I have been in the same boat as you guys by the sounds of your expieriences.I bought a new polaris in 96,a sportsman 400 that a "friend" of mine had claimed to be the best wheeler out there because he had owned a 95 himself.I took the bait and bought one,went riding,had fun,got the belt to slip a little in the river.Another friend got his 95 magnum 4x4 stuck,so I went to pull him out and clunk,the quad made a loud clunk?Got him out and on his way out his did the same thing,he told me not to worry!The quad made the noise on several different occasions,so I brought it in and sure enough a sprocket broke a tooth.They blamed it on the chains not being properly adjusted. I told them thats the way I bought it brand new a week before and thought they should have had them adjusted properly before I left the dealer with it,New wheeler right!!Did not expect maintenance in the first week of ownership!Anyhow,that was just the beginning to a polaris nightmare!!!!It started fouling plugs,(6 of them w/under 300 miles),seat came apart,4WD quit working,Tranny wouldn't go into gear,all this time I had been bringing this thing back and forth to the dealer.Wouldn't you know the sprocket broke again after they had properly adjusted the chains(at my personal request)and they tried to blame it on me?I soon found out that everything was my fault that broke on it according to them!They even went as far as saying that the plug fouling was from me not riding it hard enough then after all the other problems they said I was riding it to hard?After all the problems I had with it I asked my "friend" if he had encountered any of these problems with his 95 sportsman and he said "yeah,they were all under warranty!!"Needless to say I got rid of mine a.s.a.p.,as did my "friend".He now owns a Honda Foreman 400 and I now own a Grizzly,And now we are living happily ever after!

 

I don't want to start a long and drawn out forum on Polaris complaints, especially dealers and such. I have been through 3 dealers now, and I am not happy with any of them. They will treat you like God if you walk in with a Platinum American Express, but if you own a machine that they happen to sell, its all your own fault. Hey, we'll stand behind every one of our machines, until it goes out the front door. What the heck is a warranty nowadays anyways? My forum friends, the power of the almighty dollar is always on the seat of the throne. It would be fun if a bunch of quad riders would get together and start a company that deals first and foremost with the satisfaction of the customer, and the quality of their product. Hey, we know what breaks from experience, and more than likely have some pretty down to earth solutions for a lengthier ride time between breakdowns. Starting to wonder if they actually put any of their machines that they sell through a real-world work out instead of a zig-zag parking lot cone course.

 

HEY EVERYONE ALL MACHINES HAVE PROBLEMS TO BE FIXED AND SOME DEALERS DON'T DO THE QUADS JUSTICE. MANUFACTURERS SHOULD MAKE SURE DEALERS HAVE WELL TRAINED PEOPLE BECAUSE AFTER I HAD MY ACCIDENT WITH MY FOREMAN I ENDED UP TAKING A HALF DAY OFF WORK TO FIX IT! IN MY OPINION I HAVEN'T FOUND A GOOD PLACE TO TAKE IT YET BUT I LEARNED TO STAY WITH MY MACHINE TO BE SURE THEY DO IT RIGHT AND TELL THEM WHEN THERE DOING IT WRONG. WHEN SOMEONE NEW BUYS THERE 1ST BIKE AND A LITTLE THING GOES WRONG A DEALER SERVICE WILL BE THE END RESULT WHETHER YOU BUY ANOTHER. PS A GOOD FREIND DIED LAST NIGHT DRIVING HIS POL SO EVERYONE PLEASE RIDE WITH A BUDDY IT CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. RIDE HARD BUT RIDE SAFE!

 

So mud machine, would you mind telling me the shop you took it to? I would almost put money on it being Momentum Motor Sports Mt. Pleasant Tx. I'm from winnsboro and own 2 polaris' and I would like to know where not to take my four wheeler.

David

 

SWAC1,

You mean you can't find a dealer that will sell you the manual? I bought one from my dealer. It was $57 which was a little salty, but it covers all the 99 model Polaris atvs.

 

300... The machine I had problems out of was a 98 Yamaha BigBear 350 2x4...
The shop I initally took it to (that I was talking about in the previous post) was 4-Seasons Marine and Cycle in Longview... They no longer carry Yamaha ATV'S.. Gee I wonder why.. hahaha..
I have heard that Momentum Motorsports has been sold several times in the past few years....
If you own Polaris.. I would take it to East Texas Polaris in Diana...

 

SWAC1,
I feel the same way about starting a "run by users" shop...I've even been thinking about looking in the Polaris website and see how much it costs to go to their school...does anyone know about this? And as bad as your dealer is, he should still be able to order you a manual...It's worth every penny.
Todd

 

I own a sp500 and I feel it is time for Polaris to get their **** together. I think the problem Polaris has, is they rush to get new products on the market, but they don't do any proper testing to determine reliability under realistic conditions,then you and I get to foot the bill.

 

SWAC....
That is basically what I have already done.. I fix/modify/maintain machines for a growing number of people that live around here..
They way I look at it, I've advertised one time and one time only (in the local Thrifty Nickel) and have since be flooded with work.. The word gets out to people when you do a good job, do it in a reasonable amount of time, and don't try and stick it to them on part prices and labor..
I think when looking for a shop/dealership to do work on your machine, it is a MUST to see if the mechanics ride on a regular basis... If you take your "mud runner" to a shop where the big thig is "crotch rocket" streetbikes or boats... service is going to be compromised.. Maybe not oil and filter service, but when it comes time for a top end, axle bearings, brakes, overheating...etc.. The streetbike and boat mentality will usually not be in tune with ATV'S, mud, deep water, bogging on steep hills..etc....
If the mechanic rides an ATV.. the he probably knows the tips/tricks that AREN'T going to be found in a service manual. I know a guy that paid good money and two weeks without his machine to have his carburetor rebuilt because when it got in deep mud, the engine wouldn't rev out... Yeah. sounds familiar huh... Exhaust was under mud, choking the engine. So the dealership he took it to said he needed the carb. rebuilt... (although it was running fine) They ended up getting him for about $150.00 by the time it was over.. next time he went in deep mud.. it bogged out again.. $10.00 exhaust snorkel fixed his problems..
Anyway.. DEALERSHIPS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE...

 

SWAC1,

Have you tried that guy I told you about from Polaris Canada???

Glenn.
Y2K Sportsman 500