The city I live in--Lake Havasu City, AZ--has been home for some of Polaris' test riders for the last three weeks. They just left, but will return for another three weeks in another week or two.

The terrain around here is excellent for testing. We have sand dunes, rocky trails, hard-packed trails, mountains, hills--just about everything but snow (which I would imagine is readily available at Polaris' HQ). Plus, there is literally hundreds of (square) miles that they can go out and get "lost" in (yes they Tread Lightly).

Anyway, several of us around here have run into the riders out in the desert, and have some interesting reports. Most of the Polaris machines they have been riding are 2001 models, or later.

To a point, these riders are willing to talk about the quads. However, I don't want to exploit their good-nature by revealing anything that could possibly get them in trouble.

One thing I can say is that they put these machines through some workout! For instance, their objective on one model they are testing is to put it through 2000 hard jumps, in order to see how everything holds up. The riders typically ride 200 miles per day--and these poor machines are not babied in any way.

Sometimes, product engineers go out with the riders, to see how their designs hold up in "the real world." In fact, even engineers from Polaris' suppliers go out with the riders. This brings me to an interesting story.

A guy I know had just purchased a new '00 Magnum 500, but was troubled by a slight "warbling" noise coming from the rear end. The quad was checked out by the dealer, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Still, the sound was bothersome, as you could easily assume "something" was being ground to destruction.

Well, to make a short story long, an engineer with the very company who helps Polaris make the rear-ends was out with the test riders when the fellow with the Magnum ran into them. He explained his problem, and the engineer was determined to solve it! He ended up swapping--right in the field--the entire rear-end with a brand new one, while the engineer split the old rear-end to investigate what the problem was (they had a work vehicle out there, of course). It solved the Magnum's problem, and I'd say its owner is now a Polaris owner for life.

Anyway, that's it for now. If I have anything else to report, I'll do so.


-Mike

 

MIke,
I guess the obvious question needed to be asked here is, was there anything new that you saw, or did they ask that you not talk about what you saw?

I do think that it was an awesome thing for the factory guy's to repair the fellows Magnum on the spot! THAT shows care and commitment!

 

Yes, we want to know more! Hungry for polaris news! year 2001 quads? Are they testing any year 2000 quads to? What new features on atvs did you see? Are the quads passing these grueling tests?

Please feed us INFO.

 

GREAT to hear something good for a change.Latr cob

 

There isn't much more I can say, at this time. However, the test team is due back in town in another week, or two. The hotel they stay in has a nice "lounge" that I'm sure they visit. I think I'll try and hook up with them there, where the conditions will be a little more informal (if I can convince my wife that I'm only going there for educational purposes). Perhaps I can ask just how much can be revealed, publicly. I'd also ask that those reading this not go running to their dealers--I wouldn't anyone making inquiries that could get these guys in trouble.

As for the models, they were almost all 2001 machines--but I certainly didn't see all of them. Of course some of them had experimental "options" that aren't ready for production yet. I'm fairly certain I heard about a cheaper EBS design, apparently because Polaris wants to have it on all of their machines, for safety reasons.


-Mike