Well i've gotten my sled running, and all i can say is man am i pleased! I bought an 03 XCR 800 with 2300 miles. I'd say it was poorly maintenained but truth is the dealer i bought it from was a fucking idiot and the sled was a piece of shit, so i installed new jackshaft and driveshaft bearings,rebuilt the waterpump, added Boyesen RAD valves. I put a tracks usa 136" extension with a 1.25" ripsaw(no picks)and hiperfax. I also put the SLP trail motor mounts (77 durometer)and a torque link. I just put 250 miles in the last 36 hours and it is 100 times cooler than my stock 01 XCR 800 was. I'm also pretty psyched about having a chance to try it out against my friends brand new 06 F7 sno pro EFI. I know the F7's are fast sleds, and was expecting to get beat......well tonight on a freshly groomed decent hard packed trail he pulled along side me on 7 or 8 one mile stretches.....rolling from 30mph-ish all the way to 100 it was no contest......i pulled away pretty hard every time. :banana:

Now for my questions. I'm jetted stock. I ride in Northern most Maine, mostly trail riding. I was thinking of jetting it leaner 1 step since they are jetted rich from POLARIS. I ride in -20 to +20 degree weather at an altitude of about 700 feet. I want to know if 1 step is safe. Also since i have the RAD valves....and i hear they fatten up the top a little.....should i jet down? Do i just rejet the mains or do i have to change clip position also? I am not familiar with these carbs but could easily figure it out once i've got them apart.
Also, while racing the F7 i saw my tach go up to 8900 maybe even 9000. Now i know these tachs can be off but is this normal because of the track extension? Who can i send my tach out to for recalibration, don't need a tach to ride so i have no problem mailing it out for a week or so.
My scissor stops are still in factory positions, the back ones are set on low....can't really move them because of the extensions but i like them where they are, and if i want more ski pressure on accel i'll move them to the forward holes. Anyway...the sled definately pushed through corners the first night, then i installed my Woody's Dually carbides 6" which made a big difference and totally eliminated any darting or following of others ski tracks. The sled still pushes a litle more than i like so my first adjustment will be tightening up the front limiter straps maybe 3-4 threads, they are currently backed out to where only 3-4 threads stick out of the nut on both sides.
Any advice on suspension set up? Clutching to fix the rpm's/compensate for long track? Jetting?

You could safely go down one jet size, we've went down 4 at 1,200 ft. in +20- minus 20 without problems, on quarter mile runs, using exhaust gauges to keep it safe. You might want to try-10/62 or 10/64 weights. We do tach calibrations, for $20, performanceparts@centurytel.net------715-462-3860---- Don

You could increase the ski spring preload. 1-2 mains smaller will be fine. I would make sure the clutch alignment is right on, 3211075 belt only, engine torque stops set tight. RN2C or BR9ES plugs. If you have stock clutching, and your rpm have jumped that much, you are making power. Use shims #7555764 under the tailpipe donuts to keep them sealed. Almond primary spring, 10-62 weights, blue/orange secondary #2, and a HSP52/38X helix. Hang on.

Awesome information guys, keep it coming, i'm gonna send my tach(and my brothers from his 01 XCR 800, getting the same mods) and see what the revs say and go from there. Should i drill the front skid mounts and mount in the lower position?

Yes drill and lower the front mount, also move the the rear rail lower scissor mount to the front hole.. leave the RRSS blocks in on the thin side.. this really helps with hook up

if you runnin stock pipes run it at 8100 rpm.. 23/41 gearing 10-62's almond round
and the hotseat 38x blue/orange 2ndary and 2 degrees of timing from 26 to 28 degrees at 3500..

jetting at 400's but watch plug color

will this work for the 2000 xcr 800 with the 136 ripsaw track installed with studs?

Same setup applies. Other than the decals, these engines were identical. If you haven't done so already, you may want to put the second hole in the airbox like the newer 2001 and up models have..

blue orange secondary spring, is that a Polaris part? If it is a Polaris does anyone have the part #? Or is it a Hot seat part?
And i just remembered that one of my friends(previous owner of my brother's 01 XCR 800)told me the 03 XCR was the fastest,and this was due to it being jetted leaner from the factory. Well i just looked through the parts manual and the 03 has #430 rather than the #440 like the 01 does, so i'll put #430 in the '01 and i'm gonna leave mine alone, i'll come back to it later in the season.

Yes the blue/orange is a polaris part. The silver/blue will not give you enough backshift with a 52/38x helix or a 38X (50-38)....especially with a 136" longtrack. This is what I ran in mine before I switched to a roller secondary.

Forgot to mention...

If you on the "heavier" side, like I am. (250 lbs) You may want to hold off on moving the rear scissors ahead to the forward hole. I moved mine to the forward hole and then starting having problem with sag and my rear shock. It was driving me nuts. When the sled was sitting under it’s own weight, I could lift the back end 2-3” with 2 fingers. By moving that scissor forward, you are increasing the rear coupling action greatly and putting some extra stress on springs and rear shock. I found this out the hard way. I had to replace my rear torsion springs because they sagged out. Went to the heavier .375 square wire spring and left rear scissor stops out and put the rear scissor back in the middle location.

If you are lighter rider and drive mostly groomed trail hard pack, or drag race, you can get away with moving the scissors ahead to the forward hole. But, for trail riding I wouldn’t recommend it. The cons exceed the benefits.

thanks for the info, i'm 250 without gear. I'm now thinking that if i had drilled the lower front mount i might not have had to notch the track(1.25 ripsaw) so much. i ordered the blue orange spring, will install in second hole,10-62's ordered, hot seat 52/38x ordered, almond round is whats in there stock so i already have that. Gonna drill and mount the lower front hole. I sent my tach out to Don (XCR1250) to have calibrated @ 8300 rpm. Gonna install all this and go from there. I'm copying all of this onto my brothers '01 XCR 800 save for the 23 tooth top gear as his looks sketchy on the braking side, so might as well replace with a slighly smaller one. Here is a few pics of what i found in his chaincase. I'm gonna change his jets from 440 to 430 like the 2003. He didn't know he had a broken motor mount till i began the project. No wonder he had "lost performance".

He doesn't realize the night and day difference he's gonna see when i get it back to him. The sled spit a crank bearing @ 4,000 miles. We put one from an '00 with 400 miles last winter. Here is what i'm doing to his.

Jet from 440 to 430
new carb boots
new stock reeds
driveshaft and jackshaft bearings seals o-rings
new chain tensioner
new chain
23 tooth top gear
136" TracksUSA extension with 1.25" ripsaw
heavy springs
hiperfax
extra wheels
SLP trail mounts
torque arm
rebuild the water pump
slp brake pads
2" handlebar riser
52/38x HSP helix,blue orange,round almond,10-62's
tach calibration
drill and mount front scissor in lower hole
exhaust donut shims

Let us know how that helix works. It's pretty aggresive.Might be able to pull it with the 23 tooth though.

I would strongly recommend the 38X (50-38) over the 52-38X. I had both of them and unless you are running on hard pack for the majority of the time, the minute you hit some serious DEEP stuff, the sled is going to shit bricks. 2 degree difference doesn't sound like much, but it is.
Gearing it down will definately help.

i appreciate your recommendation unfortuneately i already ordered 2 of the 52/38x helixes. I was in a hurry and Pockets was the first to respond, and i've learned on this board that he is well respected when it comes to clutching. I do only run on hardpack groomed trails so i'm hoping it will work out. Plus @ $89 if i find i don't like it i'll throw it on my eBay store and order the 38X, it's simple and quick to swap out anyway. I haven't sat down and tried to figure out how these things work. I'll keep you posted on what i think.
How i ride:(might help you help me clutch this thing) I'm a hardpack groomed trail rider. I like to get on the trail at 1am after the groomer has passed and the trail sets up and traffic is super low/non existant. I usually ride below 0 F. I like the sled a little light on the skis.....come in the corner hard on the brakes to throw some weight forward....jam the throttle coming out up till the next corner. I am mostly 30mph-100mph blast type.

Not a problem. Pockets is the man when it comes to Polaris. Has helped me out a bunch. If you are 90% hard pack driving it will probably work fine.

I've run 400 mains in my 2000 XCR8 for the last 3 years with no problems at 1000 feet elev.