downside to a fan cooled 440

Bogger

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Looking for a smaller sled for the kids, There is a real nice indy light 440 air cooled I saw and I'm wondering if I should avoid the air cooled all together, what are the downfalls, will overheating be an issue?????

Also if anyone has an older 340 -500 cc sled kicking around that would be good for the boy to start out on let me know...
 
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007sevens

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It'll be just fine for the kids. We all had them when we were little. It wasn't till high performance was a selling feature that we need liquid cooled engines. I wouldn't hesitate at all. overheating will not be an issue at all just think about all the air-cooled two stroke dirt-bikes out there running on 30 plus days.
 

teeroy

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It'll be just fine for the kids. We all had them when we were little. It wasn't till high performance was a selling feature that we need liquid cooled engines. I wouldn't hesitate at all. overheating will not be an issue at all just think about all the air-cooled two stroke dirt-bikes out there running on 30 plus days.
and those bikes are free-air engines without a fan.
 

snopro

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Fan cooled are perfect for the kids Bog. Doubt a kid putting around can hurt them.
 

kbrunlees

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typical 440 fan cooled has around 35 to 40 hp and is not really prone to overheating. I have a 440 jag fan cooled that I have and it would run fine even on warm days while the liquid cools got a little warm or would even overheat.
 

Puba

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I have a horny little 440mxz liquid if the kid wants to go places.....
 

LIVEtoSLED

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Looking for a smaller sled for the kids, There is a real nice indy light 440 air cooled I saw and I'm wondering if I should avoid the air cooled all together, what are the downfalls, will overheating be an issue?????

Also if anyone has an older 340 -500 cc sled kicking around that would be good for the boy to start out on let me know...

I have 3!
 

Mike270412

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wheels

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My youngest rides a Indy lite 340 with a 136 track my oldest rides a 550 trail wife rides a 550 iq stretched to a144 they all work great. Take them to the mountains all the time no issues at all! I would recommend getting electric start on the kids sleds saves you from having to chase around and start them!!
 

Trax 2 Treadz

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We had a Polaris 488 (fan cooled) for awhile, the biggest problem with it was it had zero tolerance for changing conditions, you had to be spot on jetting all the time to keep it running, it did not take much of a temperature change or elevation change to have it fouling or vice versa. 500' or 5 degrees C was all it took to be changing jets. The 488 really made me appreciate fuel injection on a sled. Our Indy Lite with a 340 on the other hand is completely the opposite of the 488, lots of tolerance.
 

007sevens

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We had a Polaris 488 (fan cooled) for awhile, the biggest problem with it was it had zero tolerance for changing conditions, you had to be spot on jetting all the time to keep it running, it did not take much of a temperature change or elevation change to have it fouling or vice versa. 500' or 5 degrees C was all it took to be changing jets. The 488 really made me appreciate fuel injection on a sled. Our Indy Lite with a 340 on the other hand is completely the opposite of the 488, lots of tolerance.

I have a 488 fan and have never changed a jet or fouled a plug.

If you plan on riding in a varying range of conditions like we do, you'll probably want to pick up either a Tempa Flo or Atacc from Holtzman Engineering. The Tempa Flo worked wonders for our 488.
holtzman engineering, inc.

My buddy had a 488 fan and still does. We bagged the sh1t out of that thing it was jetted for 5000 ft all the time even at 2500 ft. ran awesome just don't hold it pinned too long. Took the same sled to the mountains once never jetted it ever. I was surprised as well.

Could be an single case tho
 

barleyfarmer

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I have a indy lite 340 gt for the kids!Awesome machine but it a little quick on the hard pack for them though!I've had it 70 mph plus and I'm a bigger guy!Been trying to find another one but they're hard to come by!Good for the little buggers to learn on though!
 

Bernoff

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If you are going to buy an older one take a very close look at the fan belt itself. Like the guys say they run forever, if the fan is turning.
 

Billy Boy

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Use to have a 250 twin Polaris Gemini for the kids and that thing was used and abused and it did'nt miss a beat. We even took it out west of Bearberry and Caroline and if it heated up we took the hood off left it by the trail and picked it up on the way back to the truck. The Gemini was the first sled the boys used and they have not look back since.

Billy Boy:cool:
 

Dazzler

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Fan cooled is far better for the kids.. It is usually a nice warm day when they do decide to ride, the snow is wet/heavy, they get putting around with there friends, lots of idling time and liquid cooled will over heat just about every time!!
 
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