To all xp owners

[High Velocity]

Originally Posted by slyder01

As for the engine, no problems there, runs great nd tons of power and love the smoothness of the ride and the power steering and that's why the parts get beat to crap. You don't feel the heaviy rock hitting.

I know one thing, ITP XTR tires don't hold up to the abuse an 850xp can put out... my right rear side wall got 4 plugs in it, all at once and 2 weeks ago i got a quarter size blow out in the other rear in which i had to order another one and these tires only have 500 miles..

slyder, I agree with you totally on why "parts get beat to crap" on these machines. I warned my wife after I had my 850 one week that I will be breaking sh!t on this machine. It rides so smooth and delivers almost no negative feedback through the bars when hitting small to medium obstacles on the trail that I tend to push this quad ten times harder than I ever pushed my 500 Sportsman. When you do that, sh!t breaks eventually.

archer, I have about 1,100 miles on my 850 and all my control arm bushings have had play in them for at least 300-400 miles now. My unit has been greased 7 times so far. In defense of the unit though, I do ride in an extreme variety of terrain. Rocks, sand, many river crossings, seat-deep muskeg - all of which are hell on suspension components.

[archer]

Never thought I would say this. Buy a Polaris. The ride is so nice it's sickening if you ask me. How they hold up depends alot on the user. The Polaris is so smooth across rough stuff it gets abused a lot more because the rider is not getting tossed around and feeling the terrain like other quads will do. I really think this is the main issue. They ride so smooth people tend to abuse them compared to what other quads can do in rough stuff. Most quads are taking a beating but this Polaris, I swear can go twice as fast and no problem. That wears out parts.

I have a story that got my first attention about Polaris machines, it was a Arizona hunting trip 3 years ago. Archery Elk hunt and there was an 15 mile stretch of road we did everyday. I call it the road from hell, I swear for me and 2 buddies this was the roughest road I'd ever been on. I was on my Brute my buds both had Honda Rincons brand new that year. Well I cussed this road everyday and here comes a couple Polaris machines that blew by us acting like the road/trail was nothing. We talked about that and still do around the camp fire how they were going so fast over the rocky road. Well these machines are awesome and get abused because the rider does not feel the terrain like other machines. Awesome machine and really don't think I would every buy anything else. I can cover twice the distance over same time others can, on a rough road.
Just my thoughts

[SNW629]

the ride and the power steering is why i went to polaris from can-am. the rough trail i ride you would be worn down after 25 miles on the outy and gade i had. after 50 miles on the same trail with the xp i am still ready to ride on.

[Smoothbassman]

Originally Posted by SNW629

the ride and the power steering is why i went to polaris from can-am. the rough trail i ride you would be worn down after 25 miles on the outy and gade i had. after 50 miles on the same trail with the xp i am still ready to ride on.

Agree. That power steering is so nice! I never thought that I could ride as far as I do, its impressive the ride quality.

My 850XP EPS has been 100% reliable. If you take care of your machine after a hard ride, it will be ready for you the next time. I do find myself having to work on this quad way more than the Honda that I had before, but the ride quality and power is worth the time spent in the garage after a good ride.

[msla465]

My 09 has about 350 mile and so far it's been good (knock on wood) but thanks for the heads up I'll keep a closer eye on it.

[ripper]

Note to self: next time you decide to buy a bike, read the forum posts first. hearing a lot of nightmarish themes on polaris ATV's and having problems with mine out of the box. (so to speak) I think the thing that bothers me is it appears corporate seems to treat it like "if it aint broke, don't fix it" Wait out the warranties and then..... collect on the other end? geeesh

2010 Sportsman 800 3 miles with bottom end noise in tranny. One thing i did notice is finding a good mechanic is paramount. Bought mine 50 miles from here and did the 100 mi. rt to hear "well, not sure but will contact polaris" Arghhhh. good luck to all of you

[xp74]

I've got just over 1000 miles since april and the only problem I've had is that the plastic door on the storage compartment doesn't take being backed into trees very well.

[Stealthepooty]

The Polaris 550/850 XP is the Porsche of quads. Meaning, cutting edge technology that requires more than average maintenance and attention. True, 2009 models sucked for their using chit Chinese stuff. I hope Polaris learned a lesson from the cost of the recalls and damage to the reputation to the brand. But a majority of the problems posted in this forum are from folks who are clueless to machine maintenance and what it will take to keep a Polaris in top form. The guys who lube their quads after each use and constantly check things on the quad, and work to learn the requirements of these machines understand what they have. There are many examples in this forum of people riding their quads into too deep water and wondering why it doesn't work anymore or probable examples of a lack of maintenance and attention to details. Polaris cannot engineer out ignorance and stupidty.

[phil]

I agree with that. Pay attention to your machine and take care of it. If you can't take care of it, pay someone that knows how to do it for you.
Some of the stuff you see on Youtube with folks in the mud and water is completely absurd. I can totally understand Polaris take on the warranty stuff. Find a good dealer and strike a good relationship with them, so they know you and understand how you treat your quad; thay will be more inclined to stand with you on warranty issues.
JMO

Originally Posted by Stealthepooty

The Polaris 550/850 XP is the Porsche of quads. Meaning, cutting edge technology that requires more than average maintenance and attention. True, 2009 models sucked for their using chit Chinese stuff. I hope Polaris learned a lesson from the cost of the recalls and damage to the reputation to the brand. But a majority of the problems posted in this forum are from folks who are clueless to machine maintenance and what it will take to keep a Polaris in top form. The guys who lube their quads after each use and constantly check things on the quad, and work to learn the requirements of these machines understand what they have. There are many examples in this forum of people riding their quads into too deep water and wondering why it doesn't work anymore or probable examples of a lack of maintenance and attention to details. Polaris cannot engineer out ignorance and stupidty.