The belt change is fairly easy...only thing that would suck about doing it on the trail is having to pull the left rear wheel off to get the cover out....and if it was dark some of the cover bolts might be a little fun to get re-installed,but nothing too terribly hard.
It would be sweet if it had some type of 2 piece cover that would allow the belt to be changed without removing the wheel..but then that would just be more places for it to leak I guess..

 

Plus its a lower powered ATV so who cares if you have to change the belt every 2000 miles or more.

Its Not like a 120 hp plus sled where you may need to change the belt on the trail.

 

I thought I read somewhere that the XP belts were supposed to last up to 5,000 miles "with normal care"?

 

I even if they do last 5000 miles I just do not want a belt with more then 2000 miles on it for what they are worth. Not sure about the XP but a $80 belt every 2000 miles is just for peace of mind to me.

On my sleds I just change the belt every season no matter what shape the belt is in,because its just a 2 minute job on them.
Spark plugs can last 3000 miles also but throw a new one in once in awhile for the HeIl of it,I say.

 

Hey HO, I checked out those GURU bumpers you told me about. Man, that looks like the way to go! They defiantly look like they're built to last and you can tell those guys put a ton of thought into the design. The only problem I could see would be the weight, but you gotts to pay to play...

 

Terb as far as the belt... I'm not too worried about that and you shouldn't be either (as long as you don't lug it in high). I've got the original belt still running strong in my old '99 Sportsman 500. I worried about it too at 1st. I've always tried to ride in the right gear/range, but I've slipped the pi$$ out of it on water crossings (that's one thing I hope they've made better, belt cover seal..). It's never broke and if you pull the cover it looks like new...

Don't know much about the ball joints. I'll look into that.

As far as Grizzly, I've taken a close look at all the brands and Polaris and Can Am made it to the top. My opinion of the Jap bikes hasn't changed much over the years, but I still gave them all a fresh look and things pretty much remain the same.

 

VERY good points and I agree 100%!