
<PAGE>

                                                                   EXHIBIT 24.1


                                POWER OF ATTORNEY


         KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC. a
Minnesota corporation (the "Company"), and each of the undersigned directors
of the Company, hereby constitutes and appoints W. Hall Wendel, Jr. and
Michael W. Malone and each of them (with full power to each of them to act
alone) its/his/her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for it/him/her
and on it/his/her behalf and in its/his/her name, place and stead, in any and
all capacities to sign, execute, affix its/his/her seal thereto and file a
Registration Statement on Form S-8 or any other applicable form under the
Securities Act and amendments thereto, including pre-effective and
post-effective amendments, with all exhibits and any and all documents
required to be filed with respect thereto with any regulatory authority,
relating to the proposed registration of up to 700,000 shares of the
Company's Common Stock, par value $.01, issuable under the Polaris 401(k)
Retirement Savings Plan.

         There is hereby granted to said attorneys, and each of them, full
power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite
and necessary to be done in respect of the foregoing as fully as it/he/she or
itself/himself/herself might or could do if personally present, hereby
ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any
of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

         This Power of Attorney may be executed in any number of
counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but all of which taken
together shall constitute one and the same instrument and any of the
undersigned directors may execute this Power of Attorney by signing any such
counterpart.

         POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC. has caused this Power of Attorney to be
executed in its name by its Chief Executive Officer on the 31st day of March,
1999.

                                         POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC.



                                         By:    /s/ W. Hall Wendel, Jr.
                                             ---------------------------------
                                                    W. Hall Wendel, Jr.
                                                    Chief Executive Officer


<PAGE>

         The undersigned, directors of POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC., have hereunto
set their hands as of the 31st day of March, 1999.



/s/ W. Hall Wendel, Jr.                              /s/ Thomas C. Tiller
-----------------------------                        -------------------------
W. Hall Wendel, Jr.                                  Thomas C. Tiller



/s/ Bruce A. Thomson                                 /s/ Stephen G. Shank
-----------------------------                        -------------------------
Bruce A. Thomson                                     Stephen G. Shank



/s/ Andris A. Baltins                                /s/ Gregory R. Palen
-----------------------------                        -------------------------
Andris A. Baltins                                    Gregory R. Palen



/s/ Beverly F. Dolan                                 /s/ Robert S. Moe
-----------------------------                        -------------------------
Beverly F. Dolan                                     Robert S. Moe



/s/ Raymond J. Biggs
-----------------------------
Raymond J. Biggs

                                D I R E C T O R S


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