To all who ride in snow I give a warning. It was in the 40's and we were screwing around the other day. Blasting through drifts as deep as the bumpers. Sticky, slushy stuff.
Overnight, the temperature turned cold (15 degrees) and my shop isn't heated. I had to roll it over a little to move it out of the way of the loader (cleaning hog pens & pushing snow in general) and it wouldn't move! It was frozen solid.
I was reminded of what Sweetcorn told me (thanks a bunch, man!) what happened to him. His had done the same thing, only he powered it up, tried to move with it & twisted something off.
This is not just a Polaris thing. We were screwing around on the Honda (going where we could on just a 2-wd) and the front end on it was frozen solid, also. The front tires wouldn't turn & the steering locked up on both. Took my little space heater half the day to thaw them both out.
Just a warning, that wet slushy stuff really packs in there, and it freezes like a rock!!!
I know most of you know this, but if it saves just one poor soul from breaking something, it is worth it.

 

Thanks. This'll be my first winter with a quad, and wouldn't have though about that. Probably would have done the same as Sweetcorn.

Thanks again,

Dave

 

Your right about this...I was riding and snow was packed on my quad everywhere it could sit and the next day it was all frozen...actually there still is ice on it...is their any liquid I could pour on the ice to make it melt away?? or just a heat gun will work 'cause I got one of those.

 

The fastest way I found to thaw off the ice if the outside temp is above freezing is with a garden hose. As a bonus you don't have to worry about overheating anything like you could with a heat gun. If it is real cold, I use a space heater.
I now rinse (thaw) out the stuff before I park it, so it is ready for next time.

 

Also a warning when running in ditches watch out for snow drifts that suck you in and then the *** end passes you. you will flop your ride over did it last night. No damage but kinda sore.

 

A suggestion for you "city" boys.
Place or hang a caged 100 watt lightbulb under your atv and cover the atv with an old blanket. Be sure to turn on the light! .

weetoots

 

farmr, how do you like your 400? I am thinking very serious about buying one and would appreciat your input. Thanks alot, sorry about your luck.

 

My cars,truck,and QUADS are pampered to death,they stay in a heated polebarn all yr long.If snow gets packed in and around the quad,it just melts soon after entering the polebarn.It leaves a sloppy puddle,but I just squeege it out.
Bill

 

There’s no doubt packed snow turned to ice can do some damage. Where we winter ride we don’t have the luxury of running water. But I do “pamper” our machines by keeping and transporting them in a Vee-front enclosed trailer we use as a portable garage. On the floor in the front Vee, below the shelving I installed, is an LP 80,000btu forced air “salamander” heater. I just crack the back door for some air and leave the heater on for a couple hours then squeegee the slushy mess out the back. I once melted the radiator shroud on a 425 Mag doing this with a 150,000btu heater under a tarp though, so be careful. To reduce the mess inside I use a compothane dead-blow hammer to knock loose as much snow as I can before pulling the machines into the trailer.

 

floodrunner,
amazing what you can do with a Max....