I own a 2003 Polaris Sportsman 700. Last weekend while I was using it to install some food plots (I was pulling a disc) it started to "act up". The warmer the machine became the worse it ran. It would spit & spudder, but it would idle just fine. I have it at home and I'm doing some preventative maintenace on it. I will clean and inspect the carb, replace the fuel filter and new plugs. I have read a lot about bad cams on certain Polaris models. Is this one of those? I pulled the plastic cover off but a don't see the cam. Do I have to remove anything else to inspect the cam?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

I would do as you suggested about the carb,fuel flow,plugs,etc. BUT the symptoms you are having sound just like the ones I had from numerous customers on the 2002,2003,and early(built before 2/03) 2004 model 700s. The cam is not the problem(plus cam is in the middle of engine) but usually signs that the DUCATI ignition system is beginning to fail. Look under your front cover and you will see a "coil pack" a cdi and coil combo with the words Ducati made in Italy. As these problems progressed,the individual parts(stator,coil pack,flywheel) became NLA. They were eventually replaced with a complete new KOKUSAN replacement kit which included the flywheel,stator,coil,cdi,a new regulator/rectifier,jumper harnesss and installation instructions. The kit #is 2202602. A lot of the time the symptoms would start like yours,spitting,sputtering and had even a few customers just kill their machines and while trying to restart,would just spin over! At first I would replace the coil pack which would show bad and then the stator would go out! Finally the stator and coil pack were back ordered then discontinued. Hopefully its just a carb problem and you can get a little more time out of it,BUT they will all eventually fail! Frustrating I know (I was frustrated too when this started) Good luck OPT

 

I had an 03 700 that would do the same thing when working it and going slow, I found that the fuel was gettin too hot in the line that goes over the engine to the carb, vapor locking I guess, I bought a roll of heat reflective tape at home depo, wrapped fuel line from carb to petcock, didnt have any more problems, might try it its a cheap fix

 

I replaced the entire ignition system. It runs pretty good. The issue I'm having now is: when I give it gas it runs fine up until 1/2 throttle then it bogs down and "falls on its face". It does not back fire and I don t smell gas. Is this a needle jet adjustment? I currently have the c clip in the middle position. I was think about moving it down on spot. What do you guys think?

 

You can drop the needle clip to the next position(which makes it richer),don't know if this will solve your problem or not. I would also check the carb jets(could be stopped up?) also check the needle and seat,plus make sure you getting good flow of fuel to the carb (disconnect carb fuel line and crank over a couple times,should be a fairly good flow) Plus check what Kerbbirds said about the insulation on the fuel lines(SHOULD already be wrapped from the factory). Bogging is usually a lean fuel condition. Plus have you checked the carb intake boot for cracks or splits? This was another problem area,especially around the carb clamp(sometimes have to remove the clamp to see) OPT