2006 polaris 500 efi overheat
 

Hi there was out riding this weekend after i blew the belt on my 2011 500 ho our other bike the 06 sportsman 500 decided to overheat. so i looked around to see if there was anything i can notice cheeked the anti freeze it wsa full let it cool down for 20 min everything was fine for the ride out of the bush got it home cleaner out all the mud from the rad. is there a way to tell if its the water pump or>?

Is the Rad fan kicking on?

yes it works fine

With the radiator cap off you can see the coolant swirling around. Mud usually gets at back of radiator where its hard to get to and can cause overheating,you can clean the front but still have dirt and mud at rear. If you use a power washer you can get most of it out,BUT be careful and not concentrate spray on just one area as to damage radiator! PLUS the fan can be removed easily if need be to clean even better. One other question,WAS fan operating even when it overheated?? Muddy radiators are a common problem on overheating! Water pumps are dependable,only problem is usually after several years the water pump seal may leak and need replacement! Hope this helps OPT PS if air is trapped in a radiator it can cause overheating also! Just leave the cap off after cleaning radiator and let the fan cycle on and of and IF there is air it will be removed.