Bought a couple of ATV's a few months back. Went on 4 outings with them. Twice to Andover where I rode probably a total of 8 hrs. Thenn once to Tug Hill where I probably rode the same. Then to West Virginia where I rode about 10 hrs. So total hours on machines should be about 26.

I have a ride scheduled in a couple weeks to go to PA to ride for a weekend. I dont know if I'll have time to bring in the ATV's for service or not before I go.

How bad would it be to do this run without bringing them in for their first check up? Niether seem to be showing any signs of problems whatsoever.

Thanks in Advance.

 

If you haven’t already I’d definitely change the oil and filter at a minimum and check the coolant level. Make sure the air filters aren’t clogged. If you’ve had the suspension under any amount of water grease ‘em.

 

Thanks for the reply Floodrunner.

Do you see any problem with ME giving it the first oil change as opposed to me bringing it to the dealer?

 

its going to sound stupid, but when i bought my 800 my dealer told me to bring it back for the first service so their woludnt be any problems w/ the warranty if something goes wrong. he knows i do my own service and repairs so its not like hes tring to shaft me,plus giving me a rake off the service charge. the cost of the fluids and what not.

 

Well, changing your oil and filter is a pretty straightforward procedure. But that doesn’t mean you couldn’t get in trouble doing it depending on your skill and experience level, which I’m no judge of since we don’t know each other. But one way or another I’d get that break-in oil out of there sooner than later.

Generally speaking when a dealer suggests you bring your machine back for the first service under threat of warranty failure they’re usually trying to get in your shorts. Maybe your dealer is just being conscientious since he’s offering you a deal. What a lot of people don’t realize is warranty claims are pretty much up to the discretion of the dealer. They can decide to work with you or against you and there is no requirement for you to have any of your routine maintenance done by them to satisfy your warranty.

Finding a dealer you can work with is just as important or even more so than what you pay for the machine, especially if you plan to run aftermarket accessories like lifts and bigger tires on it. If you’re in the market for a new machine and you plan to modify it at all you need to ask someone “of importance” at the dealership (not the floor salesman or sales manager) what their position on warranty work is going to be if you modify the machine. Tell them what you plan to modify and ask them what happens if……. will they stand by the warranty or leave you in the cold? Unless your warranty history becomes outrageous due to stress from aftermarket goodies the dealers know how to write a warranty claim that will get approved. Whether they want to or not is up to them. Unless you’re reaching way too deep way too often into the “warranty bag” and a red flag goes up at Polaris, 98% of the decision to honor a warranty claim is the dealer’s, and different ones handle it very differently.

But you as a customer have to be reasonable about it as well. For example, in less than a year I’ve replaced five tie rod ends on my Sportsman. I bought the extended warranty because we log a lot of miles (over 2000 annually) but should Polaris have to buy me five new tie rod ends because I wanted to experiment with 28x10 front tires? I don’t think so and I’m sure they don’t either.

 

Elimin8r, find the time and get that oil out of there. get it nice and hot so all the contaminants are in suspension and do it yourself. good luck.

 

Thanks for all of your input. I will ne taking both of them to the dealer this weekend for their check ups.


Polaris just requires oil, filter, lube, fluid and brake inspection while yamaha requires all of those plus a valve adjustment.

Difference is about $50.

100 for the Polaris and 150 for the Yamaha.

Does this sound right?

 

You would be better off doing it yourself.
I took mine back to the dealer to have its first oil change so that i could get to know the mechanic and to cover myself if for some reason there was a mechanical failure of some sort.
Anyhow.....I bring it to the dealer and the mechanic unloads it from my truck. He pulls it in the garage and lets it warm up a bit for the oil change. Around the corner comes the owners fat slob of a son to change my oil. (not a good thing). The son grunts as he makes his way to the floor to drain the oil.He proceeds to get the plug out and the oil starts to flow.All of a sudden he drops his ratchet into the pan of oil .No problem , we have all done this. He then then reachs into the oil to retrieve his ratchet which he then drops onto the floor.He takes his already filthy rag and cleans up his ratchet then proceeds to wipe up the floor.Reinstalls the plug and filter.(i want to add that he did not clean the filter mateing surface as i ALWAYS do) , and made his way to the funnel. The funnel has a piece of tubing on it to fit into the dipstick hole. He noticed that the outside of the tube was a little encrusted with dirt etc. so he uses his trusty rag and wipes it down.He then places the tube into the dipstick hole. He looks my way and sees that im looking. He then notices a speck a dirt in the funnel (that is already in the hole) and he takes his said rag and wipes it around in the funnel.Finally he puts the oil in and that part of the ordeal is over. He then whips out the grease gun. He does the old "reach around" the front tires probeing for the grease fittings. Keep in mind hes a fat slob and too lazy to get back on the ground to actually find the fitting.Once on the fitting he gives it about 6 pumps. Plop......big gobs of grease on the inside of the rims.That doesnt bother him a bit.Where is his rag when you need it? Greasing all done , thank god.
Prior to me witnessing this carnage i had asked him if checking the other fluids was part of the serviceing , he said no but he would check then for me.(what a nice guy). He starts on the front end. He cant get the plug out. I spoke up and said "if its a hastle ,dont bother" hoping he would quit. He then replys,"it no hastle" . Finally gets the plug out , oil level is good.He then starts to search for the the tranny plug. He cant find it and i wasnt telling him where it was. Funny thing about it is, he said that he also had an 06 800.??? I told him not to worry about the tranny fluid , he said ok but he wanted to check the rear end. That ones a no brainer so he had no trouble.
I would like to keep a good relationship with the owner of the place so i didnt say a word about his fat useless POS son. I will just never have them change my oil again and if i need anything else done i will insist the mechanic do the work and ill stay there to make sure the mechanic does it.

My advice to you Elimin8r : If at all possible , do it yourself.

Maybe im too picky ,but i dont think so.

 

jeesh JjEjFjf, now you got me all sorts of concerned.


I will let them do it this time and watch that way I will know how to do it next time.

I hope my dealer doesnt have a fat slob POS son who works in the service dept.

Although if I see some fat slob walking towards my ATV I will cringe.

 

Good luck.
BTW , you should only nned the oil and filter changed this time around. I think they said that the other fluids wont need changed until about 200 hours.