Hi all. I have an '08 Sportsman 800 I recently bought new. I have approximately 200 miles on it so far. Riding in FL in the high 60's-low 70's. The heat from the right side of the 800 is burning up my right leg above the ankle. Most noticable at slow speeds.
I have jeans and calf high socks and it really gets hot enough to leave like a sunburn on my leg.
Anyone else have this problem? Left leg is cool....

 

Yeah, some of the 800's I ride with have the same prob. I guess you will have to ride faster!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

it is a very common problem for these bikes to run hot as they do for sure. just make sure the radaitor is 100% clean on front and back to help disapait the heat a little. where your down in fl. you might want to look into running a heat additve in the radiator like water wetter of red line or others that help w/ heat issues. maybe look into it. just an idea

 

I personnaly think it is a design defect. I drive a 400 Sportsman here in Newfoundland and I have the same problem.
My friends drive a 300 and a 660 Grizzly and there is no heat issue when riding either slow or fast.
I think Polaris should improve the heat dissipation on their machines. Not everyone likes riding with their machine wide open.
I personnally like touring and enjoying nature and taking time to look around.
Just my 2 cents.

 

There was a thread on here not too long ago about adding some insulator to block it.

Here is one but not the one I was thinking of.

http://forums.atvconnection.co...ht_key=y&keyword1=heat

http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...&keyword1=wrap

 

My point is , I don't think it should be up to the owner to modify his machine.
When a problem is discovered, Polaris should re-design their product to fix the problem.

These suggestion, wrapping, coating or whatever it may be, can and probably will fix the
design flaw, but with the price we pay for these machines, why should we pay more money
so we can enjoy our rides. As far as wrapping, it seems like it will cause more problems (rusting of exhaust system components).

 

Thanks for all the replies folks. Seems I am not alone with this issue. I am like Cryokid and run slow much of the time, reading tracks of 4 legged and 2 legged critters in the dirt. Lots of deer, bear, fox, pig, etc. where I ride and it's fun reading the tracks.
Ran accross some cat tracks yesterday. Too big for a house cat and too small for the panther. Must be some sort of exotic someone let loose...
Guess I will just figure on some sort of insulation in that area to cool off a bit.

 

My 1998 Trail Boss 250 burns my right calf up, but the exhaust is what is doing it. They fixed that with the 06 Trail Blazer 250 I have. Better heat guarding. Going fast does help :-)

 

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

I personnaly think it is a design defect. I drive a 400 Sportsman here in Newfoundland and I have the same problem.

My friends drive a 300 and a 660 Grizzly and there is no heat issue when riding either slow or fast.

I think Polaris should improve the heat dissipation on their machines. Not everyone likes riding with their machine wide open.

I personnally like touring and enjoying nature and taking time to look around.

Just my 2 cents.</end quote></div>

On the new Xp it is not an issue anymore. Look for all POPO's to incorporate these type of upgrades as soon as they are redone.

 

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

As far as wrapping, it seems like it will cause more problems (rusting of exhaust system components).</end quote></div>


sctusa..the second link unport posted was a thread I started..

http://forums.atvconnection.co...ht_key=y&keyword1=wrap
I wrapped mine with header wrap just in the exposed area..I did alot of slow riding and the heat was too much..the header wrap solved the problem for me..made a drastic difference..
Another alternative is to send the pipe off for ceramic coating..but I stil think the header wrap is more effective at reducing the heat where the pipe is exposed.

Cryokid..I agree the heat on the right side is a defect..Polaris came out with new shields to stop the melting plastic issue..but the new shields still leave the open area, where there is no plasitic, exposed.
The header wrap will only cause the exhaust to corrode faster if you put the machine up with the wrap wet..I always started mine after washing and let the exhaust heat up and dry the wrap before putting it up and had no problem..good idea anyway to evaporate water on the engine be fore storage.
Possibly if you store it outside it would accelerate corrosion of the pipe..between the pipe rusting faster and my leg being uncomfortably hot I'll take a rusty pipe.