Maintenance

[Jpak 7p]

You hear a lot of people crying about different manufactures, and how there sleds break down, and have nothing but problems. I am curious to see how many people actually put the time and effort into maintaining their sleds. My brother goes above and beyond to keep our sleds maintained and clean, sometimes to the point of excessiveness. But in the end, we have minimal problems on the trail, and our sleds look and run great for years to come. In the fall of 2003, we sold our 92 Indy 650 at a swap meet. Everyone that came up to the sled thought it was brand new and never ridden, then were suprised to see the speedo read over 5,000 miles. This sled looked better than my 98 XC7 when I picked it up off the showroom new.

What do you do with your suspension?
How about the engine compartment?
Do you wash your sled(s)?
Do you inspect your sled prior to each trip?
Do you take it into the dealer for maintenance?
Etc?

[xcsp]

Yes, regualar maintenance does help. It's amazing to see some used sleds in person or pics of sleds on sites such as eBay and the engine compartment looks like they never touched a thing. And they're only a couple years old!

[vwbuggyman]

My sled is a 96 FormulaS, and runs great. Currently has 2400 miles. Only flaw is a small tear on the seat.

1.What do you do with your suspension?
Absolutely nothing. I have never even touched it.

2.How about the engine compartment?
What do you mean? I have done a little wiring for heated grips, but otherwise nothing under there. The 380 motor is 100% stock. The only time I lift the hood is to add oil.

3.Do you wash your sled(s)?
No, why would I do that? They don't get dirty unless you ride in snirt, which I don't.

4.Do you inspect your sled prior to each trip?
No. I walk outside, stick the key in, prime, and pull the string. Then I proceed to sit my ass on the seat and apply throttle. No inspections for me.

5.Do you take it into the dealer for maintenance?
Nope. I never use dealers unless a MAJOR problem occurs, and to winterize my sea-doo. My sled has never had a major problem that I couldn't fix. The muffler broke this year, but I found one in a salvage yard and installed it myself. Took about 10 min to remove the old one and 5 min to install the new one.

6.Etc?
When I fill up, I sometimes check the oil level if I remember. I know the light works, and that comes on well before the tank is empty. I have changed its belt one time since 1996. Same for plugs. Headlight is still original. Skis and wear rods replaced once in 2000.

Maybe its because I ride less aggressively due to my conservative engine, or maybe its just because I just don't beat the s*** out of my sled like some people do. Maintenance sucks. It takes time away from riding.

[RXL-XC7-RIDER]

grease almost every ride, wash often, keep belt tension adjusted as well as track, change chain case oil, keep fuel and oil topped up and stocked in my garage,


just curious how do you like your new xc 700 compared to you 92 650 ???

[Jpak 7p]

Can a 96 Formula S even get air on a jump. I don't even think it is possible to ride that sled hard. What is the top speed? I can understand why not much maintenance is required for a 380cc sled. But if you had to replace the muffler, that would be caused by the fact that you didn't do anything to maintain your sled or keep corrosion off of it. WD-40!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, RXL-XC7_RIDER, over the years, I have had the experience with a 92 650, 94 RXL short track, 98 XC7, and 2004 XC7. All sleds have been great, but all except the 04 XC7 have had their problems. The 92 650 was kick A$$ when we first got it. But for some reason after several years, it developed a overheating problem. Might have been from aftermarket skis and a widened ski stance, but I doubt it. We did replace a radiator cap that came apart, but we could not find any flow problems in the cooling system. So we put a radiator in it and sold it to get the 04 XC7. The sled had awesome weight transfer and would pull skis in the air in almost all snow conditions, without picks.

The 94 RXL initially had problems with engine alignment and throttle position sensor. Once these problems were solved, this sled has been rock solid. Didn't sound as cool as the 92 650, quieter and a little better handling.

The 98 XC7 had problems from the factory. The engine came apart at 465 miles. Something about the key for the timing came out and the timing was advancing and retarding on its own. Also, one of the reeds was out of its cage, and would let extra fuel into one of the cylinders, which helped cool down the piston, and keep it from coming apart for a little while. Locked it up a couple of times, but would restart after five minutes. Ran like Sh--. Then I had dealer/Polaris problems. My sled was in the dealer for 5 weeks. Almost lost it for the whole season. The dealer stated that Polaris was out of stock on the head, and Polaris also wanted to know why the sled took 465 miles to finally come apart. Thankfully for my mechanic at the time, he was able to set Polaris straight, and suggest that I go with and aftermarket head to get the sled back out. Funny thing, the stock Polaris head showed up the same day I was picking up my sled, I was told it wouldn't be in until May. Otherwise, this sled has been great, with little mods such as clutch kit, V-force reeds, SLP boost bottle and head, it has been a rocket. Still very competitive with new sleds. Will actually beat the 04 XC7 by a length or two.

The 04 XC7 is night and day compared the the 98. The suspension and comfort is that much better. Until this year, I thought my 98 was pretty decent in terms of suspension. So in another year, the 98 will be going up for sale, and I plan on getting a Switchback, or maybe the ugly Fusion. I want to stay in the 700 range. Overall, my brother and I have enjoyed these sleds, and with the maintenance my brother does, it kept all sleds competitive and problem free on almost all of our trips.

[jlsahlen]

i dont care what you got, that little 380s will hang right in there with you in the woods. I got a freind whose 6'10" 250lbs and thats still his favorite sled.

[vwbuggyman]

Despite that everyone thinks that 380's are pieces of trash, not everyone needs to launch their ass at 100+ mph across the snow.
On hard packed snow, it will get to about 60, and on flat ice I have gotten it past 70. Yes, it will catch air off jumps, I have done that several times(I think that is what finally broke the old muffler). It actually jumps pretty well jue to its light weight(me and sled weigh combined about 600 pounds full of fuel). In fact I hit a ramp some kids had made for sledding going down a hill at around 50 and flew away. I went ass over tea kettle and in the process my thumb pinned the gas, so when I hit the ground it sped up even more. My feet were dragging behind the sled, I was just holding on by the bars. Closest I have ever come to falling off a sled.

When will the 380 hate end?

[FreezurBurnt]

What do you do with your suspension?

[b]Take it out inspected for stress cracks,replace bearings for the pre-season and grease it every couple of weeks each winter[/b]
How about the engine compartment?

[b]Degrease any oil/belt residue and inspect and do compression test,fog engine for storage in summer[/b]

Do you wash your sled(s)?

[b]Yep and wax about 3-4times during the summer(boredom)and Wax during January thaw and amorall the rest[/b]

Do you inspect your sled prior to each trip?

[b]Yup,quick check of Belt and rear suspension [/b]

Do you take it into the dealer for maintenance?

[b] Too cheap:B[/b]

Etc?

[b] take apart and clean both clutches,change gear oil,clean carbs[/b]

It is amazing to hear about people who just ride and don't bother inspecting things,like the lazy people who change their sliders through the hole in the track:R,or the person that cries his sled is slower this year and yet does not realize he has over 2500miles on a worn belt,or that his sled rides rough aka not greasing or replacing shocks,or better yet get peeved as they blew their sled up in the 1st hr or so of the next season because they did no fog the engine nor clean the carbs and then blame the sled maker :R etc

[b]BTW my sled has 17,100kms on it :W [/b]

[Jpak 7p]

It's not that I hate 380's, I just think it's kind of funny and kind of cool that you actually love to ride a 380cc sled. By the way, I do not need to lauch my sled 100+ mph across the snow. I just like the acceleration, and YES, going 100 mph at the right times in a safe way is fun. But you guys talk like the 380 is this awesome sled and you actually state that the little 380 will hang in there with you in the woods(especially with someone as big as 6'10"@250lbs). I am not sure who your ride with, but I haven't seen many 380's keep up with their group. The way we ride, is when the person behind you is beyond sight, you slow down and wait till you can see him again and make sure everything is OK. My guess is that your buddies probably feel sorry for you and wait....Just kidding, as long as you guys are out riding and enjoying yourself on any kind of sled, that is all that matters. But for the majority of us out there, a 380 is not likely our choice.

By the way, a 98 XC7 combined weight and fluids, is probably 50-75 pounds more than a 380. Back then the XC7 listed at 475 pounds(probably dry). Plus, with some of the newer sleds, weight is really not an issue, sleds now come lightweight and lots of HP!!!!!

By the way, vwbuggyman, sounds like you need to take it easy. If you can fly A$$ over tea kettle with a 380, than I think a 380 fits you just right. Stay safe and know your limits.

Oh, and put a little elbow grease into that 380, with a little work, you might get it past 60.5mph again. Enjoy, have fun, stay safe, and no drinking & driving out of a tea kettle while jumping a ramp made for sleds by little kids.

[vwbuggyman]

Hitting the ramp was purely accidental. I didn't see the ramp until the last minute, and I wasn't expecting to see one(the wan't a kid or sled in sight). It was too late to try and avoid it or to stop(I at least remembered locking the track is a no-no). So I went off it. Probably due to my laziness in suspension maintenance, the seat launched my ass up into the air(I think the skis missed the ramp, but the track went over it, hence only the seat felt the effect).

While a 380 does have trouble keeping up with a 500(my riding partner's sled) on the lake for trails it is fine.

But you'd be surprised what that 380 can do. This winter my neighbor got the bright idea to use the snowmobile to tow a sled up a hill. So I got a water-skiing handle out and tied it to the back, and drove to the golf course(has a ski area that is open to sleds after 4). The hill is very steep and long, walking up it takes 10 minutes and is NOT easy. It is a 1-up sled. I drove and took an average size adult on the back, while towing a teenager in the tube. It still got up the hill, alough I thought I smelled the belt burning a couple times... While I certinaly didn't set any speed records, it could get all three people up the hill at 10 mph, which was at a little over half throttle. It used half its tank of oil in the 30 minutes we were doing that however. I was surprised myself that it could do that feat.

And I do not know of anyone that changes the slides by taking the whole damn track and tunnel apart. They put the windows in the track for a reason you know. And BTW, I have never replaced them either. But I looked through all the windows and there were no bare spots so it is good for another year.