I pulled all the plastic panels off the XP the other night so I could clean out the leaves and sticks and dirt that got packed into the rig over the last six months of tire use. Sprayed it down with the purple stuff and tried to get the clay off the engine and surrounding parts. It's literally stipped down to the frame now. One wouldn't know who the manufacturer is at this point. -I'm trying to get it ready for the winter riding season.......get the tracks installed and all the fluids changed, installing the heated grips and thumb throttle.

So while doing this cleaning and winter prep, I remember last season when I lost a rear track (luckily in the door yard and not 15 miles from home). I threw a couple of lug nuts, then those bolts fell out, and the torque cut the remaining one in half.......then the whole track fell off. This is due to the fact that I ignored checking the lug nuts. So this year, I decided to just quickly check if there was any wheel movement and pushed and pulled the tires to see how tight things are. I went around to each wheel and gave it push/pull (facing the side of the bike). One wheel seemed really soft and moved a lot more than the other three. I took it to the dealer and they took a look and shrugged their shoulders initially and came up with some comments about the fact that the front is softer than the rear. Then another guy came over and jacked the front end up and pulled on the wheel........the whole right front ball joint was nearly disconnected! It moved from side to side over an inch. If that thing broke while I was riding, I'd be screwed. The rig is at the dealer until it's fixed. They're only going to replace one it seems because the other feels solid. Not sure if I should buy another for the left side and pay for it out of pocket, or demand the other be replaced. -Demanding things of the dealer doesn't usually go over too well though.

As a side note:

I was really surprised how much water and black ooze came out of the front a-arm joints when I hit them with some grease. Last time I added grease was in the early summer....need to do that more often. Also pulled the winch rope out and cleaned that and the inner winch area.....was filled with dirt and crap. XPs have the lower winch so they are more prone to getting filled with mud. I then sprayed out the radiator, which dumped brown dirt for a couple of minutes....blasted the lower pans clean too. Brushed the baked on clay off the exhaust and sprayed all the panels (inside and out) clean. She's looking a lot better now. Hope I can get all the plastic panels back on now.

I also noticed that my oil filer was not tight as all. I could easily loosen it with my hand. Taking the plastic off makes it easy to get the filter and grease points.

So my advice is to: Check your lug nuts often, check your oil filer for correct tightness, and check your ball joints....Pull the wheel toward you and watch the ball joint for any movement or a soft feeling, like the shock is toast. YouTube - 850 XP Ball Joint

 

Well, if everyone that owns an XP has to jack up both front wheels (the only way to really check them) and check the ball joints before every ride, my advise would be to start looking for an ATV that doesn't require that type of "maintenance".

A lot of folks sure singing a different tune than they were a few months ago.

Eventually, these issues will come back to hurt Polaris where it counts... in the pocket book. Maybe that will get them going in the right direction.

BTW, I'm sure "someone" will be by to tell you to quit "whining". LOL

 

In reality...I won't check them every ride, but I will check them often now that I know what to look for and what the symptoms are.

I don't think anybody's going to tell me to quit whining, because I'm not whining. I'm also not singing a different tune. I still really like the bike and just want people who own one to make sure they are aware and check their gear before they ride. I'm certain Polaris will take care of it from an engineering standpoint. It hasn't crossed my mind to sell it or trade it in on something else.....for now at least.

 

Have you not seen the posts about this issue for months now? I'm certain Polaris will take care of it from an engineering standpoint too...BUT how many years will it take? IF YOU RIDE HARD and you say this "issue" doesn't concern you every time you ride you are fooling yourself or oblivous IMO.

 

Let's just hope somebody doesn't get seriously hurt or WORSE because of this issue.

Unfortunately, that's what it takes sometimes to slow down these manufactures from "maximizing profit" by making an unsafe product... be it because of poor engineering, or just cheap parts... or whatever.

 

I know of at least two other manufacturers that have problems with tie rods breaking in the middle of rides and possibly causing serious injury.......although I haven't seen the people b!tching about it as much as here, especially from people who don't even own one.

I agree, it's a big issue, but not that big.....yet... I also agree there should be a fix, and it should not take so long.

How long did it take Yamaha to start putting doors on their RUV's?

Just imagine what you wouldn't know if it wasn't for the forums..............


Funride, it's surprising your dealer did not know about the problem. I think everyone should say thanks for your informative post, JMO.

 

I have thought about it and read a post or two for sure, especially with tracks that put a lot of extra force on the joints. I guess I figured it was only seen on a negligible number of bikes and wasn't going to happen to me. Isn't that always the case.....

It seems to me that this is a progressive type of failure, so I'll just keep a close eye on it and keep taking it back to the dealer at the first sign of wear....over and over and over if necessary (not how I want to spend my time though). I bought a 3 year warranty so should be good. I take that rig in some nasty stuff and ride it pretty hard over some really rocky and ugly terrain (stuff a dirt bike would be lost in), but I'm not 25 anymore, so I try not to destroy equipment like I used to. -Since I'm talking about it here, I'm obviously not oblivious to it.

Polaris needs to fix this NOW.

Dealer acted like they'd never heard of such a thing, but the service dept. guys at my dealer are not the sharpest tools in the shed. They looked at me and said "how did you figure this out"....with a strange look on his face, as if I broke it on purpose or something. The conversation had a weird vibe to it, like I did something wrong.

Great bike when she's not in the shop

 

Thanks Roof.

It's a problem for sure. People pay attention to what they're interested in. I guess I wasn't that interested before and thought the conversation was from just a few complainers. -Apparently not.

 

I know that was my point..Until there is a proper fix you are likely going to have concern in the back of your mind everytime you ride the machine at any speed and or jack up the machine inspect the ball joints every ride...I know I did.

 

Well, I for one am glad you caught it before you or someone in your family (if they ride it) got hurt or worse.

I just don't like to see big corporations get away with screwing the consumer out of money... and worse yet, putting us at risk... and I don't care who the manufacturer is, or whether I have the machine (or product) or not.