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Heat Shields under the Rear Beds? They are needed!

10K views 26 replies 21 participants last post by  KA_RaZzR_S 
#1 · (Edited)
I harp allot on here about Heat Shields and the shortcomings of Polaris and melting beds, melting passenger backs, fenders etc etc. Well my neighbor went riding this past weekend and one of the riders had gotten a New Rzr, put on some kind of aftermarket Exhaust, had a 2 1/2 gallon Fuel Can behind the Passenger and this is the result. I have not found out what type of Exhaust he had put on it, but will post when I find out. Guys, we need to tell others that this is a problem. I have seen so many melted beds, fenders and back behind the passenger seat that is ridiculous. Simple to put a full Aluminum Heat Shield under the Bed and be Safe. This is a photo of the rig well after the main Fire. They stated that there were flames 18 feet in the Air, and after it ignited the Drive and Passenger had just seconds to get out of it. They had seat belts on and there were doors. They say if one of them had stumbled just a bit, they would have been hurt bad. My Neighbor had seen the fire start and ran his ATV up beside them and started hollering and in just seconds it was fully engulfed. Lesson here is to put a Heat Shield on and move them Fuel Cans to behind the Drivers Side.
 
#3 ·
Dang, guess I will stick to my plan of carrying my fuel in my fuel tank.

Also, dispense with any notion of screwing around with the exhaust as well.

Another point to make here as for fire safety, make sure you have some sort of tank shield in place to protect that plastic fuel tank from having it punctured by some object like a stick being thrust into it from the rear passenger side tire.

Been some pretty bad burn downs posted here from that very thing happening, and you will only have seconds to realize it and get the hell out.

:popcorn:
 
#7 ·
Ah heck, I had forgot to add that. Your right on the Fuel Tank Protector for sure!!!!!! That is a accident waiting also, puncture a hole and it being right in front of the Hot Exhuast! Good catch Jim!

Both Riders got out and are good to go, and yes it was Insured.
 
#5 ·
Dang, hope he had insurance... Glad everyone is OK.
 
#14 ·
WOW! Talk about setting the woods on fire. Glad no one got hurt and it was insured, but I bet it was scary enough to take years off of their lives. This is a good reminder to all of us, safety needs to come first.
 
#19 ·
I have the bed shield from UTV Inc as well, requirement if you go with the bed cover vs the lock n ride box. Before the shield I had a can of Fix a flat explode with just the cover and Ice would not last but a couple hours in my sift side cooler.

The shield should be installed from the factory just like the parking brake IMHO.
 
#22 ·
I agree, and the Safety of the Parking Brake is up there too. I lock out all of our Parking Slots on the Shifters on all of our Rzr's and install a Manual Parking Brake, I like to be able to hit Reverse Fast Sometimes, and hate it to go into park. I simply drill the Shifter housing out and install a bolt through it to keep the Shifter from going into Park. I have seen so many of the Rigs get locked into Park, cables broke, and the thin metal piece inside get bent and have to tear into the Tranny to get it straightened. Climbing steep steep hills, it is to ones advantage allot to be able to slam into Reverse to keep the front end back down and get down the hill on four wheels instead of flip flopping down it backwards!! LOL
 
#20 ·
This scares the He#% out of me with the grandkids in the RZR. I just ordered the bed heat shield and the gas tank protector from UTV inc. The last time I rode mine before the teardown, I almost burned my hand on the bed over the engine and I figure the turbo ain't gonna make that any better.
__________________
 
#24 ·
It's not only the heat shield under the bed. The rear panel "fire wall" LOL needs protection too. There is some cheesy tape on crap (couple strips) that get caked in mud that are supposed to protect that area. That whole section really needs an aluminum barrier. There's a couple of vendors on here that provide it.
 
#25 ·
I just took my 2012 800 S LE to the dealer yesterday. The bed is actually melting just above the exhust where there isn't any heat shields and the panel behind the passenger seat is melting also. They took pictures and are sending to Polaris for their solution. I looked at newer 800 S on the lot, there is more and larger heat shields on it than what mine came with. Apparently they know they have a problem, my guess.
 
#27 ·
I just purchased a 2011rzr s with 1800 miles and the plastic access door behind the seat is melted on the passenger side. I haven' had the bed off yet. I'm not sure what I will find there.
MY question is if I add all the after market shields, and something still burns up. or it affects the motor in an adverse way. Will my actions let Polaris off the hook for unsafe equipment design. This sure sounds like a service bulletin issue to me. Maybe we should all try to get Polaris to address this problem.
 
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