First of all, I gotta say Happy New Yearto everyone on this site. I've been inactive on it for a few months for various reasons. Haven't even ridden my 08 Vision in over a month< which is really rare for me. Anyway, cranked it up this morning for a Polar Bear run, but it looks more like it will be a Wet Dog run instead. The bike cranked fine, however in the dim light of my garage when I turned it off, I notices that the front portion of the front exhaust was glowing red hot around the O2 sensor all the way down to the lower bend under the crank. Since I've had this bike, in March of 2010, I have always smelled a faint burning plastic smell. Now I know where it is coming from. This doesn't seem normal to me, Anyone else have this problem and know the cause of it?

 Wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. Now, let's ride!!

Glowing exhaust is usually a sign of a motor that is running lean.

You have any mods?

What octane fuel do you usually run?

Hmm....changing the air filter changes the air flow which changes the needed fuel mixture.

Increase air flow without increasing fuel can cause a lean condition.

However I believe that Kevin X and a few others more "in the know" than me have mentioned that changing just the filter doesn't cause any problems. I think the computer can make slight adjustments to the air-fuel mix to compensate for the air flow increase.

I wonder if there is any chance the filter might not be properly installed/seated? Or if there is an air leak around the plate under the radio console? Or in other words....somehow getting to much air flow and the computer can't adjust enough.

But then again...I don't know much...just enough to occasionally look like I might know.

Letting more air in without adjusting the fuel delivery will make it run a little lean and cause what you're mentioning. The closed loop system on these bikes only compensates for very slight changes and prolly not enough to adjust for the open filter. Just a filter alone isn't a big difference, but likely just enough. Swap out the filter back to stock and it should be pretty easy to see if the problem persists. You may even want to change out the plugs at the same time if they're showing signs of running lean.

Got her home from the dealer last night. They say everything is normal. The exhaust is running a little rich which is causing the pipes to glow red hot at startup. Polaris told the dealer this was due to the aftermarket air filter letting more air in, the computer senses more air, and so it compensates for it and runs rich. Dealer said due to the thin, single wall exhaust it doesn't take much to heat it up to glowing hot. Anyone else with stock motor, exhaust, mapping et.al. but just a K&N style filter happen to notice this?

 Also, on a separate note, I mentioned a loud noise it makes sometimes. I first thought something had broken when it happened. I also had to check and make sure my kickstand was up before reporting this. It is caused by the unloading of the torque compensator when rapidly decelerating. I noticed this most when the engine was cold, and I was pulling out of the driveway in the morning. I would pull in the clutch, let off the throttle and coast to the stop sign. Upon decelerating the engine by letting off the throttle and disengaging the clutch, this would happen. First time it happened it was really loud and scared the hell outta me. Thought something had broken in two. Anyway, it is normal in case any of you noticed it as well. It's USUALLY not very loud.

 Ride safe...