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  1. #11
    Ridin' and Guidin' Timmi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    Polaris is so wildly different from what Yamaha and other Japanese manufactures have instilled into our collective ATV brains from the 80s and 90s that sometimes I have to stop and rethink. I'll go on record and say that Polaris' build quality is the worst of my personal experience.
    There is no question Polaris quality is poor. That's where the Japanese shine. The fit and finish on James' Wolverine is so far above my 570 it's pitiful. The mechanical components are far better overall.

    "
    White Shadow " Wolverine X2
    JBS Performance Extreme Sheave
    JBS Performance Suspension Springs
    Team Alba Racing ECU
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    Bazooka Party Bar

  2. #12
    chuddly's Avatar
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    Oh i completely agree Chris. The wet clutches will fail and when they do its expensive (usually ~ $400) But when you start thinking about spending ~$75 per belt and they can be torn up that quickly the price of the wet clutch doesnt seem as bad. Plus for me its worth the extra money to know that my rig will be more reliable and get me home (even if im the one who abused it) more often. I dont think any of the manufacturers make a BAD side by side. I personally like some better than others but they are all just built with different things in mind.
    2006 Rhino 660
    686 Big bore, 11:1 comp, stage 1 cam
    Elka stage 3 shocks
    Power steering
    Innovate AF gauge
    Temp,Volt, and Fuel gauges
    12" ITP beadlock wheels
    26" ITP Terracross tires
    Trail bright LED headlights
    Trail bright 30" LED light bar
    RZR seats with flat aluminum bases & 4 point harnesses
    Dual battery set up with battery separator and 8 place fuse block

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  4. #13
    Yamaha in Polaris Cloths Chris's Avatar
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    This is turning out to be a really good conversation. Thanks!

    As I have stated, I was being really hard on the belt by riding in High Range where I should have been riding in Low Range. It was sort of like a test for me to personally see for myself how a Polaris Ranger 900 behaves and handles riding in High Range. So yes, I was well aware what I was doing was detrimental to belt life. Yet, what was surprising in all of this was how fast you can ruin a perfectly good belt by doing such.

    Take for example my dad, he is the one who gets in, puts it in High Range, and goes about spraying the field, fixing fence, checking cattle, and doing other tasks around the ranch. The Yamaha Grizzly 700 we use for this gets run day in and day out in situations not entirely dissimilar from what I was doing with my Ranger 900. The Grizzly has not suffered any clutch or belt problems in 19 months of use. The wet-clutch Yamaha is clearly a better choice for him.

    The Polaris style CVT is far less forgiving than I expected. I'm not saying it is unreliable because as James, Timmi, and carcajou have pointed out, many Polaris' go thousands of miles on a belt with no issues. What I am saying is Polaris isn't just playing it conservative when they say, "USE LOW RANGE!" Hahaha!

    2015 Polaris Ranger 900
    RVS 86HP Tune | Elka Shocks | QSC Clutching | 27" VIPRs | 5000lb Viper | Baja Designs Lights | Wet Sounds Stealth 10 | 10" SSV Subwoofer | Highlifter Snorkels

    2014 Kawasaki Teryx4 800

    Warn Provantage 4500-S
    28" Terminators | MSA Kore | Highlifter Lift | 50" Radius Lightbar | Dual Batteries |

    2011 Yamaha Rhino 734 Sport
    Alba 734 | Racer's Edge +2 head | CP 11:1 Piston | 46mm Benchmark TB | JBS Sheave, Muzzys | WER shocks | CATVOS 3" lift | 30" Bighorns

  5. #14
    Administrator WV Hot Rod Rhino's Avatar
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    my buddy in the 900 is always close behind..and not in low or he would get left quick...he told his last rider that begged him to slow down to "shut up ...james knows what hes doing" and he laughed like crazy when he told me
    James Davis
    If you have questions call me!!!
    304-673-2602
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    Check out our web https://jbsperformance.com/
    Email to - jbsperformanceinc@aol.com
    Ship to - 131 Davis Ct., Mt. Hope, WV 25880

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  7. #15
    in knee deep Snorider's Avatar
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    nice test chris. lol only thing i hate about burning belts is buying them.

    we only use hi range on our 900xp if we are going to be going a fair ways above 30/35. 1500 miles and no problems belt wise.

    but several of my friends have smoked or grenaded the belts completely in less time than you did. mostly because they got lazy and didn't want to stop and change from high to low when wanting to hit a quick hill climb. had one where a canned ham blew a hole in the cover when the belt let loose.

    the polaris side by sides rely on the operator to make a belt live.
    08 700SE
    --Beast Mode--
    JBS BBK stroker w/clutching
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  8. #16
    MEMBER member carcajou's Avatar
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    I am going to give you another perspective on the belt deal and you are going to think I am crazy, but since I have owned Polaris vehicles for so long and have never owned a Yamaha, but, I have been around and ridden with Rhinos and Grizzly's for years.
    I have never known any of our group of different makes to have ever broken a belt. I know a belt was replaced in one of the Rhino's for some reason and the owner is the put it in high range and go until you stop type of driver. The clutch might have been replaced too, I don't know about that but I do know that he abused it unmercifully. He now also owns a RZR 1000 with very few miles on it but I hope he learns to use low range or his belt will be toast in no time.

    But where I am going here is that I was/am interested in a Wolverine but I have been reading on the Viking sites about clutch problems. Not just one but a few have had the the wet clutch go out and at least one is with a stock very low mile vehicle and one day the clutch was fine and the next day when he started it up it was gone.
    With my experience with Polaris I don't worry about the belt, they are easy and quick to replace if I ever break one, but the wet clutch is not so easy. With a Polaris there are other more important things to worry about, but with a Wolverine the clutch would be in the back of my mind. I know, it can be slugged right off the bat but why doesn't Yamaha do this before they sell them? You guys are lucky to have James to take care of these things for you but to my way of thinking this is something Yamaha should have done in their engineering and development phase. Not trying to put James out of work here but just saying.

  9. #17
    chuddly's Avatar
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    I understand what you guys are saying...but for me i look at it slightly different. I look at it like a truck, I run my truck (as all of you do) in high range 99% of the time and it does great in that. I only use low when i need the extra low end to pull something out of a spot that wont require much speed and will be for short distances. My gripe is not so much at the Polaris machine or belt even but more at the Polaris engineers that they would think its the right choice to go the COMPLETE opposite of what normal high and low ranges are used for. Also in my mind for any major company to put something out that can be destroyed that quickly when there are better ways to do it (look at Yamaha and Kawasaki) is just absurd. To require that much calculation and thought by the general public is just asking for way to much (i guess no polaris engineers have ever been to a local Walmart? LOL). Like i said im not bashing the machine but more the engineer who though it was acceptable to have these kind of caveats to their design work. Think if James or any other aftermarket parts maker had that kind of stipulation on using their product. They would not be in business more than 3 months. If your car owners manual said "run in low gear (thus limiting your top speed) until you need more speed. Then stop and shift into high gear. Then when you approach a hill stop and use low gear again". I know many people have gone many miles on a belt and not had these issues but i tend to think that those people were the ones holding the pedal to the wood screws thus the belt is fully engaged. Chris tore his up (i suspect) because of the constant start and stop and slow crawling.
    2006 Rhino 660
    686 Big bore, 11:1 comp, stage 1 cam
    Elka stage 3 shocks
    Power steering
    Innovate AF gauge
    Temp,Volt, and Fuel gauges
    12" ITP beadlock wheels
    26" ITP Terracross tires
    Trail bright LED headlights
    Trail bright 30" LED light bar
    RZR seats with flat aluminum bases & 4 point harnesses
    Dual battery set up with battery separator and 8 place fuse block

  10. #18
    Yamaha in Polaris Cloths Chris's Avatar
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    Let me ask a question about cleaning the clutch after this kind of mayhem. What's the best way to clean the sheaves of the belt residue?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    2015 Polaris Ranger 900
    RVS 86HP Tune | Elka Shocks | QSC Clutching | 27" VIPRs | 5000lb Viper | Baja Designs Lights | Wet Sounds Stealth 10 | 10" SSV Subwoofer | Highlifter Snorkels

    2014 Kawasaki Teryx4 800

    Warn Provantage 4500-S
    28" Terminators | MSA Kore | Highlifter Lift | 50" Radius Lightbar | Dual Batteries |

    2011 Yamaha Rhino 734 Sport
    Alba 734 | Racer's Edge +2 head | CP 11:1 Piston | 46mm Benchmark TB | JBS Sheave, Muzzys | WER shocks | CATVOS 3" lift | 30" Bighorns

  11. #19
    NickH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris View Post
    Let me ask a question about cleaning the clutch after this kind of mayhem. What's the best way to clean the sheaves of the belt residue?
    I bet lacquer thinner would help, then go over them with a D A with 180 grit.


    Chris, I see another Yamaha in your future!!!
    2016 Yamaha Wolverine R-Spec SE. 12" double row LED's from Flimmy, Warn Vantage 3000, SSV works audio system.......I need to add more parts!!!!!

  12. #20
    Yamaha in Polaris Cloths Chris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NickH View Post
    Chris, I see another Yamaha in your future!!!
    Let me sow my wild oates and burn a few more belts, ok? There's no telling what will happen. This little 900cc philly with all her bottom end might even shed her front diff or, better yet, her reverse chain before we part ways... LoL!

    But seriously, I think the softening of the remaining belt glaze with some brake cleaner followed by a scotch brite pad should do the trick. The stuff can almost be scrapped off with my fingernail.
    2015 Polaris Ranger 900
    RVS 86HP Tune | Elka Shocks | QSC Clutching | 27" VIPRs | 5000lb Viper | Baja Designs Lights | Wet Sounds Stealth 10 | 10" SSV Subwoofer | Highlifter Snorkels

    2014 Kawasaki Teryx4 800

    Warn Provantage 4500-S
    28" Terminators | MSA Kore | Highlifter Lift | 50" Radius Lightbar | Dual Batteries |

    2011 Yamaha Rhino 734 Sport
    Alba 734 | Racer's Edge +2 head | CP 11:1 Piston | 46mm Benchmark TB | JBS Sheave, Muzzys | WER shocks | CATVOS 3" lift | 30" Bighorns

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