I am about completely fed up with Polaris quads. I have had mine for about a year now and it has given me just too many problems. I try to take care of it, greasing it, washing it, oiling the chain, but it doesn't seem to make much difference. My dad and I both have '01 400 Xplorers and one '94 400L. The 400L still has the original belt and original chains, with hardly any maintenance and not treating it very nice when riding, and the thing impressed me for it's age. These new ones on the other hand, have given us plenty of problems. Last weekend was MN deer opener and my dads' choked out, turned out to be a dirty carb and the choke was sticking half open. Now this weekend mine gave me trouble. The throttle cable started to stick, and now the throttle cable broke out of the casing it goes into right before it splits to two wires, one goes to the oil injection and one to the carb. I am on my second chain third belt and one CV joint already, not counting the other countless minor headaches. Why does quality seem to go down in these newer quads? I really enjoy the quad when it is running good, but I'm starting to think that these little headaches are starting to outweigh that. If I had a personal Polaris mechanic for after every weekend I would be fine, but that just isn't practical. Does anyone else feel the same way? I'm not even sure if any other brand would satisfy me. I guess I just had to blow off some steam. Thanks for reading.

 

You can't blame Polaris for a dirty carb on your dads bike. That can happen to any brand, and can be caused by many different things.
As for the rest of the probs, I can't say much. Going through 3 belts in a year is very strange. Are you using low when you need to? Maybe the clutches have a problem, such as being misaligned. There really is no other reason a belt would fail 3 times a year.
Also, having larger, much heavier tires could have lead to these problems. But I can't say for sure. (But you would not think 1 size larger would do this either)
Whatever it is, sorry to hear you having some bad luck. Mine has been running strong since new in 1999.

 

Roofer,
E-mail what you just posted to Polaris. Is everyone that's having problems letting Polaris know? Maybe if everyone let their steam off in Polaris' face, Polaris would get the clue.

 

Your hardly alone with your feelings about Polaris ATVs.Im on my second Polaris and most likely my last.I bought a new 99 Sportsman and a new 00 Xplorer.Both ATVs have given me ALOT of headaches and spend ALOT of time at the dealership for repairs.I agree,both ATVs are a blast when there is nothing to repair,however,the down time SEVERELY out weighs the good times.It would take me FOREVER to list the problems I've had with these ATVs.

Im very glad that I bought the extended warrenty with both these quads and have a mechanic that backs me up.My next ATV will more than likely be the new 660 Grizz,it CANT be any worse than both my Polaris?

Bill

 

Roofer,

Long time no see! I'm in the market for a new wheeler too. Not that I don't like the SP, but I'm just in the mood for something different. Been seriously looking into the new Vinson. We'll see how it rides when the dealer gets one in. The new Z400 is looking good too, but I'll have to wait until that comes out.

How was the hunt this year?

 

From what I can tell from looking over a Polaris machine is that the company likes to cut corners whenever they can to make a buck. For God's sake do any of their machines weight under 500lbs??? (not counting the youths). A utility quad that weighs over 700lbs is just ridiculous. Why is it that Yamaha and Kawasaki can produce their flagship machines at 600lbs dry yet Polaris needs another 140lbs? Damn...

I'm not knocking Polaris for how their machines perform or how reliable they are (that is a whole different can of worms), but for their engineering(lack of it) and manufacturing(stone-age techniques compared to competition). It seems that they just can't understand the term "optimization". Anyways, that just bugs me...

 

AlaskaYMF,
Im with you all the way.Now if Polaris EXTRA WEIGHT factored into a more reliable ATV,I could MAYBE see the point of a heavier ATV?Heavier weight meaning ''beefier''parts?Thats just NOT the case.In fact,the heavier Polaris ATVs are the least reliable ATVs on the market today,at least the two new one's I had were.



Bill

 

Hi Roofer, haven't heard from you in awhile. Now for the important question. Did you or your dad get a deer? You forgot to mention the brakes on your rag list. I've been through 5 sets in 2000 miles are there new brakes on the 2001's any better?

 

The brakes on the '01's aren't much better. I have gone through a few sets of them already. Yes I did get a deer this year. It was my first buck I had ever seen while hunting. He dressed out at about 235-240. This is a huge deer for our area. Most range from 120-170 lbs. Here's a pic.
BUCK

 

Bill, you are the biggest complainer on this site. No offense. You REALLY need to sell your machine and buy another brand. You have no luck what so ever with your Polaris, do something about it rather then just posting about it.