Ahh..I see,makes sense now..I am X2 challenged lol...
I can also see how those latches might hit the back of the seat..whether or not is is a "flaw" is debateable I guess,yes you might be able to dump from the seat but why wold you dump without opening the tailgate?

As for the 15 degrees....liability IMO...in this sue happy world we live in manufacturers have to protect themselves by overkill on the side of safety...

 

15 degrees? is that even considered a hill? I think my trailer ramp is steeper than that! (if I even use the ramp).

Its not considered steep unless you have to use the winch to keep the front end down (common practice).

 

And also alot safer than "hmm that is steep....I hope I can make this" lol..
One of the beauties of a longer wheel based 2up..you ask yourself that less often..

 

Very true! I dove off a hill a couple weeks ago (deer hunting) and damn!!!! it was alot steeper than it looked. I was committed, had to go a long ways down to find a spot that we dared turn it around! Picked a spot with a good thick tree backing to prevent uncontrolled roll, got it pointed back up. Only had to use the winch the last 50 yards or so. The nervous pucker factor was very high!!

 

I'm 6'2" - I can reach the back & open the tailgate without getting out of the seat. Though I may think twice about doing so next time!

So - part 2 of my question... what are options as far as seat repair goes? I'd hate to have it fill with water & start to mold... a little tape seems like it might take care of that concern, but then again, I hate to tape up a brand new machine.

 

I would try the dealer, see if they will cover it first. If not, I would look into patches from the inside out (iron on). My ironing board still shows POLARIS in pink from my old sled!

 

I remember that I gouged a couple holes in one of the seats or back of the 2-up seat. I just put silicone in the hole and pushed the foam back in. I know it's there but can't really see it.

 

My local dealer's 2010 X2 550 had the same tear in the seat. They said they did it by accident having the dump body in the UP position and then OPENING the rear seat then trying to LOWER the dump body with the rear seat in the OPENED position.

Does this sound familiar???

They had a local seat repair guy melt a patch on it and it looks pretty good.

 

If you try to dump the bed with the drivers backrest (that becomes the seat for the passenger) down in the 2-up position it shouldn't open in the first place. You may be able to move the backrest up or down once it's in the dump position. All in all it's a great package and certainly the most versatile quad out there. My guess is that there are more of us that have harmed something on the quad than those who haven't... I also ended up taking some bar aluminum and bolting reinforcements on the footwells after I tried to squeeze between a rock and a tree that were 47 1/2" wide. X2 is 48". Oh, well.