it off and restart it again?

 

I always put it in park when trailering. Its not hard to start again, it's just that fricking COLD. I'd rather work a warm machine. I would have to stop and restart it about a 100 times per day.

 

Good work on the long warm up, seems most people do not do it, they start it up and ride like it has been used all day. (engine cant last long doing that.) I have let mine sit and run for an hour or two while it is cold and I am hunting, dont want to come back to a cold machine and let it warm up for 15min.... so I guess I have never had any issues doing the idle. 100 starts a day could be tuff on the starter I would think and they are not cheap to replace! Just remember to have it in N while at idle.

 

Does anyone know for sure that the belt is turning when idling in Park or Neutral? I'm wondering how long "extended idling" is, and why it's bad for my quad? And if anyone could describe what they mean by "short trip"? Is 40 minutes of riding not long enough to get the engine and exhaust up to temp.? You know, to dry all the water out....Thanks

 

Yep, the belt turns slowly while at idle, was watching this last time I had my cover off.

 

Is the XP's belt going to be turning in park with the new roller clutches?

 

Yes the XP's secondary turns in neutral and park..that is a good thing though...in gear the scrondary can't turn unless the machine is moving. If the secondary isn't turning the belt isn't turning..but the primary of course is turning if the engine is running. If you are getting off the machine it's a good indicator you should put it in nuetral or park. If you are going to be sitting still for more than a few seconds put it in neutral or park...only takes a second.
As for letting it idle all day; inital start up,especially in bitter cold,is very hard on moving parts...obviously there is the inital second or so before oil pressure builds and reaches all engine parts,seals are cold and brittle additionally a cold belt is stiff and therefore more brittle and prone to wear. Personally in extreme cold I think letting it run is way better than starting it 100 times a day.
Something to think about though is letting the engine run doesn't keep the tranny completely warm and does nothing for the differential. Same with letting it idle for initial warm up. So IMO you still need to ride easy for a little while after you hop on the machine to warm up the drivetrain,even if the engine has been running.
Also I WOULD NOT let it idle for during break in..at a minimum this can affect the rings seating properly. This is why all break in procedures..regardless of school of though..tell you to vary engine speed.

 

Yeah, you can tell the drive train is cold rear end whines pretty much all day even if I do not trailer it. This is when when temps don't exceed 5 F once above that the whine goes away. That's 1 nice thing about the Rubi's the tranny is warm when the engine is. The rear end on the Rubi does not whine at that same temps? Is the gear oil in the XP synthetic? wonder if it's not if that would help?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: MEGA XP

Yeah, you can tell the drive train is cold rear end whines pretty much all day even if I do not trailer it. This is when when temps don't exceed 5 F once above that the whine goes away. That's 1 nice thing about the Rubi's the tranny is warm when the engine is. The rear end on the Rubi does not whine at that same temps? Is the gear oil in the XP synthetic? wonder if it's not if that would help?</end quote></div>

That is strange about the rear end whining IMO.. 5F is fairly cold but I don't know if I buy it being cold enough to cause a whine. If anything maybe you should be running a different weight fluid..although I don't think that Polaris offers a differnt fluid for cold temps..personally I would investigate that further..
Are you sure it is coming from the diff? Do you hear it when under power,ie over the engine exhaust?
Have you checked to make sure it has the proper fluid level?? I know it is new but I have personally seen new machines with basically empty differentials..it happens. The dealer didn't catch it and said "It's not on the pre-delivery inspection sheet".