“SS” vs. “AL” Carbs

Dear Ralph:

What is the difference between Mikuni VM38SS and VM38AL carbs ? I thought that the XLT Special and XC 600 were using the same engine, but the SP specs say it has SS carbs, and the XC says AL – what gives ?

Nothing more than an oversight. According to our sources at Polaris, all of the high output versions of the 597cc monoblock engine use the same VM38SS carbs, which are aluminum. The AL designation was used in the past, but no longer applies and was listed in error on the specs.