2007 leftover bought in 2008

 

When I was shopping around at 3 different Polaris dealers I asked about their experience with the Polaris winches.

Dealer A - Said the Polaris winches sounder a little louder than the Warn. He indicated Polaris approached Warn and asked them for a break on pricing.
Warn didn't give them a break and Polaris took a Warn winch to China and asked them to duplicate it, copyright laws don't mean much in
China. He indicated the Warn warranty is 6 months and the Polaris is 12 months. The only Warn winches that he had to repair were ones
that came in contact with large stationary objects. Hasn't had much experience with the Polaris winches other than to say they sounded
louder than a Warn.

Dealer B - Was basically indifferent and didn't have much to say about either.

Dealer C - Had quite a bit of experience with the Polaris winches since several of his customers use them for plowing. He took the time to take me back
in the shop and compare the difference between the Polaris winch with the wire cable and the upgraded 3,500 lb version with synthetic blue
rope. He showed me exactly where some of the wire cable models were having problems with breaking and he pointed out he hasn't had
any issues with his customers breaking the 3,500 lb model and it was only a $50 upgrade to go from the Polaris 2,500 lb to the Polaris 3,500.
When I asked him if his customers had issues with the contacts having to be replaced, he was honest about telling me they have been an
issue in the past but not since they came out with the most recent version of the Polaris 3500. He also quickly went over the install
procedure with me and offered. He offered me a 15% discount on any accessories I purchased with a new ATV and offered to install them
for free.

Guess which dealer we purchased two new 2008 Sportsman 800 X2 LE's from.

 

I apologize for my ignorance. Why on the Polaris web-site the 3500# is cheaper than the 2500# winch kit? Is it because of the wiring? How much more of an expense can that be? cscotter posted how the 3500# was so easy to install for only $450.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: cscotter

I have a 800 x2 sportsman. I first bought the warn 3000lb winch $419 at Cabelas and a Cabelas mounting bracket $70. The mounting bracket didnt work, It pointed the winch at an upward angle parallel with the frame the bracket mounted to. The wiring with the warn was very generic to fit all makes and models, the wires were extra long without terminal ends installed, the relay didnt line up with the holes on the factory polaris plate. The insructions where useless as they were not specific to any model.

I returned it and bought the polaris 3500lb for $450 It came ready to go with a bracket attached that was made to fit my sportsman. The insructions were step by step and very thourough. Everything lined up and was very easy to install, took about an hour and a half.

As far as performance the warn comes with the steel cable, the polaris comes with the synthetic rope which is stronger according to the dealer, and replys to my inquiry on this site. I used the new polaris winch to pull a large boat lift sideways out of the lake through sand, and another half mile down the beach without straining it.





























T</end quote></div>

Do u mind If I ask where you bought your winch kit from? Thanks!!!

 

Killer Kong,
My ONLY complaint of the Polaris Winch is the contactor. Spooled in but wouldn't let out last winter, new contactor, starting to do it again now but if I push the "out" button a few times it finally kicks in and lets it out. Brother bought 500efi last week, contactor bad out of the box, would let out but not in. Our dealer gave him a Warn Contactor to replace it. Now if that doesn't say something..... Pulling, etc I think the Warn and Polaris are about the same. I have a buddy who went completely off brand for a 4k winch for his ranger - it sucks. I've yet to see him pull himself out with his winch - we all end up hooking to him and pulling him out.

Synthetic rope - if that Warn came with steel - leave it on till you mess it up (kinks, burrs, etc) then put a synthetic on it. I ordered one today for mine. Glad you bought the bigger one. I got last years deluxe that came with the polaris 2500 and it would be NICE, not necessary, to have a bigger one.

How'd the install go? I see it took you an hour or so. Did you get the Warn from the polaris dealer with the mounting bracket already on and ready to go? We did my brothers Polaris winch on the 500 last week in about 20 minutes (doesn't include trouble shooting bad contactor) but I've helped our dealer put a few on a few times.

 

I got the 3500# Polaris for $365 shipped. I originally ordered a 2500# Warn/Polaris, which is discontinued and the dealer had just sold the last one so they sold me the Polaris 3500 for the same price. If you want a very easy install you need to get either a Polaris winch or the 3,000 Warn/Polaris kit is still available I believe. The benefit of getting the Polaris or the Warn/Polaris is it is prewired and bolts right on literally in minutes, less than 1 hour for me taking my time. The rest of the so called "kits", including the Warns are not prewired, unless you order the right part number to get the "Polaris/Warn". On a side note you can order the cover with the cutout for the winch, aboutr $7 at cheapcycleparts, ~$11 list. Look under options, then winch on the parts breakdown.
I can't really comment on the quality yet as I haven't used it enough, it fits great and the looks like decent quality. It drug the atv with the brakes locked while winching a large log that I used to test it out..didn't even sound like it was straining. I was more worried about ripping the mount bolts out, not sure I like the self-tapping mount bolt idea. I'm thinking about backing them up with nuts. Then again maybe it is a safety to prevent frame damage if you put too much pull it will pull out the bolts first?

 

Well, i finally got my winch installed and tested.

Thanks for everyone's advice. due to backordered winches, i had to settle for a 2500# polaris winch. it's cost, 359.00 (includes kit). took about 2 hours to install and the instructions and equipment was flawless. went on like a glove.

I went to the Red River Motorcycle Trails over the 4th and put the Polaris winch to the test. Worked Great!!

I think for the price and the ease of installation the polaris winch was a good buy. I know there are larger and more popular winches out there, but i needed something in stock by the holiday weekend. thanks Polaris for being there.

Pictures to come.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: HIGHOCTANE

On a side note you can order the cover with the cutout for the winch, aboutr $7 at cheapcycleparts, ~$11 list. Look under options, then winch on the parts breakdown.

</end quote></div>

I looked but couldn't find that cover.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]