Hi,
I have an 05' 800 sportsman. It has always had a knocking sound on the right hand side by or in the case or block by my right foot. Polaris dealer I bought it from said it is normal. I had them crank another one up to prove it before I left. I have heard others make about the same noise but not quite as pronounced as mine. I take it in for all the services, usually a few hours early so I won't have any mechanical issues. The bike has always performed very well even though some occasional noises I didn't think a new well maintained bike should make. A month ago I rode for about 5 minutes and started hearing some louder knocking and tinging noises. We towed it back to camp and loaded it up on the trailer thinking the valve train was coming apart. I took it to the trusty dealer and explained in detail as I have here. After a week or so, the service manager said he rode the bike for an hour and could not replicate the noise. I asked him what to do. He said ride it untill it blows as the warranty doesn't pay them to tear into it untill it does. A couple weeks later, I rode the bike about 1 mile and the knocking and tinging went from sickening to deafening and I was worried the piston was going to come out the side. Again, I took the bike to the dealer, they tore into it and said the rod bearings at the crank were gone. The warranty company sent someone out to take pics and look at my service records. All were in good shape. Luckily I have an extended warranty. It is paying about $4500.00 to get a new crate motor.
My friend has the same bike but an 06', his bike did the exact same thing. We both have about 600+ miles on each one and take good care of them.

Has anyone had this problem or heard of this occuring? I find it hard to believe tis is a coincidene. We don't even have them serviced at the same place.
THANKS!  

i have seen the same problem at my shop numerous times on the same model machine.

i eventually started buying aftermarket replacement parts and the problem went away.  

Yeah, i have an 03' sportsman 700 carb model.  It did the same thing and the piston rod broke in half and took out the crank too and maybe even the bottom engine case half... i have been looking for parts and, i am stuck on trying to find a good aftermarket crank... does anyone know where or what would be most reliable.  If so e-mail me at maschev1981@yahoo.com  

Yeah, i have an 03' sportsman 700 carb model.  It did the same thing and the piston rod broke in half and took out the crank too and maybe even the bottom engine case half... i have been looking for parts and, i am stuck on trying to find a good aftermarket crank... does anyone know where or what would be most reliable.  If so e-mail me at maschev1981 at yhoo  

Yeah, i have an 03' sportsman 700 carb model.  It did the same thing and the piston rod broke in half and took out the crank too and maybe even the bottom engine case half... i have been looking for parts and, i am stuck on trying to find a good aftermarket crank... does anyone know where or what would be most reliable.  If so let me know  

05800twin:
Hi,
I have an 05' 800 sportsman. It has always had a knocking sound on the right hand side by or in the case or block by my right foot. Polaris dealer I bought it from said it is normal. I had them crank another one up to prove it before I left. I have heard others make about the same noise but not quite as pronounced as mine. I take it in for all the services, usually a few hours early so I won't have any mechanical issues. The bike has always performed very well even though some occasional noises I didn't think a new well maintained bike should make. A month ago I rode for about 5 minutes and started hearing some louder knocking and tinging noises. We towed it back to camp and loaded it up on the trailer thinking the valve train was coming apart. I took it to the trusty dealer and explained in detail as I have here. After a week or so, the service manager said he rode the bike for an hour and could not replicate the noise. I asked him what to do. He said ride it untill it blows as the warranty doesn't pay them to tear into it untill it does. A couple weeks later, I rode the bike about 1 mile and the knocking and tinging went from sickening to deafening and I was worried the piston was going to come out the side. Again, I took the bike to the dealer, they tore into it and said the rod bearings at the crank were gone. The warranty company sent someone out to take pics and look at my service records. All were in good shape. Luckily I have an extended warranty. It is paying about $4500.00 to get a new crate motor.
My friend has the same bike but an 06', his bike did the exact same thing. We both have about 600+ miles on each one and take good care of them.

Has anyone had this problem or heard of this occuring? I find it hard to believe tis is a coincidene. We don't even have them serviced at the same place.
THANKS!

Yeah, i have an 03' sportsman 700 carb model.  It did the same thing and the piston rod broke in half and took out the crank too and maybe even the bottom engine case half... i have been looking for parts and, i am stuck on trying to find a good aftermarket crank... does anyone know where or what would be most reliable.  If so let me know  

I bought a brand new 800 replacement motor. I have the whole block w/ all the parts, although they are for an 800. As far as I know, the block and pistons are fine, the crank, rods and bearings are bad but they are still attached. If you know someone who might want to buy the whole block w/ all the parts, let me know.