[Freedomflyer]

Another Sad Day in our area, not only are there many forest fires going on around us but there was an ATV/OHV incident yesterday.

http://www.ktvq.com/story/35966914/...ued-near-flathead-pass-after-atv-catches-fire

This is an area my wife and I have been to multiple times and is a narrow canyon to the top of a mountain pass. So not knowing exactly where it happened and that it took two different helicopters to get him out of there, a smaller one to pick him up and transfer him to the life flight chopper you can see the difficulty and near impossibility of reaching anyone with a helicopter if the incident was anywhere along the route up.

My heart and prayers go out to this young man, his family, and his friend. He has a long road ahead of him. In the article they don't state what type of machine it was and the local news reported that there wasn't much if any of it left. As dry as it is around here it is a miracle that it didn't start a forest fire.

I researched a bit about side by side OHV fires and the only ones that came up in the search were Polaris Razors, has anyone heard of this happening with side by sides before?

The photo is a picture from the top of this pass looking down so you can see how narrow it is.

 

[mac102004]

Fire issues with Polaris Side by Sides are a well known issues there has been a few recalls I believe. Did it make any mention as to what kind the guy was driving?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Freedomflyer]

No I looked and looked and couldn't find any mention anywhere and listened to the news story twice and didn't hear any mention of what kind it was. But m assuming that's what it was.

 

[mac102004]

Polaris and Can-am both need to wake up when it comes to these heat issues. There is so many reports of Can-am ATV's running hot, melting seats and plastics it's a wonder you don't hear of more fires with them too. All to lean them out and meet emissions...

 

[mrbb]

yeah I have heard of the polaris and fire issue's, been on many of there models and not just the SXS, from sleds to atv's
over the yrs they have had a bunch of fire issue's

rather common info on many web sites(as so many like to anti"X" brand bash when an issue happens and make it bigger than it might be)
and yes Can Am's seem to run super hot and make driving some models down right HOT, my friends 1000 Commander sxs is like driving in an oven on a cool day LOL

HP, make heat, and I have said for a Long time, many of the OEM's IMO< make these larger cc'd machines with under sized cooling systems, there counting on a LOT of air flow to help cool things, and when folks go slow with big bores, they make HEAT and lots of it

they need to be drivin faster than smaller sized atv's to cool very well, IMO I think makes assume that guys buying BIG atv's plan to go faster than the reality is, many just buy big to say they have BIG HP, and drive as slow or slower than on smaller machine's
NOT all, but a lot here sure do, they go slow not to spill there beers while driving??

 

[Freedomflyer]

I had heard of the heat issues on the Can Am but not the Polaris we've got a friend that has a 570 2up and she says she doesn't really notice it much on her machine maybe because it's not the big cc engine, I think I'll just save my shekels and get a PS, IRS Honda and not worry about heat issues.

 

[mrbb]

yeah you don't seem to get heat issue's on Polaris's till you get to the 700+ cc one's!
there 500-570's have good cooling from what I know of them, its just them bigger one's more motor than rad LOL

 

[mrbb]

here you go Freedomflyer, Polaris has another recall for fires again, this time on kids SXS's


https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/polaris-recalls-rzr-170-recreational-off-highway-vehicles

 

[Freedomflyer]

Unbelievable...I sure hope they get those problems squared away, I can't imagine the horror any unsuspecting driver/rider faces when those things burst into flames. Another reason to stay away from the side by sides I guess, that has been my thought from the beginning, I feel claustrophobic even sitting in those things.

 

[mrbb]

well like all things, many times problems don't show till there out there and some time goes by, and don't forget, some owners beat things a LOT harder than they test these things

just look at all the recalls on almost every car truck made today
its maybe more rare for there NOT to be a recall of some sorts than not!

I still think overall a SxS is way safer than an ATV , IF driven right and wearing safety gear
the roll cage alone can save you, as honestly, most major BAD accidents I see on atv's is when the darn ATV hits the rider after coming off
ATV's are like magnets to your refrigerator Butt
it was one of the first things I noticed coming from a MX bike background
when you crash on a bike, it tends to go away from you, when you crash on an ATV< they seem to follow you and come after you
NOT bashing ATV's, just saying overall, a UTV/SxS just has a better safety features built into the design of them

and again, recalls can happen on anything!, always many recalls any more on AMMO and guns too, subscribe to about any hunting mag, and you will see adds in every issue .
we live is a MUST have things NOW , , make em as FAST, and CHEAP as possible world!
heck they build things with plans of law suits build into designs, which they add to costs??
Crazy world anymore isn;t it?

 

[mrbb]

here is another recall, for 2017's , another brand
but just another example of things??
TSV Recalls Due to Risk of Serious Injury (17-067) | Textron Off Road

 

[alloutdoors]

I hate to see this for anyone and my thoughts and prayers to them and their families

 

[_Wilson_]

My thoughts and prays too.

 

[mrbb]

NOT that you care Freedomflyer , and NOT bashing on polaris either
just some more info on things

seen this today, so thought I would share here?/






Polaris Industries Just Hit a New Milestone, And It's Not a Good One

The powersports vehicle maker has dodged a hit to its reputation so far, but it's only a matter of time before its past catches up with it.


Rich Duprey
(TMFCop)

Aug 3, 2017 at 2:29PM



Warren Buffett famously said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
It might not be in a matter of minutes that the reputation of Polaris Industries (NYSEII) is coming undone, but its repeated product recalls is surely undermining whatever shred of credibility it had in building quality vehicles. The question for investors is whether the company will do things differently to prevent further erosion. By the looks of it, one could be forgiven for thinking no.

Recall when recalls weren't a problem?

Typically companies celebrate achieving certain milestones. Polaris would instead like you to forget the one it just hit. In the past two and a half years, the Powersports vehicle manufacturer has been forced to recall over 400,000 vehicles for manufacturing defects, and all the good work Polaris has put into building trailblazing, award-winning vehicles is at risk of being damaged because it can't find the right fix for its manufacturing problems.
Several weeks ago Polaris issued two additional recalls: one for 25,600 Sportsman 570 all-terrain vehicles for fuel leaking into the headlights, and one for 1,160 of its off-road RZR 570 models where the front brakes could detach. The combination brought Polaris to its dubious watershed moment.
Unfortunately, it ended the month of July issuing yet another recall, this time for its youth RZR 170 models due to cracked fuel tank necks along with reports of burning, smoking, melted, and shorted wires. Each sets of recalls was accompanied by a small number of actual fires.
The high cost of do-overs

There is obviously a price tag associated with these recurring manufacturing problems. Last year Polaris reported an increase of approximately $31 million in its cost of sales due to higher warranty costs associated with the recalls while having to add $62.8 million to its warranty reserves. It ultimately paid out more than $132.3 million in warranty claims in 2016, almost 90% more than the year before.
So far this year, Polaris has paid out $72.7 million in warranty claims and boosted its reserves by over 40% from the same time last year.

This is the tangible impact of Polaris failing to get a grip on its manufacturing issues. Although the company reportedly initiated a top-to-bottom review of its processes and appointed specific people to oversee the effort -- it was the review that led the Powersports vehicle maker to recall the RZR 570s -- the subsequent recall of the RZR 170s, which includes the model years from 2015 to 2017, shows there's still a breakdown along the way.

A light at the end of the tunnel -- eventually

The internal review process should allow Polaris to end up producing a better, safer product in the future, and the toll taken on sales probably still has as much to do with the overall industry slowdown as it does with the manufacturing problems. Investors are also still giving Polaris a pass, as its stock is up 10% in 2017 (and only down around 5% over the last 12 months). But at some point the vehicle manufacturer is going to burn its reputation -- if not beyond repair, then enough to damage its ability to recover when the industry itself makes a U-turn.
Manufacturing problems are not always fatal, even a string of them. Boeing (NYSE:BA) infamously had significant and serious issues with its 787 Dreamliner aircraft that resulted in numerous delayed deliveries and canceled orders, but it was able to get back on track and score more orders at this year's Paris air show with the 787 than its rival Airbus could with its competing A380.
So Polaris Industries still has an opportunity to correct this deep problem, and it's planning for 2018 to be better than this year. But it's also thought it had these issues licked before.
Unfortunately, more recalls are likely in Polaris Industries' future, and if they're issued at the same level the most recent ones were, the Powersports vehicle maker should surpass the next ignominious milestone of half a million vehicles recalled.