Weedy,
My Xplorer has never broken down and left me stranded.Back in December of last yr,I was plowing ROCK HARD snow banks at my brothers place,and the left front drive yoke snapped under a severe load.

If your going to do alot of mudding,buy the extended warrenty.The stock chain/sprockets will not take the abuse of this type of riding.I replaced mine with the very best chain/sprockets that SideWinder has.

Bill

 

I almost purchased one two weeks ago but my down payment got used. I am ordering on at the end of the month (hopefully) but I am starting to have second thoughts.

I want a machine that is 4wheel drive but is as durable as my 1993 trail boss 250. (I really want another 2 stroke due to awesome performance) I have the original chain and have only put a piston (Wiseco) in it in seven years. It has cost me less than $250 for seven years of riding. If the Xplorer will not hold up like the old Trail Boss then I guess I will keep it until someone makes a fun machine (polaris) that last like a non-fun machine (Honda).

I am surprised the tires did not spin before the shaft yoke broke. Is the 400 harder on chains because of more power than the 250?

 

Weedy, I think Muddy4life may have had a defective yolk (either that or he hit those ROCK HARD snowdrifts at a pretty good rate of speed.
Last fall, we were hit by a freak early snowstorm (I always thought we were going through global WARMING??? - anyway on with the story) We were caught with cattle out in the hills yet, and HAD to get them home. Keep in mind this was a take no prisoners, get the cows home at all costs type of thing (if just one cow/calf pari was to parish, we are talking $1500 down the toilet). I got my snowmobile going, and we also used my Xplorer 400. That poor thing spent the better part of an afternoon in 4wd, full or near-full throttle barrelling through wet, heavy snowdrifts getting the cows home. EVERYTHING was packed with snow before we were done. We got I believe 18 inches of snow, about 12 inches fell down, then the other 6 blew into drifts. As the ground wasn't frozen yet, it settled to about 7 or 8 inches deep most places, with drifts up to 2 feet deep (and more in a few places). If something was going to fail, I am sure it would have done so then. To top it off, my brother asked to 'rent' it for his father-in-law so they could get their cows out of the hills, also. His F-I-L laughed that a 4 wheeler wouldn't get anywhere, as he already tried (had a Honda 300 4wd) but the Xplorer saved the day! It had just enough more clearance, and enough more power, and enough more traction with the true 4-wd that it could plow through the drifts where the Fourtrax 300 would get stuck. (Brother's F-I-L was so impressed that he also got himself a 400 - a Honda Foreman - says the dealer told him it would make a 400 Xplorer eat his dust - now THAT is a good one)
HOWEVER, the guy driving it did'nt go in LOW. I thought my brother was the one that did this, but I have since found out he let another guy drive it who was never told to use LOW in a heavy pull situation. At least they didn't have very far to go, so it didn't trash my belt completely. It has a good glaze on it, and I had to put a whopping $18 in the rear clutch pulley, and that is it!!! My mechanic told me driving it in HI through mud & snow is like driving a gear shift machine in too high a gear and just letting the clutch slip to not kill the engine, something has to give. At least it cost under $20, although I am sure it cut the belt life significantly.
All in all though I have over 4100 miles, over 300 hours, under $20 in repairs, and a belt that I will likely change this fall before the wet season sets in again.

 

Farmer123

I am impressed with the quality and durability of your machine. My 250 has given me the same service...tough and very inexpensive. A starter, piston, brakes and that's it with 8 years of deep water and mud riding. I have spent less than $250 since I bought it. I replaced the belt (but the old one looks new) and it never really needed changing. You can rebuild one for less than $150 including boring if you do it yourself.

I was buying one but my down payment was spent so I have delayed the purchase a month.

We ride in a river bottom and the true 4x4 really makes a difference. The other 4x4s with the limited slip front do not do as well in the tough stuff. I ride with a Sportsman and a 300 4x4 and they seem to do the best followed by a Rancher and a Kawasaki 300 4x4. My 2X4 does OK but I really have to hit it hard through the tough spots to keep up. A 4x4 is what I want but I want the same durability as my 1993 250 2x4. It has been a truely TOUGH machine. This forum has been the best thing since sliced bread for info on 4wheelers.

Thanks for all the replies to my questions. Do you still have the original chain?

My 1993 still has the original chain and sprockets!

 

With $1500 bucks you can build a race ready scrambler from HPD racing that pushes out 75 horsepower in under 2 seconds, that will devower a raptor in a heartbeat.

This set up includes no boring or nitrus, an optional 440 kit is available from AAen racing and NOS puts out a nitrus oxide kit that can easily make that 75 horsepower turn into 100+!!!

Do regular inspections, rebuild accordenly and reliability should'nt be an issue.

2000 SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400

 

thats crazy,
then its usless for trail riding though

 

Weedy, the $18 is TOTAL spent on parts so far, not counting gas, oil, and chain lube. I am still on my original chain at 4100+ milse, and by the looks of it, I think it will go 6000 or maybe more.
Very few people believe this, but I am still on my original brakes. Here we have no mountains, just hills, and I rinse off the chain and brakes after every mud ride, and they are still going. I think that the type of driving I do I just seldom use them. I have more trouble getting going here on the farm, what with checking cows in the mud & snow, irrigating, checking crops and such. I don't 'race' anybody so I just gradually coast to a stop, only using the brakes for the last 5 mph or so to a halt.

I think most of the talk about Polaris lack of reliability is due to growing pains. Think of it, they are one of the 'youngest' ATV companies out there, and are #2 in sales. Also, most of their problems are on 'new' models. I hear a lot of problems with Sportsmans, but when you look carefully, most are the early Sportsmans. They were the first with IRS, first 500 4 cycle engine(for Polaris), first with EBS. Now that they have made them a while, and got the bugs out, they are fairing much better. I believe the 2001 models are as good as anything out there. Actually, I think they will be one of the best buys out there if and when the fabled twin is released. Sure, there are lemons, but I have had 2 Honda engines sieze on me (had enough oil, and changed often enough) and a Kawasaki that would die whenever it felt like it (went through a $300 ignition module every year) so it is not unique to Polaris.
One reason I got the Xplorer was that Polaris was making it for a long time, and had time to fix any nagging problems it may have had. That and the 'bang for the buck' it offered.

As a side note, we also use a Honda Fourtrax 300 2wd here on the farm, and aside from batteries (too small of a generator for our 12v weed sprayer) it has been trouble free. However, if I drove it the same speed over the same terrain as I have the Xplorer, I think both it and I would be in need of extensive repairs.

 

Here's
what I know about Polaris ATV's:
We live next to the Bering Sea, a lot salt in the air. Everything gets rusty eventually. Polaris' disk brakes and chains look 10 years old after only one summer though. Axle bearings seem to be poorly sealed on some models, or maybe just random machines? The look nice and ride nice. Don't last worth a sh*t though- some of them anyway. I get my info. from personal experience and from best friend. He is a ATV and Snomachine mechanic for over 10 years now. He rides Ski-Doo's (snowmachines) and Yamaha's (atv's). Could buy Polaris machines (either) at cost. Says he'll only ride one if someone gives him one. (like his boss) Of all the the 4 wheelers made, he is a firm believer that the scrambler is the biggest pile of crap ever made. Of course he just says that because he is tired of doing complete engine rebuilds on almost every Scrambler ever sold in our area. Maybe Polaris just sending the crappy ones out west? You know, built Friday afternoon or monday morning?

 

I have two one a New scrambler 500 HO with 200 miles, already had to replace the front bushings, and a 400 Explorer with 350 miles so far rear swing arm bolt and bushing, one set of brakes and left running board, its my own fault other Polaris owners warned me. I am swithcing to another brand. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

You go right ahead and switch to another brand "bonzi", next time lets try a little preventitive maintenence.

I own a 2000 scrambler 400 2x4 and it's been running trouble free for 12 months and counting.

2000 SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400