Am I lucky or am I doing something right?

[The Fourth Wolf]

December 12th 2011 I took delivery of a 2012 163. It had 3.7 miles on the odometer. I took it home and peeled the decals off, straddled it, gripped the bars and went VROOM VROOM a lot (I was a happy boy!)

Then I took off the panels and hood and inspected everything.

I packed every electrical connection I could find with dielectric grease
I removed the seat and tank and found my oiler adjustment and thanks to the thread on it here, I turned up my oiler 2.5 turns which brought my ratio to around 40:1.

I also read about the VES vent depositing sludge in the belly pan so I replaced the OEM tubing with some longer brake line from NAPA and routed it outside the right shock cut-out.

I changed my chain case lube, and pulled the belt and scrubbed it along with the spare I bought in soap and water.

I also coated my exhaust donuts in Hi-Temp Copper RTV for a tighter exhaust seal.

Finally after nearly 3 weeks of torturing myself I got to ride it on New Year's. When it came time for my initial break-in ride I was a bit nervous--mostly that I'd do something wrong and shorten the lifespan of my motor. I put on 81 miles of trail/swamp/lake riding and made sure to vary the throttle. On my second ride I had 128 miles of unplowed road to/from my friends cabin plus another 71 miles of more swamps, boondocking in the trees, and some short WOT hill pulls. I broke in my spare belt on the ride in this trip.

I ran 16oz of Poo Blue per tank for the first 3 tanks. At 248 miles indicated the engine "woke up", and I have been rallying the snot out of that motor ever since. Except for some clutching by the best guy in AK (Thanks Chad) my sled is stock. As of this weekend it has 1,809 miles. I did get it hot enough to DET bog once at around 1,500 miles but other than that it has never bogged, stumbled or burbled ever.

I run VES Gold and living in AK we don't have ethanol fuel but 90 octane is as good as we can get at the pump so I also add 4oz of Torco per tank.

I religiously warm the sled up to 125 before riding it. Without fail.

I change my chain case oil, lube my zerks and clean my VES every 500 miles.

When I ride I do a bit of everything but I love to pull hills. My longest WOT pulls are in the 45 to 50 second range, usually on long climbs. I haven't pulled the head but from what I can see my pistons are unscuffed.

While I feel for the guys with problems I wonder how many who report negatively about their sleds are running stock set ups.

As an aside, I just put 300 miles on an Arctic Cat 048 belt and it ran great. $80 vs $145 is a no-brainer.

I view my sled like a hot, high-maintenance girlfriend: If I've got to baby her in order to keep pounding her the way I like, well that's ok by me.

Best of luck boys. Take care of your rides.

 

[Oregonsledder]

Your experience is almost exactly like mine. I have a little over 1400 miles on my 12 PRO. It has been completly trouble free, but I do take care of it.

 

[beamslayer]

You are just one of the lucky ones.

 

[Scott]

December 12th 2011 I took delivery of a 2012 163. It had 3.7 miles on the odometer. I took it home and peeled the decals off, straddled it, gripped the bars and went VROOM VROOM a lot (I was a happy boy!)

Then I took off the panels and hood and inspected everything.

I packed every electrical connection I could find with dielectric grease
I removed the seat and tank and found my oiler adjustment and thanks to the thread on it here, I turned up my oiler 2.5 turns which brought my ratio to around 40:1.

I also read about the VES vent depositing sludge in the belly pan so I replaced the OEM tubing with some longer brake line from NAPA and routed it outside the right shock cut-out.

I changed my chain case lube, and pulled the belt and scrubbed it along with the spare I bought in soap and water.

I also coated my exhaust donuts in Hi-Temp Copper RTV for a tighter exhaust seal.

Finally after nearly 3 weeks of torturing myself I got to ride it on New Year's. When it came time for my initial break-in ride I was a bit nervous--mostly that I'd do something wrong and shorten the lifespan of my motor. I put on 81 miles of trail/swamp/lake riding and made sure to vary the throttle. On my second ride I had 128 miles of unplowed road to/from my friends cabin plus another 71 miles of more swamps, boondocking in the trees, and some short WOT hill pulls. I broke in my spare belt on the ride in this trip.

I ran 16oz of Poo Blue per tank for the first 3 tanks. At 248 miles indicated the engine "woke up", and I have been rallying the snot out of that motor ever since. Except for some clutching by the best guy in AK (Thanks Chad) my sled is stock. As of this weekend it has 1,809 miles. I did get it hot enough to DET bog once at around 1,500 miles but other than that it has never bogged, stumbled or burbled ever.

I run VES Gold and living in AK we don't have ethanol fuel but 90 octane is as good as we can get at the pump so I also add 4oz of Torco per tank.

I religiously warm the sled up to 125 before riding it. Without fail.

I change my chain case oil, lube my zerks and clean my VES every 500 miles.

When I ride I do a bit of everything but I love to pull hills. My longest WOT pulls are in the 45 to 50 second range, usually on long climbs. I haven't pulled the head but from what I can see my pistons are unscuffed.

While I feel for the guys with problems I wonder how many who report negatively about their sleds are running stock set ups.

As an aside, I just put 300 miles on an Arctic Cat 048 belt and it ran great. $80 vs $145 is a no-brainer.

I view my sled like a hot, high-maintenance girlfriend: If I've got to baby her in order to keep pounding her the way I like, well that's ok by me.

Best of luck boys. Take care of your rides.

We musta been born from the same womb.
Your list is my list. Mostly (what's a chaincase?).
But I haven't touched clutching at all.
No hard stopping or starting for first 200 miles.
Didn't let QD belt get hot.
Got the cat belt as a spare.
Running good Redline oil.
Haven't had time to mess with oiler. Gonna do that though.
Warmup procedure is the same. Idle it up to 125, then shut it off and let the rest of the engine soak up the heat while I get dressed in the trailer.
Riveted and collared the driveshaft.
About ready to inspect VES and look at pistons.
575 miles now.

BOING!!!!

 

[Oregonsledder]

You are just one of the lucky ones.

I guess that me and all of my buddies are the lucky ones?? I ride with 5 other PRO's 12 and 13's NO issues other than one TPS adjustment.

 

[CO 2.0]

I do/did almost the exact same thing as you Forth Wolf. I do a once over after every ride too. Still only got 670 miles out of the first motor. Never had a cat or even seen a cat 800 go down with anything less than 2000 miles on it... and it was mine that went down. I do ride them hard, no denying that.

 

[JonezyBones]

Take great care of my sled as well. I had a 2005 M7 with almost 4500 miles and zero engine troubles before I sold it. Only got 950 outta my pro. And looking at the engine the PTO cylinder/piston had zero damage. Oiler turned up 3 1/2 turns. Warmed it up properly etc etc... I thought I was going to be one of the people who would get over 2000 miles trouble free on a pro because I took such good care. Its what I get for thinking.

Yes I'd say you are somewhat lucky along with everyone else. I don't think any pro could go over 4000 without being rebuilt.

 

[Dizzle]

I don't think you're "lucky" at all.

Your experience is MUCH more common than ones that have a broken sled.

Think about it. People never remember the post where the guy says "1,000+ trouble free miles," but people ALWAYS remember the negative comments and threads. And I for one - do not believe every negative comment or thread that is posted about the Pro RMK.

You will see people make remarks about how they have gone through 3 QD belts in 200 miles, and so have their "buddies," but then you'll have people report the trouble free miles. And guess who I believe??

For people to post from such opposite ends of the spectrum is more than "fishy" to me. I guess when you're on top, everyone wants to see you fall? I don't know. But the forum-forming "Polaris is garbage/not reliable" reputation is trending out of control. :rain:

 

[The Fourth Wolf]

Disturbing rattle

During this last weekend my sled was making an awful rattle from 3500 to 5000 RPM. I was sure it was one of the exhaust springs but they were tight enough. I spent an hour stop-n-going trying to pinpoint the source without success. On the way home I finally found it when I grabbed my ski loop to manually fine tune my alignment on the trailer...the aft ski loop bolt was loose.

The nyloc nut was still there but had backed off enough to vibrate in place.
Moral? Check your ski bolts for tightness.

Oh, and I forgot to mention I siliconed my exhaust springs to dampen them during the initial inspection.

 

[Go4Broke]

I don't think you're "lucky" at all.

Your experience is MUCH more common than ones that have a broken sled.

Think about it. People never remember the post where the guy says "1,000+ trouble free miles," but people ALWAYS remember the negative comments and threads. And I for one - do not believe every negative comment or thread that is posted about the Pro RMK.

You will see people make remarks about how they have gone through 3 QD belts in 200 miles, and so have their "buddies," but then you'll have people report the trouble free miles. And guess who I believe??

For people to post from such opposite ends of the spectrum is more than "fishy" to me. I guess when you're on top, everyone wants to see you fall? I don't know. But the forum-forming "Polaris is garbage/not reliable" reputation is trending out of control. :rain:

And how many miles are on your pro?

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[powerfuldodge]

2012 800 pro r switchback 1450 trouble free turboed miles. I have had 8 new polaris sleds since 2001, just did regular maintenance and have had no issues with any sled.

 

[CO 2.0]

I just don't believe anyone has any logical reason to make up stories about their or one of their buddies pros going down. What's the point in that??? That would be some crap a 4 yr old does. All I know is that you would hear a lot more "stories" in the Cat and Doo sections of this forum too about motors going down, but you don't. Reason being is that the Doo and Cat 800's are really more reliable. Only people with red blinders on would argue that. You hear about a Pro motor going down every other week on here. Can't say the same for the other 2. Just my opinion of course... :focus:

 

[Nvr2deep]

2000 miles I think you'll find that's th I think you'll find that's the norm not the not the exception

 

[907sledhead]

I'm guessing my buddies and I are some lucky ones also. My 2012 PRO has 1500 miles and still going strong. My riding buddy has the exact sled with 2200 and still going strong. We too warm them up really good and never go over half throttle for the first mile or so. We run nothing but 87 octane with no ethanol in it. (That's pretty much the standard where I live in Alaska) I also save the money on synthetic oil and just buy Castro 2T. Also my 2005 RMK 900 that everyone hates so much... it has 4900 miles on it. I believe proper maintenance and warm up are the key.

 

[Dizzle]

I just don't believe anyone has any logical reason to make up stories about their or one of their buddies pros going down. What's the point in that??? That would be some crap a 4 yr old does.

You're right - what is the point of that? But I wouldn't put it past people...

And how many miles are on your pro?

I do not currently have a sled. Trying to decide if I want to wait another year for the 15's or buy a 14.

 

[Skeld]

Well I didn't do any of that stuff. Except I try to go easy on it like I have with any sled I have ever owned until it's warmed up. I'm at 1750 miles. I'm also not in the mountains though. I suspect that makes a big difference.

 

[jakey-boy]

I would say you are doing everything to give yourself a good chance but you are still lucky. The thing that stands out to me about this thread is that you don't even have 2000 miles on your sled and were all on here reading and talking about it like it is some sort of accomplishment. Honestly if this was in that cat section that number would be 5000 miles or maybe higher. I love the handling of my pro but anyone that doesnt think polaris has a motor building problem definitely has the blinders on. Whether you have experienced a failure yet or not doesnt change the fact that these motors are failing at a much higher than average rate.

 

[montanagrizzly]

2000 miles on my 12 pro and trouble free. I put 500 of those on it and the guy before put the rest. Asked the dealer before I bought it about the maintenance history and he he said no warranty claims on it. I too warm up to 125 and then half throttle up the trail for a mile or two before really getting on it. Run Ves Gold only. Getting ready to pull stuff apart and do a thorough run through and cleaning then back at it!

 

[907sledhead]

This year up here in Alaska, The longest snowmobile race in the country "Iron Dog" only had four teams riding Arctic Cat. This race requires the most reliable sleds to win this wide open 2000 mile race. Polaris had the majority of the sleds this year followed by Ski Doo. That says a lot for Polaris, granted that is not using 800 class sleds. But Polaris makes a very durable sled that is very reliable. Maybe the engines aren't as good as other brands, but over all reliably, I think they are hard to beat.

Good luck with what ever you ride.

 

[Pro-8250]

You're right - what is the point of that? But I wouldn't put it past people...



I do not currently have a sled. Trying to decide if I want to wait another year for the 15's or buy a 14.

Like I have said before. 2015 is Polaris's 60th anniversary. I love my 2011 and 2013 PRO RMK'S. But I will wait until 2015 when looking for the new sleds, and RAZORS!:cheer2:
I can just imagine all the Buzz next year on this forum before the 2015's come out.:face-icon-small-ton

Nice thread The Fourth Wolf.
Thank you!:face-icon-small-hap