I went riding Saturday, and my fan wouldn't come on. The bike overheated, and I had to shut down a couple times to wait for it to cool on the way back to the truck. I got the fan off (not too hard with the latest fan design), and turned it past a rough spot, and then it worked fine. The bearings sound a little rough when it is coming on or going off though. Went back riding Sunday and had no fan problems. I was just wondering if anybody else has had fan problems with the latest fan design. Can the bearings be replaced? It looked like a sealed unit, and I didn't want to tear into it without knowing whether or not I would tear something up. Thanks.

Waylan

 

<< I went riding Saturday, and my fan wouldn't come on. The bike overheated....Can the bearings be replaced? It looked like a sealed unit, and I didn't want to tear into it without knowing whether or not I would tear something up. Thanks.

Waylan >>



A fellow that I was riding with over the weekend said that a '95 Chevy Barreta (SP?) would fit on a Sportsman 500 and save you over $100. I can't verify this, but that is what he said.

 

Thor,

What year model was his bike? Mine has the latest fan design, which is different from pre-2000 models. Thanks.

 

I to have had simliar fan troubles. It started w/noisy bearings, progressed to slow fan speed, ended with fan not turning at all. That was 600 or 700 miles ago. With the switch on I hit the fan with my hand it started running again, the more I hit it the faster it ran. Sometimes it acts up, I tap on it once or twice and its all better. I know that one day soon its gonna go but they are expensive. I would deffinatley like to know more about the Barretta fan and will it fit?

Kuntry
00 SP500

 

He was driving a '98 Sportsman 500

 

The pre-2000 fans are easily repaired. It takes 2 (608) bearings. The new ones I am not sure about.

I do know they only cost $90 or so.

Greg

 

<< ...The bike overheated, and I had to shut down a couple times to wait for it to cool on the way back to the truck. I got the fan off (not too hard with the latest fan design), and turned it past a rough spot, and then it worked fine. The bearings sound a little rough when it is coming on or going off though...
Waylan >>



I was riding with a gentleman on a 2001 HO last Saturday. Same thing happened. ATV overheated once, fan sounded just like you described then cleared itself up and repeated the same thing later.

Sounds like a common problem. I have a friend that also had a fan replaced.

Maybe a switch is needed to turn the fan off for deep water usage?

 

In case anyone is interested: I tore into the fan. You have to carefully pry the back off the motor(it is held on with silicone). The magnets came out of the housing. My fan had about 3 tablespoons of water in it. I sprayed it all with a fast-drying cleaner.......note that I could not get the armature out of the housing. There is a shear pin that turns the fan blade that I could not remove. Anyway, after it dried good, I sprayed some thin lube into the bushings as good as I could. The magnets are held in place by the plastic backing, and there is a trick to getting this backing back on. First, the brushes are mounted on the backing, and are pressed against the armature by spring clips. The way I kept the brushes back in their guides was this: I pulled 4 bristles out of a wire brush. In the end of each bristle, I made a little hook, and about 1 inch from that bend, I made another bend. The bend in the end is used to hold the spring clip, and the other bend catches on the edge of the plastic backing. Sounds complicated, but once you're looking at it all, it makes sense. Once the 4 spring clips are held back away from the brush guides, you must slide the brushes all the way back in their guides. Then line up the backing plate with bolt holes and push back into the housing. I really hope this helps somebody. One other thing: I didn't seal it back up. Sure, some water may get in there, but at least now, it'll be able to drain back out. It would be good if it had a hole somewhere to spray lube into the bushings. Mine still makes some noise, but runs fine.

 

So, are you saying that there are bushings in place of bearings on the new design???


Greg

 

Greg,

Yes, there are bushings instead of bearings. Well, at least I'm sure about that for the back side of the motor (the one not supporting the fan blade). Due to the fact that I could not remove the &quot;shear pin&quot; that engages the fan to the motor, I could not pull the armature out of the housing to inspect the other bearing/bushing.

I have found a place on the internet that sells fans, and one that may be an exact replacement for mine for much less than what Polaris is wanting. For anyone whose interested, it's: www.offroadwarehouse.com/fanspecs.html

I didn't find the site myself, rather read about it in the Bombardier forum. Maybe next week I will find out if they do sell an exact replacement for my fan.