People need to stop and think about a couple things. Replacing bad or leaking water pumps, tie rod ends, cv joints, motor mounts, brakes, etc need to realize that these things are maintinace items that need replaced over time for wear and tear, even your cars and trucks need these items replaced over time.
How long do you think the items listed above would hold up on a 1/2 4x4 Chevy while ramping it off a 5 foot tall ramp at 40 mph.

I had a bright red 1992 Chevy Lumina Z-34, 3.4 liter, DOHC, 210 hp, limited edition 5-speed manual transmission that would haul a$$, but It cost me a small fortune. All this occured in 24 months of owning it.
replaced ball joints
replaced tie rod ends
replaced all 4 rotors, calipers, wheel bearings, flexible brake lines,
entire exhaust system fell off
all new bushings on front end replaced
had to put new axles in it
$80 for a heater core line
water pump exploded
new timing belt, belt tensioner, 1 new cam sprocket
new head gaskets
you don't want to know how much I payed for 4 aftermarket cams$$$
computer went out
alternater went out
starter went bad
2 fuel injectors went bad, then 1 more so I changed them all
Finally the clutch went bye-bye
parking brake cable broke
speed odometer broke

You would think that after owning this car I would never own a Chevy again, right? WRONG.
I drove this car like a bat out of hell and loved it. Did I mention that I bought it with around 100,000 of miles on it, used a 50-75 hp NOS kit on it, Exhaust fell off first time I did a back-up burn out, I guess a mixture of CAM2 and 94 octane was too much for the injectors, clutch went out after two nights at a local drag strip. Racing my buddy in his 95 GT Stang broke needle off the odometer. E-Brake broke using it when doing burnout contest with friends. See I don't think the car was ment for what I put it throught. Just like some guys put there quads through more than they were designed for. Sorry this was so long but had to say what I feel when people talk about things breaking down and sometimes it is not the quality of the part but wear and tear.

If I remember right the best times the Z-34 turned was
14.07@94mph with a 1.6 60 ft w/50 hp NOS
13.89@97mph with a 1.9 60 ft w/75 hp NOS

Once again I'm sorry for the long reply.

 

Good point, but, I went through three sets of tie rod ends the first three months I owned my Sport.

 

Quadfather,
Didn't the 99s come with the old Tie rod ends... They now use heavier hiem joints. I understand it does not help in your case, but the new hiem joints seem to hold up very well if the quad is not kept in the mud. However, even the new ones do not hold up at well as the Hondas when used in mud. I remember that after just six months, Hydros Tie rod ends had slack on his 99SP335. I replaced the with heavy duty 1/2" hiem joints form the bearing shop (Motion Industries) for $10 each with grease Zerk built in... never had another problem... yes, this did require drill the strut housing from 3/8 or 7/16 to 1/2. It took about 10 minutes per side. I know that most Honda riders will say that this is exactly the kind of hassle they do not want to have to deal with... My response is that he rode the bike in mud all the time... if had had been on a Honda, I would have been cleaning brake drums for him... 6 of one, half dozen of another.

Greg

 

<<
If I remember right the best times the Z-34 turned was
14.07@94mph with a 1.6 60 ft w/50 hp NOS
13.89@97mph with a 1.9 60 ft w/75 hp NOS

Once again I'm sorry for the long reply. >>




Holy sheet! Nice Times!

Damn I got my 98' Camaro down to 12.5 @ 116mph with 100shot of juice!

http://www.ls1camaro.com/images/z7low.jpg

 

I have a 1987 polaris cyclone 250x that I bought new in 1988. Never
had a single problem with it. Fouled one spark plug in over ten years
of use. Finally, the rings got so worn out I bored it out 20 over,
new piston and rings. It now runs like a bat out of hell again.

I bought a 1998 magnum 425 2x new. I'm always working on it, seems
to have a lot of carberation problems. Replaced on disk roter, shocks
are leaking.

I wish it was as dependable as my cyclone.


thanks

 

I have a 99sp500 with 8000milles on it. Total dollars in repair= 700$. If that aint reliable, I don't know what is. BTW- the repairs were doo to rider abuse and lack of maintenance, not manufacturer. Average millage a day is around 120milles in 6-9hrs of riding. I RIDE HARD!!! My dad has an 2001 H.O with 2000milles on it. so far only problem has been a notchy ignition switch! who ever said that people don't ride their polarises? I don't know about you, but I think most long day riders ride polarises because of the suspension. I don't care if the honda will out last me, but if I can only ride 65milles a day because if I ride more my back is killing me, than what's the point of having a reliable machine? My polaris is reliable, and I ride it all the time, so that meens I get the best of both worlds!!!


BTW- VERY WELL SAID GREG

 

<< KevinM,
I could just as easily post a Topic about broken Honda parts, and the people that have had problems would come out of the wood work... that proves nothing. With the number of people on the net, and the type of ATV enthusiast that get involved enough to post on forums like this, you will find people that are displeased with ever manufacturer. >>



I notice that there are not topics in the other forums that are solely about broken parts. I'd venture to say there's a reason for this, but you can keep making excuses if you feel you need to. Personally my brother and I have spent far too many Saturdays fixing broken Polaris' so we could ride on Sunday. Nobody else we ride with has nearly as many problems as we do, so the Polaris quality has become a running joke among everyone.



<< My conclusion? The big sales, good reviews and unyielding brand loyality for Polaris comes from all the farmers, hunters, sportsman and ranchers who buy the machines and don't use them hard enough to expose the faults. My brother and I rode the Scrambler just like all are other quads and it did not hold up to sport riding. I would not buy a Polaris, simple as that, but that doesn't mean others should not depending on their expected use for the machine. >>



THERE'S THE TRUTH. Rockrider summed it up perfectly. If you putter around slowly and don't push the machine any, it probably won't have any problems. If you attempt to ride like the other sport machines do, you'll be fixing your Polaris every weekend. I've said it before, everyone in our group rides hard, but the Polaris' are the only ones who CONSISTENTLY break down. If you can brush off a whole thread about a thousand broken Polaris parts, then you are obviously not listening to the truth.

 

All of the other guys I go riding with have sport quads so I jump, ride, and climb whatever they do and mine has not given me any problems. I broke a A-Arm bushing by hitting a tree, bent the handle bars, and replaced rubber washer at bottom of steering stem with metal washers. I bought my TBoss in July of 2000 with no problems as of yet, that seems good to me.

 

Kevin,
I understand where you are coming from, and you are entitled to your opinion. We all base our opinions on our own experiences.

As far as the post about broken parts goes... someone asked about broken Polaris parts and lots of people answered. Once again, I say this means nothing. There are just as many people with broken Honda parts.

I spent some time talking to the extended warranty company one day, and I asked the rep what manufacturer has the most problems. She said that the manufacturer problems were pretty much even based on market share; however, the south (East Texas, LA, MS, etc) had the most claims by far, and the extended warranty companies all lose money in this part of the country. I do not know how much faith to put in what she said. To be honest, I expected a Polaris bashing session and did not get one.

Anyway, do not think I am arguing with you. If I had your luck with Polaris, I would not ride Polaris either. But, I would ask you and others who have had bad experiences to be open minded enough to realize that not everyone has probelms with Polaris. Some people ride for thousands of miles with no problems. And, some people that ride Hondas have problems from the day they buy them like I did.

Greg

 

Greg, if it was just me and my Polaris, I'd feel sure that I just had a lemon and I'd let it go at that, but my brother's Scrambler is a year newer than mine and has had even more problems than mine. Add those facts to some of the many, many threads I've read about others having problems and I just cannot believe that other manufacturers have as many troubles as Polaris. When I look at the poor quality tie-rods, steering stems and steering bushings that Polaris uses, its easy to see why there's going to be problems.

I don't doubt that some are riding their Polaris' with little or no trouble, but until I see different I refuse to believe Polaris quality is equal to the Japanese machines.