Sled break-in

With my sled all i did was put a quart of oil in the first tank of fuel and road it the way i planned on riding it the way it would be road the rest of its life. That is what the dealer told me to do. Mine is a polaris, I don't know if cat recomends anything different.

i agree with tfin's method. that's what i did with mine, and was supposed to run it 3-4 hours at varying speeds. how do you like your sled so far intended?

When in doubt- Throttle out!

'99 XC SP 500

We just got ours lately it was a yamaha phazer 500 adn the dealer told us not to go above 20-25 and try not to crank it out for the first 10 hours of riding. After the 10 hours the power started comin to the machine now its broken in. And its good to check it over after like 150 miles and shit to make sure everything is A-Ok.

God gave us a thumb.. He also gave the snowmachine a throttle

I spent 4 years as an assistant service manager at a store that handled all four major brands and I can tell you one thing....ask ten different people that question and you'll get ten different answers. The same manufacturer will have different recomendations for different models. Here are the most important points... take it easy for the first 500 miles, vary the throttle position and don't hold it WFO for too long. Check the track tension regularly during the first 1000 miles. This is the period were tracks stretch the most. Finally never ever use synthetic oil during a break in period. Synthetics are too "slippery" and will not allow the rings to seat properly.
Let me know how you like the sled. Dealers here in lower Michigan are stuck with excess inventory and I am seriously considering a ZR800.

Don't use synthetic oil??????? Is that why mine says to only use synthetic??????

If your owners manual recomends synthetic, and the sled was prepped with it I would keep using it. Question is do you really know what oil the dealer used to prep the sled? Most dealers use bulk oil to prep sleds. Add to that the fact that most "prep techs" are kids not making much more than minimum wage and may not know or care if the manufacturer recommends synthetic. Also you should remember that mixing synthetic and non-synthetic oils can create a seriously "bad" situation.

my sled came with polaris gold synthetic when new- the dealer put it in and it was recommended for it.

When in doubt- Throttle out!

'99 XC SP 500

I would do whatever the dealer says to do because if something gets screwed up you can take it back and blame it on them.

Trees don't make the greatest brakes...

I would be willing to bet that your Owners Manual has the official factory break-in proceedure for your sled and thats what you ought to go by. Just like XLR8 said ;"ten people will give ten answers". And i'd believe the factory over most dealers, they're the ones with the huge R&d staff whereas the dealers just sell the product. Maybe i'm just biased , but i've had alot of dealers feed me alot of crap over the years. And on this subject both the '97 and '99 ZR EFI manuals say; DO NOT PRE-MIX FOR BREAK-IN. So is your dealer smarter than the factory or did'nt he take the time to know the difference between a Carb. and an EFI, I wonder!!!!

Spaceman
Mean Green Racing
Elyria, Ohio

spaceman17 is absolutely correct. Believe the manufacturer before the dealer. I saw a customer get stuck with a $2000 repair bill on a two month Polaris ATV because the selling dealer never checked the oil in the middle gear case. Polaris refused to pay because the manual clearly says to check the oil after every ride (right!!). The selling dealer subsequently went out of business leaving the guy high and dry. Those manuals aren't just for soaking up water, or whatever other liquids might be floating around your sleds storage compartment. They actually contain useful info....read them.

I ran my XC800 at varying speeds for the first two tanks. I have three hundred miles now and have not seen any degrade in performance. The last time out I hit it hard and fast. Just make sure you keep an eye on nuts, bolts and mating surfaces. My buddie just went over the front end when his left ski went south. It wasn't pretty. A bolt had come loose and he didn't do any regular checks. He is bruised and wiser for the wear. Just don't hit any trees and don't baby the damn thing. If it goes bad, make sure it goes bad when the warrenty still covers it.

Live to Ride! - FrozenSmile

This season i bought my first brand new sled. so breaking in my new ZL 800 EFI SS was something new to me. so before i took possesion from the dealer i talked to a friend of my wifes family. Doug, who buys a new cat every other year, told me this. put oil in the first tank and ride it like you stole it if it is going to break it will do so in the first season and it will still be under warrenty. he then said to keep a good eye on the track. because it will stretch for the first 500 miles. after mi got the sled i was talking to the guy that preped it and they had mixed half a tank of gas with 100:1 synthetic APV oil and that the break-in period would be for the first tank of gas and not to exceed 60 MPH or same speeds for long periods of time. he also said that you MUST use snythetic oil if you have the APV. regular oil will clog the APV and that Arctic Cat has recognized this problem in the 00 and 01 models and has changed its manuals.
hope this helps.

2002 ZL 800 EFI SS