Okay, I just got confirmation, grease zerks are back for ’06 and some late ‘05s. My dealer has sold a few ’06 500s already and they had zerks on the A-arms. I don’t have a count but they don’t seem to be as plentiful as they were on say an ’02 500.

It seems that the zerks went away when they became a marketing football put into play by Jap manufacturer’s add campaigns suggesting that Polari were a maintenance nightmare. Now that they’re back, one can only assume they’ve been deemed necessary. What does this mean to those of us without a-arm zerks? I guess we’ll be replacing bushings as the need arises. I can live with that unless it becomes frequent. Before I sold my last Sportsman (’01 500 HO w/8170 miles) I replaced all the suspension bushings front and rear for the new owner. It was an easy job and took far less time than all the every-other-ride greasings I gave it for four years. We’ll see how long the “greasless” bushings last.

 

i grease my pred every other oil change. it takes me 2 min. i have a air compressor type of grease gun. it make it realy simple. just pull the triger one time and its greased. i use amsoil synthetic also.

 

Now that you say that I had to go look...and my new 05 700 has em, must be a late one.

 

1800 miles on my 04.....torsion bar bushings.....inner tie rods....and a-arm bushing.......all need replaced.....I'm all for grease

 

Polaris has never made tie rod ends greasable but you can do it with a neat little tool. First you’ll probably want to put plastic zip-ties around the “small” part of the tie rod end boot where the rod goes in. Most parts stores (like AutoZone) can sell you a grease needle. It’s like a hypodermic needle with a zerk on it that you snap on to the tip of your grease gun. Then just insert the needle into your tie rod end boots and fill ‘em up. Just be careful you don’t stick it into some body part and accidentally pull the trigger on that pneumatic grease gun! (that might even make the Darwin Awards!)

Actually one could drill and tap the a-arms and install grease zerks. If I start seeing premature wear I may just do that. But then, I bought the 4 year extended warranty for our machines so when the bushings start wearing out it’s going to be someone else’s problem.

 

Hey floodrunner did u have to do any engine work on your Sp500 with those 8000 miles? was it using oil

sorry i asked i was just wondering

 

My tie rod ends are greasable on my 98 scrammy 400. And they are still on there. But theyre just about gone.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]
You cant put one of these things through, what we put them through, and expect anything to last, without being able to pump fresh grease in them to flush out all the mud, water and crap.
my 2c

 

The engine was about the only thing I didn’t wear out in 8170 miles. It ran like the day I bought it and didn’t use any oil. I changed the oil at 800 mile intervals, or there abouts. Before I sold it I replaced the battery, brake pads, front struts, suspension bushings, and winch rope. It needed tie rod ends but not real bad. While I owned it I went through two sets of tie rod ends, probably 20 rear CV boots, a rear axle bearing, 5 rear CV joints, a half-dozen front hub seals, 3 batteries, 4 handlebar starter switches and who knows how many brake pads. I blame the CV joint and boot wear on the lift kit. My wife’s bike (same year and model) had as many miles and never needed a CV joint and only two boots.

 

im glad to hear the engine ran that well, i have 2200 miles on my 04.5 sportsman and everything seems to be tight yet

 

4000 miles on my HO replaced both inner and outter tie rod ends. I'm with floodrunner and too have pumped grease into the new ends with a grease needle and already they have out lasted the originals. A arm bushings I have taken apart and greased so they are still good. All boots and joints are original and motor runs like a top and does not take oil between the 100hr changes.....