Found what some in the old car hobby call a "barn find". Yesterday. I had a guy call me and ask if I would be interested in an older polaris four wheeler that sat for the last few years. Story goes that it was bought new in 98 and used mainly for selling sweet corn on this little hobby farm. Ran great but the battery went bad so it sat mostly until used for harvest season in late summer. 3 years ago they went to pull it out of the barn and the recoil rope broke. Sat there ever since. 3 years of straw dust and pigeon crap. I snatched it up and loaded it on my trailer. Cleaned it up this morning and she shined right up. It will get the typical stuff I give these when I buy them. Compression test, carb kit, fresh fuel, crank seals and all the fluids changed.

Only thing is, I know the 300 is physically similar to the 250, but the recoil is different. How do I go about putting a new rope on this one? I have to take the cover off to do the crank seals and I have a new battery, but I still want the recoil up to par.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Little noisier engine than the 250. Oil pump line feeds the carb not the cylinder like on the 250. Recoil is simple as long as the spring is still ok. Feed a new rope end through the cover into the reel hole.Tie a knot in the end. Turn the reel counter clock wise until you see the slot in the reel.Hook the end of rope in the reel and keep turning the reel about 6 more turns. Let it unwind slowly until the rope slot lines up with the case nipple. Pull the rope loose and as the reel unwinds it will pull the rope all the way in. Pull the recoil to see if the ratchet is kicking out ok and the rope retracts fully. This was a barn find..

 

Thanks OPT,

I got the new rope in the recoil and it works as it should now. New battery is in and I did a compression test and I got 135 psi so I don't have to worry about the top end. I noticed the motor was a bit loose in the frame and I found that the upper motor mount was cracked so I will take care of that. Just have to pick up the crank seals, carb kit and a new belt and I should have another buzzy two stroke to zip around with, lol.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Any more and you're going to have to build a bigger building to hold all of them..

 

I can always find room, that's never a problem...keeping the wife happy though, that's a whole other story, lol.

I found another barn find a few weeks ago but wisely left that one in the barn. It was an older polaris with the diesel engine. Sat for 5 years. It ran when parked but they quit using it on the farm back when diesel and gas skyrocketed and never got around to getting it back out to use. Nice clean machine and kind of an oddity but the whole thought of the diesel motor made me cringe. Had a couple diesel tractors on the farm back when I was a kid and I remember them being worth their weight in gold when work needed to be done but if they needed to be fixed you would need the gold to pay for the repairs, lol.

Thanks,
Mike

 

They still make me cringe.. Think we sold 3 of the Bonnie Blue Beasts when they first came out in 2001. Didn't order anymore,just glad we sold these. Loudest machine I've ever heard beside the old Canondale atv and the flywheel and ring gear were as big as a full size auto wheel cover. Be glad that you passed this one up..