I just got a new sportsman 800 x2 and want to put a winch on it. Does this require a mounting bracket or will it bolt right up? It is supposed to be pre wired for the winch, but after removing the front plastic plate I dont see where the connection is made. Is there a optional polaris plastic plate that covers the winch and only exposes the rollers like on the dlx models with the winch installed?
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

 

yes you need to buy a bracket for the winch. i recommend buying at least a 3000 lb winch. they do have cut out for just the fairlead to stick out but be warned you cant free spool the winch. you can also cut out the one you have on the plastiv insert.

 

A couple of months ago, I installed a 3000 lb winch on my X2 500 EFI. I ordered the winch and mounting plate as a kit and then picked up a new plastic bumper panel for the Deluxe model for <$7. Worked great and looks pretty good too. Check out the pics on my photos page. Installation was very easy after I committed to taking the front rack and plastic off to get to everything easier.

FYI - there are several winch models (mainly Warn) that have gone to a center drum design. These will not work with the Deluxe bumper panel. The panel is made for an offset drum design. I picked it up at www.cheapcycleparts.com. Oh, and I do have plenty of room with the panel on to get to the freespool lever.

 

Thanks for the help everyone.
Hey OIown 12 I have the same machine 07 800 x2 and wondered what 3000 lb winch you have. I bought the warn rt30 with a Cabelas mounting bracket.
My problem is that the tilted back angle of the frame where the bracket mounts is causing the roller to point at an angle up instead of straight out the front bumper.
I am wondering if the warn bracket would take care of this problem?
Also do you know what benefit the factory prewire offers? Does it give you a place to mount the relay? or a place to tap power?
Thanks

 

yes to all of the questions cscotter. couldnt you put the bracket in a vice and bend it or even use some goos torches to heat it up if its too thick to bend. this is back woods(cheap) way of thinking for me. lol. yes the prewired has a power wire in the pod, and the right side under the fender on the frame rail is a small panel w/ 2 bolts that has 4 holes in it where you bolt the contacter to the tin plate.

 

I was lucky enough to get the free winch with my 500 but I couldn't get my fingers in to flip the freespool lever.

I took the cover off, marked it and cut a piece off with a coping saw parallel to the side. I like to stick a piece of masking tape on things like that and make the pencil marks on the tape. A quarter or other coin is good for tracing the curved corners too. I used a half-round file to smooth it down, and sanded it too. When I was done I carefully ran a lighter across the edge to melt it, just enough to make it blend in. No more white file marks and scratches. I can't remember exactly how much I cut off, but I think it was 3/4". It's perfectly straight and looks like it was factory-made that way. My friends looked at it and couldn't tell either, even after I told them where I cut it off. The straight "A"s in woodshop finally paid off. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]