Hadn't heard of that one. Have you talked to dealer? Like the name!

 

If you remove the exhaust, you should be able to patch that small hole with some industrial JB Weld.

 

Will it still rub again when he done though??...................

That's just a band-aid solution for now.............But the real problem will be the clearance ......Caper.....

 

Talked to the dealer this morning (was waiting to hear from you guys before I called him, wanted to know how common of a problem it was before I ruffed him up).

He said they'd fix it under warranty, but they'd just weld it up and adjust the pipe out of the way so it wouldn't happen again. I think I really deserve a new pipe, after all it was obviously Polaris' fault. I wasn't in the mood to argue about it. It's easier to just weld it up myself than to drive it 30 miles to the dealer, leave it for a few days, then drive 30 miles to pick it up. So I'll just fix it myself and have a big weld goober on the exhaust pipe of my nearly-new $7,000 machine.

Thanks for your inputs.

BTW, having sold a 2000 SP500 for this machine I owned since new, I must say I've been dissappointed so far. The fuel mileage stinks (15 mpg vs. 25+mpg), I hate the raspy, high-revving engine (5000rpm at 20mph???) of the 700, it seemed like I got better low-end torque from the 500. I also hate the "clank-clank" noises that come from the drivetrain (dealer says that's normal) and the way it lopes down the trail (dealer says that's from the tires being out-of-round from sitting in a crate too long). The EBS is way too touchy too, hard to drive a consistent speed when descending a steep hill- the EBS is either on or off, no middle ground. There are a half dozen other things I won't bore you with, but I sure miss the 500. Even with nearly 5000 trouble-free miles on it, it just felt like a better machine. Sorry so long-winded.

 

Are you moving the pipe to avoid this problem again? How? Might want to let dealer fix so they can stand behind it, decide what to move. Something must be out of place for it to rub? Good luck.

 

5,000 RPM at 20 mph? My 500 was nowhere near that and my 800 does 20 mph at 3,400 RPM I believe. My gas mileage is miserable as well, between 12 and 15 mpg, but I can live with that.

If you're really doing 5,000 at 20, I'd say you have a belt or clutch proplem.

 

i also have an 06 700. mine hasn't quite rubbed through yet but it won't be long. i am going to remove my exhaust and grind it clean and weld it then heat it up and pean it in with a ball pean hammer to gain clearance. but the problem i have is with only 650 miles the dognut gasket at the exhaust manifold wore out and began leaking. i got a new one and went to put it all back together and then realized the alignment between the two is very far off. thought maybe after some running it would seat itself, but nope going to call dealership in the morning. it appears that the bend in the exhaust it to much and won't let it align properly.

 

Just an update, I fixed the hole in the exaust myself last week.

I dropped the pipe (getting those springs off is a pain in the butt) and welded up the hole.

Adjusting the exhaust so it wouldn't rub on the engine mount was so easy a caveman could do it (should've been done AT THE FACTORY POLARIS!!!). There's a rubberized pad (already melted on mine...duh!) with an adjuster bolt that pushes against a spring located behind the left front tire. Just turn it clock-wise to rotate the exaust down and away from the engine mount. Too far though, and you risk contacting the starter motor housing.

BTW, I was wrong. 5,000 RPM at 20mph wass an exaggeration. My 700 actually runs 4,000 RPM at 25mph on pavement. Still way too high for my liking. An engine of that displacement should just lope along at those speeds, instead it's behaving like a 2-stroke snowmobile engine. Is there an easy mod that would improve low-end torque?

 

I had an exhaust leak on my 03 Polaris Sportsman 500 after a few hundred miles. I may have had it from the beginning but didn't notice till it got louder. This is the problem I found on mine. Above the muffler itself, there are two bolts that hold it to the frame area and one hole did NOT have any give to let the rest of the exhaust pipe close with the other joints. One hole was drilled correctly with lateral movement and the other was just a straight hole. Both holes have to have lateral movement so that the muffler can move forward so the other joints will hold tight. I drilled out the 2nd hole more like the first and the muffler was able to move forward. I tightened up both bolts and the leak was able to stop. My leak was on the exhaust pipe joint down closest to the engine. I haven't had a leak since. Hope this helps.