The do's and dont's guide for your Polaris RZR XP 1000 (2014-2023)

One of our favorite machines here at TTR Motorsports is going to be the Polaris RZR XP 1000.

This machine can do it all! We used to rent these machines bone stock and they took a beating out in the Mohave desert. They did everything our customers expected them to, but we quickly found out there were a few blatant weak spots. Let this list be a guide to what you should and should not be changing if you own one of these machines.

1. Tires

The stock tires on these machines just would not cut it when it came to our rock filled terrain. That why we opted to swap all the stock tires of our 8 machines with the GBC Kanati Mongrel. This tire is a 10-ply aggressive all terrain tire and we were thrilled to not be chasing flats all season long. I will say we found if our tire pressure was too low (under 15 psi) we did notice more pinch flats so check your tires before every trip!

This may be common knowledge, but as a general rule you do not want to run anything larger than a 30" tire as this will just increase wear on your clutches and transmission. You can run a 32" tire you just need to make sure you are getting a oversize clutch kit and possibly a gear reduction for your transmission.

Check out the Mongrels here!

2. Stock Suspension Components

The stock Polaris suspension components like a-arms, trailing arms and radius rods are just junk! They would easily bend and sometimes break. We recommend finding a good quality suspension kit to replace all of these components. If you are on a budget and don't mind a few trail repairs then I would replace components as they bend or break. Don't waste your money on replacing just one a-arm or one radius rod, the price of these from Polaris are almost as much as a heavy duty replacement kit would cost. So be one and done check out some of our favorite kits below.

RZR XP Full Suspension Package.

3. Clutches

The stock clutches would last us anywhere from 2-4,000 miles. We did try the super cheap clutch that seems like too good of a deal to be true. Turns out it was too good to be true! The clutch had problems with in the first 500 miles and ended up snapping in half stuck on the crankshaft. Never again.

If you want clutches that can be completely rebuilt, machined and resurfaced we highly recommend an STM Clutches set up. 

If you want a more budget friendly clutch, just buy a replacement OEM. 

The longest I have personally seen an OEM clutch last is about 7,000 miles. It all depends on the driver, driving terrain, tire size, and how often you clean your clutches.

4.Tie Rods

The tie rods that come on these machines have a very thin threaded end that would end up snapping sooner or later. Polaris does not sell just the rod ends they want you to buy a entire rack for around $700. 

It is no fun trying to steer through the desert, limping your way back home while your buddy walks along side the RZR trying to keep the tire straight. We recommend not waiting for the end to snap. 

Swap those tie rods out for a heavy duty set ASAP!

Assault Industries Heavy Duty Tie Rods

SuperATV Heavy Duty Tie Rod Kit

5. Transmissions and Front Differentials

The transmissions and differentials on these machines worked great, the only down side is the notorious bearing failures. The top bearing does not get enough oil and eventually creates play on the shaft, comes out of the race and sends a ball bearing out the side of the case. This typically happened to us around 3-4,000 miles. On our customers machines we typically see them needing to be rebuilt around the 5,000 mile mark. 

The stock bearings are just bad quality made with cheap materials. We recommend not waiting for the bearing to come apart and instead swapping the bearings out with a Sandcraft RCR bearing kit. We also offer transmission and front differential rebuilds here in house saving you cost on shipping.

If you are not located in our immediate service area and would like info on these rebuild services give us a call or shoot us an email and we would be more than happy to get you taken care of!

6. Motor

The motors are great on these XP 1000's. We ran our machines to about 10,000 miles and only had 1 out of our 8 rentals blow the motor. No need for crazy mods or upgrades keep it stock keep it simple. A Evolution Powersports Tune would likely improve not only performance but also would allow the motor to stay cool longer as the fan will kick on at 185 degrees instead of 205. These tunes also richen up the fuel mixture as they are set lean from the factory.

We ran 2019 models, if yours has a hydraulic tensioner we would recommend getting that swapped out for a automatic self adjusting one.

We did service our machines routinely at 500 miles Maxima 5w-50 engine oil, oil filter and spark plugs.

If you have any issues or questions with your motor we are here to help! Offering rebuild services from simple valve adjustments to complete rebuilds. Our engine builder has been maintaining and building offroad motors for over 20 years!

I will continue to update this list and hope this information is helpful.