Tip: How to prepare for pull rope breaking on the 850

[Prayn4snow]

Here is a simple tip for those that like to be prepared in the back country. Pre-drill 1 hole on exhaust side bulk head behind muffler (can) at home before the start of the season.
Problem: To remove the recoil assembly on the 850 to replace a broken pull rope. You must drill out the hole in the bulk head that is filled with adhesive from the assembly process. Most people don't carry a drill in the feild so your stuck trying to use the Polaris provide strap to wrap around the clutch all day until you get back home. The rest of the bolts are already accessible.
Solution: Remove side panel, muffler springs and temp sensor. Look for the one hole that would be blocked and drill it out large enough to get your bolt out. Vacuum out all the small junk to keep out of your QD belt and clutches.
Even better would be to upgrade your rope at the same time. Cobra cord and Ballistic are 2 great options. There maybe more.
Note: Pics below are on a friends sled we drilled out in my trailer last winter because his broke but we've fixed several.
Hope everyone has a great season!

 

[Havesledwilltravel]

Already pulled mine apart last year,.. no issues with having to drill.. Good to let others know though if needed.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

Def good thing to check ahead of time! nothing worse then wrestling with something stupid like that in the woods.

 

[tuneman]

Put a little sil-glyde on your rope and it'll never break.

 

[AndrettiDog]

I'm curious why you would have to mess with the recoil setup in the backcountry. If you loose your rope, why not just start off of the clutch with the included strap? I had to do that for two days of riding. It sucks, but it's not that hard. Just inconvenient.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

I'm curious why you would have to mess with the recoil setup in the backcountry. If you loose your rope, why not just start off of the clutch with the included strap? I had to do that for two days of riding. It sucks, but it's not that hard. Just inconvenient.

We've had them lose knots on plenty of sleds before early and the day and the ability to fix right away is so much more ideal. 5 minute project and gives you more options of things in the backcountry. Never seems like a bad program to me. Especially if you already have your can off or have an aftermarket on. this is such a quick thing to give you more options down the road. Nice little fall garage beer drinkin project.

 

[AKFULLTHROTTLE]

Not so much for boosted sleds... Interested to hear more on the Sil-Glyde idea...

 

[damx]

What he said

 

[ramex]

Put a cobra pull cord on. Broke my rope on my 850 right away and went to this.

 

[TRS]

Good idea to fix it as soon as possible. Depends on how your rope breaks, I’ve seen a long cord take out the pickups and destroy a recoil.

 

[kylant]

is Polaris using a new, different, weaker pull rope now?

 

[Prayn4snow]

Good idea to fix it as soon as possible. Depends on how your rope breaks, I’ve seen a long cord take out the pickups and destroy a recoil.

Good point Tony, the rope breaking can get expensive really quick if it takes out something else!
I just replaced mine with the new high heat Turbo rope from Cobra Cords, best $29 Ive spent for peace of mind and insurance. https://www.cobrapullcords.com On a different thread you can see I put it through some torture tests with a heat gun and stretch/strength tests. It's pretty impressive! The heat gun on high melted the stock cord quickly and the Turbo cord wasn't phased. Out of the last 5 850's that just left my shop only 1 didn't have the hole filled all or partially filled with glue. Quick and easy fix to be ready if it happens to you.

 

[Murph]

is Polaris using a new, different, weaker pull rope now?

Different rope then in years past, not sure on tensile strength. The issue has been the vibration allows it to oscillate enough to hit the exhaust and it melts through.

 

[Prayn4snow]

is Polaris using a new, different, weaker pull rope now?

Hey kylant,
The differences is how the harmonics vibrates the cord on the 850 like Murph said ^. If you have your side cover off and run some rpm's you will see it flex 2-3" from center. This is making it touch on some can's and melting through. It is also causing it to fray in this spot as well weaken it. Most people probably won't have a problem, but when it happens and it's a blue bird day with fresh deep snow and everyone is stuck all day and you've started your sled 32 times with the supplied clutch strap from Polaris. The next 2 pics are a friends 850 with low miles that it fraying and starting to melt (feels like hardened like glass in one spot) with a stock can and pipe.

 

[Prayn4snow]

Anyone one here have the pic's of the guy from ID that last winter got his glove yanked off pull starting with the strap? That was an eye opener, glad he wasn't seriously hurt.

 

[Prayn4snow]

Ive had a couple texts and PM's about this so I will add my answer here as well. The questions were: "I see the new rope is cheap, but is it hard to replace the pull rope? Do I need to worry about springs flying everywhere and do I need special tools? "Is the spring going to come off when I pull the cover off?", "Should I just take it to the dealer, I feel pull rope springs are like clutches, tools and knowledge I don't have".
The answers are: It's pretty fast and easy to change the rope, you don't need special tools and if you follow the pics and my instructions on this link on page 7 you will see its pretty easy. https://www.snowest.com/forum/threads/kreating-khaos-162-extreme-and-other-easy-mods.451157/page-7

 

[BKC850]

Thanks for the heads up ?

 

[morg99]

has anyone removed the little pully at the top of the pull cord?

 

[TDR]

has anyone removed the little pully at the top of the pull cord?

Yep no issues.