I took the Xplorer in a few wks ago to the dealer,just before its warrenty ran out.The quad did'nt seem to have the same hook-up as before.The dealer installs a new belt,charges me only for labor.It did nothing for me.I got ahold of Rick Ritter and we decided to change the primary spring to white.I did,it made no differance.He than sends me a green spring,still,very little differance.

The quads engine is running rich,the exaust will burn your eyes,I leaned the air screw,it still burns my eyes.I disassembled and cleaned the carb,still no difference.The engine developed a pinging on acceleration,I went to 93 Octane,it still pinged.Ok,enough for the carb problems.I'll come back to it in a minute.

Frustrated,I removed the black belt cover to see what was going on in the clutching department?I set the quad in front of a tree in my backyard,in low range,I nailed the throttle and watched the primary clutch action.It[primary clutch] would NOT grab my belt hard enough to turn it.With no load on the engine,the clutching,front and rear,performed flawlessly.Pissed,I than went to bed.

This morning,while loading up the quad in the back of the truck,I noticed that the rear downspout tube that connects to the rear of the muffler was more than half clogged with hardened mud.I cleared the pipe and tested the quad again.

Guess what?No more pinging,no more not grabbing the belt correctly[more power from the engine],and no more burned eyes from running rich.The quad had developed a loss in power that I thought was related to the clutching.All this time,it was a clogged exaust.

GOOD NEWS,
With Rick Ritters green primary spring,this quad will wheelie effortlessly.This new spring does more for me than the EPI kit did for the Sportsman,and at a fraction of the cost.The spring cost me 29 dollars with shipping,it took me about 30 minutes to install.The EPI clutch kit was 230 dollars installed and I TRULY notice a much bigger differance with just the primary spring change, over the entire EPI kit.I'd certainly recommend this spring to anyone who wants better belt hook-up and dont want the cost of the entire EPI kit.

The downside to this spring is for the inexperienced riders.The belt hook-up is SO much better now with the new green primary spring,that in 4x4 at slower speeds,you have got to really hold on to the front handlebars if you suddenly peg the throttle.The rears slip ALOT faster now with this new spring,therefore the AWD engages fearfully.It made me wonder why Polaris dont have it stock on on all their quads?The answer is lawsuits.In AWD,smashing the throttle will really cause the front wheels to grab ALOT harder.An inexperience rider might ride right into a tree or something.====Rick,thanks for the spring,I'd highly recommend it to any experienced Polaris rider.===Bill

 

That's great Bill! I wonder how the spring would work for the Sportsman? I would like to have a greater boost like your Xplorer experienced.

 

It's great to hear that for only 29$ your quad gets that much improvement. I know what you mean about the front wheels grabbing at everything. Since I had all my "go-fast" goodies added to my Scrambler the front wheels just eat everything up. It is a very unnerving feeling when not used to it.(at first) Like you said, it's for more experienced riders.

Brian, fellow Xplorer connaiseur...

 

What are the negatives to changing the spring? Does the belt wear faster, harder on the tranny, engine...??? I would like some better pickup for my Trailboss and wonder what the spring would do. As you can tell, I'm not mechanically inclined. I don't want to cause any problems.

thanks

 

Daboss,
I learned more about the Polaris's clutching in the last wk than I ever knew my entire time owning them.

Changing the spring is very easy.Remove the black cover that protects the belt.You will see a primary clutch,thats the clutch thats toward the front of the engine,the one in the back is called the secondary clutch.You will see a large bolt in the middle of the primary clutch,loosen it.There will be a group of 6 bolts on the outter edge of the primary clutch,they will be in three groups of two,remove them.Now completely remove the large bolt that you earlier loosened.You will than be able to get to your primary spring.Reverse the proceedure to install the new spring,being careful to install the cover gasket seal properly.

I dont know of any shortcomings this new spring would have,except for the inexperienced riders ability to control the added response in AWD on hard accerations.Best of luck,
Bill

 

Hi daboss

Also just a reminder on the reinstalling of the primary clutch cover bolts be sure to use a quality torque wrench and torque to specs..especially on the 3 groups of two bolts ..

Thx

Xplorer 250

RCR stage 1 kit

 

Bill, I assume that the primary load on this green spring is significantly more than the stock spring. That being so the engagement is much higher which in turn infers that the engine is developing more power at engagement.

My question would be is the secondary load the same as stock? I assume that it is otherwise the bike will be revving beyond its powerband.

The only downside that I could see is that you may find that you are no longer able to start off as smoothly as before. This may be a nuisance if you have occasion to drive on ice (as in plowing your driveway in the winter).

Temp

 

Tempest,
The engagement speed is increased a little,however,compared to the entire EPI kit,it's engagement is ALOT lower.The EPI kit was a pain when snowplowing.In reverse,I could'nt get the quad to engage without holding in the overide button because engagement speed was so much higher.

I did absolutly nothing to the secondary clutch.It remains stock.Your assumtion of the funtioning of the green spring vs the stock spring is correct.The green springs load is heavier and it is also about 1/4 inch longer.The quad takes off very smoothly to.

Now,im pretty sure this new primary spring will not give the same results on ALL Polaris quads.I have a 2-stroke engine which revs faster than a 4 stroke,however,im betting even on the 4 strokes,it'll make a marked improvment.

Rick Ritter is a great individule who takes the time to talk to his customers on any of their quad concerns.He can tell you what spring is probably right for what you want to acheive.His number is 1618-644-3211.Tell him I sent you.

Oh yah,and dont forget to post the results.===Bill

 

/me calls Rick Ritter and orders a green spring...lol
Bill that is great news!!
I had the same problem you did once after a mud ride. The power droped why off and it sounded funny. I was really worried that I had hurt the motor but on closer inspection I noticed that the exhaust hole was almost entirly cloged with mud.
I dug it out and bingo!!! back to normal. I do have to wonder though, if there is still more mud inside the muffler.

Andy G

 

Andy,
A few wks ago,it also sounded as if the exaust were differant sounding on the Xplorer.I should of looked at it than.

Put your quad on a small incline.Remove the bolt thats on the bottom of the muffler.Rev the engine a little,if stuff comes out,keep doing it till it clears,re-install the bolt.Good Luck,====Bill