[QUOTE=PolarisXP;3388331]Jumbofrank-
OPT- No I dont....

Then depend on parts breakdowns or youtube videos. Some videos are ok,good information. Others are from idgits that don't need to have a wrench in their hands let alone posting for others to follow what they've done. Those you have to look out for. I'll throw it up one last time.Take it or leave it..
1999 Polaris Xplorer 400 Service Manual PDF Download

 

13 tooth front sprocket and 36 tooth rear. 36/13=~2.77 times more RPMs on the front sprocket. If you drop a tooth on the front sprocket it spins exactly 3 times faster than the rear. A lot of people don't think about the difference from gear reduction, and don't know why their front sprockets wear out so much faster.

 

Thanks OPT, will keep it in mind. The nice thing about the Tube is that you can normally see what they are doing and can tell if it is legit or not. jumbofrank- that's true, quite a bit of movement going on back there! Wouldnt we all love shaft drive....

 

The front sprockets have always been softer metal than the rear sprockets.I had recalls on a bunch of these for having flaws just like the cams on the early Sportsmans. Even the replacement wern't that much better. I think part of this might have been to protect the output shaft on the gear cases. A lot easier to swap out a worn or stripped sprocket than to split the gear case. Same thing on the prop shaft couplers on the Magnums. A lot softer metal than the prop shaft or the rear gear case pinion shaft. Even worse if you didn't keep them greased every now and then.

 

Shaft drive is better in a lot of ways. One is that it gives a lot more ground clearance. You might bang up your Xplorer driving over rocks that I can easily straddle on my Sportsman. I don't even slow down if I think it will miss.

One time some guy at work said chain drive was better than shaft drive. If he broke his chain he could jury rig it with a piece of fence wire. I'd be PO'ed if I had a barbwire fence around my property and some idiot cut a piece out to rig up his ATV. You won't break driveshafts as often as chains in the first place, but he wouldn't listen to reason.

 

I believe you're right but I don't know why the teeth on a sprocket wouldn't be hardened.

 

Yeah, I can see how the clearance would be better, plus zero maintenance, except for the rear diff oil. Way simpler, but there may be good things about chains too, i dont know.

 

also, the updated cover looks identical to the old one, is that correct?

 

That's supposedly what the updated sprockets were about or mainly what the bulletin said.The teeth would wear out fast or break from soft heat treatment. This was around 92-94 or so when all this sprocket mess came about and I had to change out quite a few. I'd still come across stripped sprocket splines every now and then even after the sprocket update. #3221044 was the one that I had to change out the most that I recall. It was the 12 tooth.

 

Updated cover is similar BUT larger around the primary clutch area. No more over heating,collapsing covers or belts slicing through the newer ones. This was another thing I go tired of changing out.. You can even go to the latest cover that they all finally went to which is humongous,but you'd have to rig up an adapter to fit your output duct since the cover hole is huge plus not all screw holes line up on your backing plate..But people have done it.