Any ideas on what has to happen next? I have no idea how they got this way. Update: after getting everything apart and scratching my head awhile, I think it's possible that the discoloration is dirt and stuff that is stuck to oil that seeped out of the cracks. It's not on the other side of the intake, but neither are any big cracks. Oil residue is everywhere inside the adapters and on the mating surfaces of both heads. Drawn in from the breather tube at the air filter, no doubt. Not sure if it's a feature or a bug, but this seems to me to at least be a possibility.
Much better; that's really odd. At first I thought you might have an exhaust leak but that discoloration seems really uniform.
So. I looked it over and showed a reputable tech. He said what I thought it looked like. Rust. Seen it on bikes (people living in the keys or near the ocean) also on bikes that get washed Quite often.
Yeah, I think they are. Sure looks like it, anyway. They are stock. I haven't actually poked at it with a pick or anything yet. Not sure if they need repaired or replaced. I did find that polaris has this problem on other engines, but haven't found anything about the TS.
Wow! I would not have thought that. I just assumed it was dirt road dust that stuck there for whatever reason. Thanks! Now I wonder what else can rust.
I searched for something aftermarket and didn't find anything. Picked up the replacements at the dealer today. Turns out they are covered in a recall. I didn't see one when I looked. So there ya go! If your manifold adapters are cracked, they're free!