Thanks for the clarification Ron. I assume they also make the Voltage Reg??? Have you ever got a explanation on what has caused the piston scuffing. myself and some Polaris riding buds want to know...G
I don't know for certain but the fuel map may have been the straw.... Since failures in our area were almost non existent on sales of over 200 800's it would seem to be something related to the lean condition at lower R's, maybe worse at some elevations. Excess piston to cylinder clearance and the single ring let the piston rock in the cylinder so the piston skirts would have failed if the pistons hadn't scuffed first.
Many of us ran RedLine oil that had better tolerance to heat than VES Gold-Polaris has a new VES for 2010 with better lubricity, maybe better now than Redline. When engine heat exceeds the oils "lubricity" level then you will have sticking.
Then factor in all the little things: Some dealers didn't set the TPS during sled setup making fuel delivery more of an issue. Any direct short in the elctrical (handlebar heaters for one) will fry the ECU. Bad fuel, ethanol fuel in some locations-heard a story of an Ethanol purchase in a small town that had 20% alcohol-burned down several sleds. Blending alcohol into gas is subject to error and then you have phase seperation after a few months.
My 2009 was ported, head milled to raise compression 15% and SLP single pipe. Big air intake, holes drilled in the airbox shelf, speedo air added and running the stock 08 map-my sled ran spot on all year in spite of mods that should have put it on the "edge". I had a lot of piston rattle so had a ticking time bomb ala piston skirts.
Looking at the changes Polaris made for 2010 likely tell most of the story. Better VES oil; new fuel map; ECU will go into limp mode didn't in 09; double ring piston with normal piston to cylinder clearance; head has new dome shape, lower compression; longer sleeve on cylinders.