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850 gone down already??

J

Jaynelson

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Nov 26, 2007
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Nelson BC
...and you realize it is going both ways right? I keep telling true stories, you keep trying desperately to defend your brands honor.... tiresome it is...
I’ve shared many specific, first hand examples of 850 problems/failures/fixes. Anyone who’s asked me a question on any of that and I’ll answer it straight up. I have also posted a lot of positive Polaris experience...because, frankly, that’s what the majority of it has been for the past several years, this one included. So, no, I don’t subscribe to your general Polaris doom and gloom.
 
I run 98F in the fields with my 11 pro, maybe 115 on loose trails. Its not too cold, have been running like that for years.

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk




Had to edit I just realized I put 125 instead of 115. Wondering how the cooling system efficiency is in relation to the new 100f thermostat? I have 2 coolers, you only have 1,.. nonetheless I'm not over heating.
 

BILTIT

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Apr 9, 2011
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Lloydminster, SK
I have one cooler but also a remote tstat, 3" track and non ported snowflap. I tried the 3" axys curved snowflap and it ran even cooler, i didnt like it though.

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk
 

Matte Murder

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Jay I respect your opinion but there are guys on this thread and the other who have sleds that run like crap. They have had the bog, fouled a LOT of plugs, and have the hard starting issues. They have taken them to the dealer multiple times and they have not been fixed. A couple few mention that the remap either didn’t fix their sled or made it worse. Guys are giving up in frustration and selling them. So how is it that you can fix every sled you see with a problem and dealers can’t? Honest question.
 
B
Feb 21, 2008
11
7
3
52
Mine finally went down!!

I was nervous as chit reading about all the early season motors going down with 12, 25, 30 miles on them. I got mine through the break in period with about 200 miles on it all in the mountains, then another 500 miles on it on the U.P. trails. I went out west again and right at the 800 mile mark you guessed it....Done!!!
I was a good 12 miles in and lucky the weather was good and lucky it blew early enough in the day. I had time for my buddy to drive me out to gather all our chit to go in the next day and tow it out. What a huge disapointment! What good is a 4 year warranty if I miss the last third of this season? I'm not going to rent, so now I'm about to buy another sled. Guess which 850 its not going to be?!
I've owned Yamaha, Ski-Doo, and Polaris. I do want to see Polaris do good, since it is an American company, but this is where I draw the line. I literally feel like a guinea pig, and that I'm just looked at as a number and not a person. Polaris knew they had this problem and should have made a recall, but didn't. I thought since I had a brand new sled I had nothing to worry about, but they knew the real story and let me hang my a-- out on the line. This could have ended worse and probably has for some. I cannot believe in this modern day and age that they can't make a motor that can make it through one season! What happened to their 3-4 years of testing BS they claimed over and over!?
My sled is sitting in Durango, and I missed the last week of fresh! going to be at least 2-3 more weeks their telling me.
Let this be a warning to all you guys who like me thought they had a good motor since I made it to the 500 mile mark. Mine only blew up at 796!
 

NHRoadking

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Is it the 850's issues that are keeping Polaris from making the motor available on regular season sleds? Or are they having trouble meeting demand? I noticed that the motor is snow check only again this year.
 

High Voltage

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Helena, MT
I was nervous as chit reading about all the early season motors going down with 12, 25, 30 miles on them. I got mine through the break in period with about 200 miles on it all in the mountains, then another 500 miles on it on the U.P. trails. I went out west again and right at the 800 mile mark you guessed it....Done!!!
I was a good 12 miles in and lucky the weather was good and lucky it blew early enough in the day. I had time for my buddy to drive me out to gather all our chit to go in the next day and tow it out. What a huge disapointment! What good is a 4 year warranty if I miss the last third of this season? I'm not going to rent, so now I'm about to buy another sled. Guess which 850 its not going to be?!
I've owned Yamaha, Ski-Doo, and Polaris. I do want to see Polaris do good, since it is an American company, but this is where I draw the line. I literally feel like a guinea pig, and that I'm just looked at as a number and not a person. Polaris knew they had this problem and should have made a recall, but didn't. I thought since I had a brand new sled I had nothing to worry about, but they knew the real story and let me hang my a-- out on the line. This could have ended worse and probably has for some. I cannot believe in this modern day and age that they can't make a motor that can make it through one season! What happened to their 3-4 years of testing BS they claimed over and over!?
My sled is sitting in Durango, and I missed the last week of fresh! going to be at least 2-3 more weeks their telling me.
Let this be a warning to all you guys who like me thought they had a good motor since I made it to the 500 mile mark. Mine only blew up at 796!

I was looking to snowcheck one, but this is exactly what I’m afraid would happen to me. They are putting a good warranty on it, but if it breaks down in the bone docks they wouldn’t be there to get it out.

Do you think they have all there motor issues ironed out?
 
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J

Jaynelson

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Nov 26, 2007
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Nelson BC
Jay I respect your opinion but there are guys on this thread and the other who have sleds that run like crap. They have had the bog, fouled a LOT of plugs, and have the hard starting issues. They have taken them to the dealer multiple times and they have not been fixed. A couple few mention that the remap either didn’t fix their sled or made it worse. Guys are giving up in frustration and selling them. So how is it that you can fix every sled you see with a problem and dealers can’t? Honest question.
I work for a dealer and was speaking of all the 850’s we sold (and went on to service) this season. Can only go from that cross section, along with communication with some other dealers ...but obviously can’t speak to every case. I have posted in quite a few threads the issues we’ve seen and what the outcome was. Had some bumps in the road, but at this time everyone is sorted and having fun. I won’t claim to know everything by any stretch (definitely don’t). There are some really smart people on snowest who came up with some creative fixes and good info if you’re doing some reading. If you’re trying to make up your mind for snowcheck and would like a more detailed run down of what I’ve seen on 850’s this year, send me a PM and I’ll put something together for you when I have a real keyboard in front of me.
 
J

Jaynelson

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
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Nelson BC
Is it the 850's issues that are keeping Polaris from making the motor available on regular season sleds? Or are they having trouble meeting demand? I noticed that the motor is snow check only again this year.

Neither. They want to make snowcheck more appealing because it helps manufacturers and dealers forecast for next season. Good for production and inventory levels, good for resale, good for repeat business. And also having a tiered pricing struture appeals to a broader spectrum of clients....snowcheck, regular season, non-current, etc
 
S
Nov 26, 2007
47
41
18
Kamloops B.C.
"Several detail changes have been made to the mighty 850 Patriot engine for 2020, aiming to further advance the technology and reliability. There is a new software program calibration aimed at improving hot start issues, eliminating bogging and hesitations that some riders experienced. Hardware changes include a retaining ring added to the PTO bearing and matching machining of the cases to position it precisely in the crankcase during assembly, slight changes to the piston profile for improved heat tolerance, and assembly line changes to improve the silicone sealing application to keep the sealant out of the check valve."

Sooo! because the above is written in American English, Let me translate,
"Several detail changes have been made to the almost mighty 850 Patriot engine, all the people involved in these stupid design issues have been fired so as to be sure they are not around to inform the new people of such stupid errors next time we design a new engine. However we will keep the bean counters involved so as to not affect share prices. We will sit around the board room and point fingers, we will have marketing department write above statements and hope the stupid consumer has not noticed what "some riders experienced". Oh by the way Accounting says no recalls!! As of course it was a assembly problem narrowed down to a few serial numbers"

I'm French, so I could have this all backwards:eyebrows:
 

Timbre

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Nov 1, 2008
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Southwestern Idaho
"Several detail changes have been made to the mighty 850 Patriot engine for 2020, aiming to further advance the technology and reliability. There is a new software program calibration aimed at improving hot start issues, eliminating bogging and hesitations that some riders experienced. Hardware changes include a retaining ring added to the PTO bearing and matching machining of the cases to position it precisely in the crankcase during assembly, slight changes to the piston profile for improved heat tolerance, and assembly line changes to improve the silicone sealing application to keep the sealant out of the check valve."

Sooo! because the above is written in American English, Let me translate,
"Several detail changes have been made to the almost mighty 850 Patriot engine, all the people involved in these stupid design issues have been fired so as to be sure they are not around to inform the new people of such stupid errors next time we design a new engine. However we will keep the bean counters involved so as to not affect share prices. We will sit around the board room and point fingers, we will have marketing department write above statements and hope the stupid consumer has not noticed what "some riders experienced". Oh by the way Accounting says no recalls!! As of course it was a assembly problem narrowed down to a few serial numbers"

I'm French, so I could have this all backwards:eyebrows:

That's a pretty twisted translation . . ..but ok :)

Do you ride an 850 Polaris?
 
S
Nov 26, 2007
47
41
18
Kamloops B.C.
No I don't own a Pol, but have raced for them and other brands some years ago,and marketing stories have not changed from any of them over the years. I do kreep the forums and read between the lines. I have never (other than race sleds) and never will buy a first year sled whether it's chassis or engine. Especially at today's prices.:face-icon-small-win
 

Timbre

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I figured that might be the case.

It seems the ones MOST concerned about the Polaris "issues" appear to be those who don't even own one . . . . go figure :frusty:

The rest of us - that actually OWN them - are out riding :)
 
G
Jan 21, 2008
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Wabush NL, Canada
I figured that might be the case.

It seems the ones MOST concerned about the Polaris "issues" appear to be those who don't even own one . . . . go figure :frusty:

The rest of us - that actually OWN them - are out riding :)

I wish that was the case. I'm still waiting on authorization from Polaris to get parts moving. Its been down for 2 weeks so far. I liked the sled when it was working but I am not impressed with this whole situation. I missed the first two months of the season because the delivery date kept getting changed so since the beginning of the season I have been able to ride it a month and a half.
 

Timbre

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Nov 1, 2008
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Southwestern Idaho
I wish that was the case. I'm still waiting on authorization from Polaris to get parts moving. Its been down for 2 weeks so far. I liked the sled when it was working but I am not impressed with this whole situation. I missed the first two months of the season because the delivery date kept getting changed so since the beginning of the season I have been able to ride it a month and a half.

Wow! that's a huge bummer!! I hope they get this figured out soon!

What issue did you have? Top end? Bottom end? Both? Or something else?

Also which particular sled did you get, and what is the build date on it?
 
G
Jan 21, 2008
1,216
422
83
Wabush NL, Canada
Wow! that's a huge bummer!! I hope they get this figured out soon!

What issue did you have? Top end? Bottom end? Both? Or something else?

Also which particular sled did you get, and what is the build date on it?

Its a 163 2.6" Pro. It seized on one of the center bearings. Everything else looked good. No oil lines came off and everything seemed to be running ok right up until it seized. I believe the build date is 10/26.
 

summ8rmk

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Feb 16, 2008
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yakima, wa.
Rode with an 850 today.
He made it back to the truck without incident.
Oil line did pop off previously. Poo gave him a voucher and sent him on his way.

That 36in front end makes the Axys a much better handling sled for the type of riding i like.

tapatio...
 
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