[ChristopherM]

This is my first season with sleds in 8 years and the last time i had them my parents took care of everything. now that i am on my own and have 2 sleds i'm curious what to do with them all summer. so here are my thoughts feel free to add your own. I'm putting them in the back of the garage out of the way of the summer toys and kids shit. going to grease them fully before i put them away. bring them to the back of the garage and put a 2x4 under each front ski and run a rope from the rafters down to hold the rear of the sled off the ground so the track is off. then lightly throw the covers on them to protect against things falling or bumping them. then during the summer start the sleds about monthly just to keep the carbs lubricated and the EFI in working order on the other sled. I know i have to bring my sled in to change out the driven bearing to make the speedo work and have the 2ndary gone over. anyone have any suggestions on what else i can do or shouldn't do?

 

[ilive4snow700]

put stabilizer in the gas and top off the tanks. the stabilizer will keep the gas from going bad, and topping off the tanks will keep condensation from building up in the inside of the tank and getting water in the fuel. spray the clutches with silicone lubricant, and take the belt off. one other good thing to do is fog the cylinders to keep corrosion out.

thats the way i do it every year and never had a problem...or i could just be really anal about how my sled is taken care of. hahaha

 

[TylerC]

i usually check the carbides and sliders when summerizing, most do it at the start of the season but i rather have more money for gas during sledding season.

 

[polaris1man]

This is my first season with sleds in 8 years and the last time i had them my parents took care of everything. now that i am on my own and have 2 sleds i'm curious what to do with them all summer. so here are my thoughts feel free to add your own. I'm putting them in the back of the garage out of the way of the summer toys and kids shit. going to grease them fully before i put them away. bring them to the back of the garage and put a 2x4 under each front ski and run a rope from the rafters down to hold the rear of the sled off the ground so the track is off. then lightly throw the covers on them to protect against things falling or bumping them. then during the summer start the sleds about monthly just to keep the carbs lubricated and the EFI in working order on the other sled. I know i have to bring my sled in to change out the driven bearing to make the speedo work and have the 2ndary gone over. anyone have any suggestions on what else i can do or shouldn't do?

Definitely do not want to start the sled up regularly in the Summer, leaves moisture in the bottom end. I break down my clutches also,no need to leave the springs under pressure. As for lifting the back end of the sled, make a "T" out of a 2x4

 

[whitexc]

I agree with taking the belt off but not sure about the silicone on the clutches...is that suggested? A piece of duct tape over the exhaust and throw some dryer sheets around under the cover if your garage may see the occasional critter. Some fill the tanks up and some drain them...I drain mine as it will be a long time before it moves again and I throw the gas in my truck and burn it...the gas not the truck...but hmmmmm!

 

[kingofkings]

I top off the tank to prevent condensation and put fuel stabalizer in, let her run for about 5-10 minutes to get the stabalizer into the fuel lines and motor. I keep mine covered and raise the backend up. During mid summer, when it's really warm out, I'll pull her out and clean her with some hot soapy water and degreaser.

put stabilizer in the gas and top off the tanks. the stabilizer will keep the gas from going bad, and topping off the tanks will keep condensation from building up in the inside of the tank and getting water in the fuel. spray the clutches with silicone lubricant, and [highlight=yellow]take the belt off[/highlight=yellow]. one other good thing to do is fog the cylinders to keep corrosion out.

thats the way i do it every year and never had a problem...or i could just be really anal about how my sled is taken care of. hahaha

Why do you take off the belt? Never heard of that before so I am curious.

 

[bcole11]

put stabilizer in the gas and top off the tanks. the stabilizer will keep the gas from going bad, and topping off the tanks will keep condensation from building up in the inside of the tank and getting water in the fuel. [highlight=red]spray the clutches with silicone lubricant[/highlight=red], and take the belt off. one other good thing to do is fog the cylinders to keep corrosion out.

thats the way i do it every year and never had a problem...or i could just be really anal about how my sled is taken care of. hahaha

im also wondering about the silicone lubricant on the clutches i have never heard of that before.

 

[Banderbear21]

Quote originally posted by Kingofkings

Why do you take off the belt? Never heard of that before so I am curious.


[highlight=blue]Take off the belt to avoid stretching, and damage to the belt.[/highlight=blue]


Quote originally posted by ilive4snow700

put stabilizer in the gas and top off the tanks. the stabilizer will keep the gas from going bad, and topping off the tanks will keep condensation from building up in the inside of the tank and getting water in the fuel. [highlight=limegreen]spray the clutches with silicone lubricant[/highlight=limegreen], and take the belt off. one other good thing to do is fog the cylinders to keep corrosion out.

thats the way i do it every year and never had a problem...or i could just be really anal about how my sled is taken care of. hahaha

[highlight=blue]
Prevents Oxidation/ Seizing of clutches. [/highlight=blue]

 

[ilive4snow700]

the silicone on the clutches will prevent corrosion on all the pivot points, weights, rollers and shaft. it also keeps the clutch from sticking when you go to move your sled in the fall. and it just helps the clutches last longer and perform better.

the belt thing im not sure exactly why i do it. its just one of those thing my dad always taught me to do when storing the sleds. i'll ask him later and find out if there's a specific reason.

 

[MicahMan]

never lubercate the clutches! that just attracts dirt and debris to wear them out faster when you start using it again and can lead to a breakdown during the riding season. id drain the gas out and use it in my vehicle like stated by others on this site and id definaly get the ski's and track off the ground. also you could cover up the air box intake hole and the exhaust holes to keep any little critters out. i usualy use cloth rags and ducttape so the rags would suck up moisture if any.

also when its nice out i take vasoline and rub it into my seat to keep it soft and my seat is soft as butter in winter.

 

[AlumaDoo]

Put some Seafoam or marine grade stabil in the tank, add a couple gallons of fresh fuel then start it up and let it run long enought to mix it up and get the new blend through the whole fuel system. Then give it a good bath. Use an air hose to blow out all the "stuff" from under and around the motor. Grease every zerk on the sled making sure to force out all the water from all the zerks. Wipe off the excess grease so it doesn't collect dust and dirt. Wipe it all down then coat the entire sled with WD-40 making sure to double coat all the metal parts, aluminum and steel. Spend extra time on the skid. Then run the motor a little more to get it fully warmed up, then fog the motor following the instructions on the can. Pull the plugs and spray some fogging oil in the cylinders, pull the rope over slowly a couple times. Put the plugs back in. DO NOT RESTART UNTIL FALL. Stuff some steel wool in the exhaust and airbox, spread some bounce dryer sheets around in under the hood, cover it up, and put it somewhere out of the way. It's an afternoon of tinkering to do it all, but it will be in tip top shape next fall when you're gettin the itch.

 

[ilive4snow700]

never lubercate the clutches! that just attracts dirt and debris to wear them out faster when you start using it again and can lead to a breakdown during the riding season. id drain the gas out and use it in my vehicle like stated by others on this site and id definaly get the ski's and track off the ground. also you could cover up the air box intake hole and the exhaust holes to keep any little critters out. i usualy use cloth rags and ducttape so the rags would suck up moisture if any.

also when its nice out i take vasoline and rub it into my seat to keep it soft and my seat is soft as butter in winter.

i guess lubing the clutches is a personal preference. since i started doing it 4 years ago i noticed my clutches are going alot farther with less wear.

 

[sledneck1978]

Don't hang your sleds from your rafters. The reason you want the ass end up is so the pressure is off the rear shocks. If you don't have a stand, make something out of wood that will be stable. Then, if you don't have a spare jackstand laying around, find a block of wood and stick it under your bulkhead to get pressure off the front shocks. You'd be surprised how much life that'll save on your suspension.

 

[ChristopherM]

why not hang them from the rafters? its the same thing. i'd be more trusting of rope than my kids on powerwheels knocking the wood out.

 

[sledneck1978]

As long as it's stable.

 

[cooper30]

why not hang them from the rafters? its the same thing. i'd be more trusting of rope than my kids on powerwheels knocking the wood out.

This is the reason my garage is off limits to the kids. []

 

[crdude]

I greese it, drain the fuel, run the sled untill it dies(no gas left in carbs) loosen the track and put some oil in the cylinders and pull it over slowly a few times and remove the belt. I set my sleds on pallets with a cover and a tarp over them outside.

 

[kingofkings]

^^^I never leave my sled outside in the summer, she stays covered up in the shed.

 

[WMarshy]

Not everyone has a shed to put their sled in! [] I plan to put my cover on my sled then cover it with some thick c-thru plastic that I got from a hardware store. I know the UV light wont be very kind to the canvas but theres nothing I can do about it. Im not going to go buy different plastic and keeping the seat/canvas cover dry is my main goal... The sled will be off the ground (outside) and suspension components will be relaxed. For under the hood, I plan on draining my tank and using in my bike, I will probably start it up and run the carbs dry then drop the carb bowl plugs to let them drain. For the clutches, I read in an online Polaris Manual "DO NOT LUBE THE CLUTCHES", due to collecting dust/dirt and increading the ware on them... Im still up in the air about this, so I think I will leave them dry. I also read about taking them off and washing them with soap and water, If wash them I will likely add a dry graphite lube the the contact parts. Once it warms up I will take the skid out and grease everything up...

 

[Rock]

Heres what I do:

Take them to a car wash and power wash them.

I grease all zerks to get the moisture out of all bearings and scissor points.

fill gas tanks and add stabil to the gas and run the sleds for about 10 minutes.

then I fog the motors,I fog them till it chokes the motor out,usauly takes about 1/2 can per sled.

Then after the motor is choked out I pull the spark plugs and dump in a little 2 stroke oil down each cylinder and lightly pull the rope a couple times.

then I get the weight off the front and rear of the sleds and remove the rear springs from the carriers.
I also put dryer sheets around the sleds and some steel wool in the exaust pipes to keep the critters out.
I also use some wd-40 on all knuckle bushings on the stearing components.

Then I put the covers on but do not strap them down and put them in the back of the garage and wait for the snow to fall again.