Yes it is true. For the longest while all my dealer would carry was the Sportsman 500 & 335, Magnum 500 & 325 and maybe a Trailblazer. I popped in last weekend and there was a Scrambler 400 & 500 (out back), Trail Boss and 6x6. I asked about the Xplorers and he said that he was not going to carry any because they were "nothing but trouble". He said that he has seen 10 times more Xplorers in for repairs than Sportsmans. He said that people are just afraid of the chain drive and don't buy them.

Well, that was a nice thing for the dealer to say. The Xplorers that I know of had problems because of the owner, ie failing to grease the joints or adjust the chain (non concentric of course).

Polaris are not known for their reliability . . . everyone knows that. They are higher maintainence machines and that does not bother most people, including myself. If we wanted rock solid reliability we would buy a *onda.

I'm just a little pissed that my dealer would take such an attitude towards one of their own brands.

Anyway . . . thanks for letting me vent.

 

I think your dealer must be a moron. My buddy and I have thrashed our 400 Xplorers and the only only problem I have had was a broken drive sprock and that was entirly my fault. My local dealer said that the 400 Xplorers is one of his best sellers. Id go to another dealer.
Andy G

 

I've only had the 00 Xplorer for 5 or six weeks,but this quad is awesume.No problems so far.Best to check with another dealer.==BILL

 

Loyal,

It would appear that your dealer is a "Front Running" Cherry Picker and only wants to handle the hottest selling models.

I would also like to venture to say that his parts inventory is low and that he is always reluctant to send his technicians for product training.

He is probably reluctant to participate in factory sponsored sales promotions also.

I would say that overall he probably does not represent Polaris on a 100% basis and is only bottom line oriented.

Because his techs are untrained and can't fix problems, he only wants what he considers minimal maintenance models in his market.

Find a new dealer, I have seen his type before.

You and Polaris don't need this guy.

 

The Xplorers are on of the more reliable Polaris models. My dealers reccommends the Xplorer 400 over the Sportsman.

 

Thanks Guys,

The next Polaris dealer is about 1.5 hours away and it is owned by the same person. I guess he has sort of a monopoly in this area.

Parts are always on backorder as well and it always seems to be "Polaris' Fault".

That being said we all know that Xplorers are one of the best kept secrets in the ATV market, even though some of the dealers are a wee bit on the idiot side.

 

Those of you with the older Xplorers, how many miles do you get before a rebuild?

 

I happen to have 3 Xplorers, 2-96's and 1-98. I have about 3800 miles each on the 96's and only about 800 miles on the 98. One set of brakes pad on both of the 96's and one output bearing on one. The 98 is still very much original. I also had for about 10 years 2 2x4 Trail Bosses. Now on one of then I did rebuild the engine a few times, but that was mine own fault of wanting much more power. I made it into a Cyclone, but with disk brakes and 2-speed tranny. The other one, original engine and only one set of brakes pad on it. I did change the chain once on my '88.

I will say this, properly maintain machines last a lot longer than not. I do not jump for the most part, nor do I go around running WOT. I do run my machines fast, but with prudence. I jet the engine for the area and temp that I ride in. All of my Xplorers will do an indicated 65-68 at 5000' in elevation.