Project Fire Duck: 2011 Sportsman 500 Rebuild

[antoniodef]

Looks like it is going pretty smooth. Take lots of pics as you go, this is defintely interesting.

[bezerk1]

Update. I now have a rolling chassis with 4 inflated tires. We used my neighbors wrecker to break the bead on the tire. We placed the rim on the ground, with a car rim of larger diameter on top of the quad rim. The wrecker has a wheel lift that can apply hydraulic down pressure. The bead was no match for the wheel lift. Next step: car wash.

[bezerk1]

Fire Duck is back from the car wash. This thing was caked with mud. I removed the front master cylinder and cleaned it up. There was some water damage inside the bore that I polished out. The water got in through the melted sight glass on the cover. The melted plastic in the reservoir was hard as a rock. I heated it with propane and teased it out with a screwdriver. I think this part is going to be salvageable. I'm a little disappointed with Polaris in that they do not sell a rebuild kit or individual parts. I need the outer boot which was melted. Also, the parts diagram shows a snap ring which was not installed on this unit. The cover for the master cylinder costs $57. What's up with that Polaris? I ordered more parts including an air box, inner clutch cover, and a gas tank. All I need to get this thing fired up is the intake boot.

[bezerk1]

Re-assembly has started. I might rebuild a CV joint while waiting for parts to arrive.

[antoniodef]

Just the pictures now look worlds better than the first ones. You defintely do fast work!

Not sure what your ultimate plans are, but I have read the 2011s have weak axles and cannot handle a lift kit, so if you plan on a lift you might want to swap axles now.

[bezerk1]

I never understood why anybody in their right mind would put a lift on a quad. The lower center of gravity in my opinion is way more important than an inch or two of ground clearance. I want the lowest center of gravity possible. I guess it falls into the category of the big wheels. I want my machine to perform off road, not look like a hoopty ride. FYI the Baja 1000 started today at 9:30 AM Eastern time. Anyway, thank you for your comments. This project is coming along quite nicely. Things around here are about to get real busy once ski season starts. I want to spend as much time as possible in the shop now because in a few days my time is going to be at a premium.

On a side note: The bars are burnt up really bad. The are some pretty bad heat marks on them. My question is; Do you think the excessive heat has taken the temper out of them? Salvage or replace? Let my know your thoughts?

[Dirty Larry]

The bars look pretty scorched, hard to say how much damage they took from the obvious amount of heat they endured. If it were my project, I would replace them.

[bgirard420]

Nice work!! Can't wait to see what you do once you get some parts in! I vote replace too, like you said the temper may be gone and you don't want to find that out on the trail later.

[SMP63]

Replace them! Why take the chance.

[bezerk1]

I'll take your advice and order new bars just to be safe. In other news, my wiring harness arrived today. It's the right one, and all of the plugs match up. the only problem: I don't know how to route it. I never seen the old one, so I have no points of reference. I know it runs up the left side frame rail. I don't know if it runs on top of the guard on the fuel pump, or does it drop down below the handle bar support plate and come through the hole by the brake switch. If anybody has any idea, or some pics of the harness routing please let me know.