1700 Miles on my Stock 2012 Pro-RMK 800 should I do a top end?

I sold my 2009 800 Dragon RMK to a friend and he put in a drop in kit at around 2000 miles. He is getting close to 5000 miles now. His sled has more (on trail) power and less vibration than our 2013 and 2014 800 Pro RMK's.
I would go with a drop in kit. Call Kelsey at RKT. I don't know him, never talked to him. A lot of people on this forum have, and Kelsey gets thumbs up a lot.$.02:face-icon-small-sho

It`s up to you man

To install or not to install "the fix kit" or "drop in kit" is up to you. Its a matter of trust to Liberty engines with Asso-Werke cast pistons. Please do a search on forums - Pro Ride and IQ, get some statistics on 800 engine failures, compare opinions, and make right decision for yourself. Basically you`re entering Shakespeare's drama - "to be, or not to be". Then if you choose to insatall something, you`re entering into galaxy of choices too - RK TEK, MTNTK, Carl`s long rod or big bore, etc. It`s hard to be you now, man.

And people claim that they got some power increase with those kits, from rktek and mtntk. It could be a good thing to do, power and "safer". This is something you have to decide for yourself, its to easy to get warm and fuzzy of these forums

Something to ponder.

It's not the mileage it has on it now... but what will you see mid season...

IMO... If you have the time... freshening-up the top end makes a lot of sense if you want trouble free operation.

For me, it is not that it costs X amount... but how can I maximize the potential for enjoyment of my sled.

Downtime is just that... DOWN.

If it gives up on you in the backcountry, extraction can be a big deal.

All this being said... since 2013, I really have only seen very few complaints of durability.

IMO... Increase the oil pump setting... some would say run a vented cap on your oil tank like the one from Pasco Racing... Make sure you are using good fuel...

AND... MAKE SURE you use the appropriate fuel-type setting selection with the resistor or MFD (depending on year)

A properly balanced clutch with a belt in good condition and weights/springs that are also well maintained/cleaned can go a long way towards better crank bearing life.

Make sure that your air box is in good order...sealed up with no cracks and that it mates well to your airbox in the hood... Belt dust is a real engine killer... and I've seen PLENTY of sleds out there that do not have the airbox properly seated on the plenum.


IF you do a top end... take a little extra time, IMO, to pull the entire engine out of the sled... clean and inspect everything and send the primary clutch in to get serviced by someone that does a thorough and COMPLETE job.







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most of the guys i ride with get about 2000 mountain miles on their pros before doing the top end. unfortunately, we've have a few cranks go out in the 2,500 to 3,000k range.

i have a dragon so, i tear down every fall and take a look at things. i usually try to get a look through the exhaust ports and intake.

there are a lot of folks that prefer to go with the schrodinger's cat method. Optimists may think the cat will have a long life in that box. The problem is that if you find out the cat is dead, the fun's over and it gets expensive.

Did mine at close to 1000 miles as insurance. Not bad pistons but how do you know without a teardown? And do you know enough to judge yourself?
Figured I might as well throw new pistons w rings in when the job was already done.
How much do you save by riding one more season on the same pistons vs. the risk?

i tore my 11 PRO down at 1700-1800 miles and the pistons looked good as did the cylinders but when we checked the pistons they were worn well past Polaris recommendations
so i think 1500-2000 is a good time to rebuild because you may lose a skirt
and kill the cases and then your into big $ and maybe alot of down time

oh and after the rebuild with stock pistons it ran much stronger
i could pull 2gs more clutch weight

let it snow