I went with a bunch of friends on a trail ride this past weekend. It was a horrible ride for the fact that everyone broke down. We had an ATP 330 overheat because the fan wouldn't come on, another sportsman die because they got water sucked into a loose air cleaner connection and an artic cat that bent some front suspension. I didn't ride hard like these guys, mainly because I chose to bring out the vintage 1993 350L 4x4 for the ride. Only problem I had was the ride from the parking lot to the trail enterance. It's about 3 miles and all the guys on the newer machines feel they have to race to the trail from our parking spot. Mainly speeds of 35 to 40 mph. I kept up pretty good until I got about a half mile to the trail. My machine died like it had no fuel. Checked the plug and it was fine, turned the fuel valve back and forth and tried to start and it fired right up. Never missed a beat riding the trails for 40 miles after that but died again on the quick blast back to the parking lot. It acts like I'm running it out of fuel and it fired right up after I let it sit for a minute and mess with the shutoff valve. I looked at the fuel filter and someone put a cheap auto parts store one on and the arrow is pointed the wrong way. Would this cause starvation faster if it was a little dirty? I ordered a new polaris one and it's running fine. Keep in mind I don't push mine that fast and this was a rare occasion. All my old machines never see over 30 mph but maybe it's just because I like to enjoy the drive.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Filter could be part of it, but check fuel flow from fuel valve, check tank and carb vents.Still sounds like what happened a lot on the old 350s at wide open throttle. Some would dump fuel at high speed into engines from carbs vibrating and bog down until fuel bowls could fill up again. A lot of this was solved on the later 400s with the rubber damper under the carbs. The 350 gear cases were different and the carb dampeners wouldn't bolt up on these. If there was some way you could brace the carb better from vibration might solve this.

 

Thanks,
I put the new filter on and it seems to be running ok. I never have a problem with this old 350, it always starts up and runs out good, just doesn't like long bursts of speed. The reason I like riding it on the trails is I have to be pretty ginger with the machine because it doesn't have a soft ride like these new ones and it makes me drive slower and enjoy the ride more. It has plenty of power to keep up with the big boys, it just isnt as comfy, lol. I get a lot of compliments on it because it is older and looks pretty nice for its age. I think I will just keep the speed down and that will resolve the fuel issue from now on.

Thanks,
Mike

 

These were great machines when they first came out.Engines were sewing machine smooth in power transfer and could out run almost every 4 stroke utility machine out there at the time. I won't ever forget my first ride on a 90 model Trail Boss 350L 2x4 when I uncrated it and took it for a spin. This was the start of the Honda,Yamaha and Suzuki guys taking notice of Polaris,coming into the shop kinda sceptical at first and trying one out. Quite a few left with one in the back of their pick ups and trailers.. Their time is pretty well past now with better modern technology but still a bunch of two stroke enthusiasts out there that keep them alive. Hope yours lasts for a good long while..

 

Thanks OPT.
I just turned 1100 miles on it this morning so I hope it has a lot of life in it, lol. I woke up at the camper this morning and took it for my morning ride and it ran really good. Took it out on the road and went 2 miles with it opened up a bit and it never bogged so it seemed to be back to normal. The only problem I have now is having three old two strokes and deciding which one to drive so I keep fresh fuel going through them, lol.

Thanks,
Mike