I have a 2003 Prairie 360 Advantage 4x4. For a little history, I am one to take care of my bike. The dealership don't work on it as good as I would, if you know what I mean. I had to have the front end replaced after it completely ripped out due to the steering knuckle recall. This was before I was aware of the recall. Anyway, the bike was perfect until this happened. I took it to my dealer and they replaced everything at their cost (or Kawasaki's) and I was happy. I loaded the bike up and noticed the 4wd light was flashing. I asked the service tech about it and he took it back in the shop to reset it. Long story short, I got the bike back two days later. It was fine until I got it home and the 4wd light started flashing again. I didn't have time to bring it back. About a month later it stopped flashing. Now to the present.
When I put the bike in gear (by the way, it won't start in gear while holding the brake anymore, but that's another topic) and try to go, it hesitates until about 1/4 throttle then it jumps in gear. Once it starts moving (the first few feet) I hear an aluminum sounding clunk coming from what sounds like the primary. I don't know if it is the primary or the front end. I think it is the primary though because it does it all the time, even in 2wd. I found one post on here that was similar, but it never really explained anything. All my dealer tells me is to bring it back in and they will look at it. I would rather get pointed in the right direction and do the work myself because I know it will be done right. No disrespect to my dealer, but when I got it back before, they had left all kinds of wires out of place, bolts out or loose, handle bar not aligned, and the front tires were playing tug of war with each other. I had to correct all this myself. I had even payed for a full service while in there so I would expect a little better workmanship and attention to detail. They are good people but leave a little to be desired when it comes to doing it right.
If anyone can tell me if they had any experience with this or know what is causing it, please let me know. I can take it from there. Knowing the history of the bike, I don't think it is something worn out as much as possibly something just out of adjustment. By the way, the linkage is fine. It goes in gear very positively, but it just hesitates when taking off then it jerks all of a sudden, like the belt isn't grabbing until the rpm's are high. the belt is new as well and there is little to no visible wear on the pulleys. Please help!

 

Sounds like the belt is slipping. I would then check alignment of the primary/secondary clutch pulleys, check they are shimmed properly, and clean and lube the clutch weights, replacing them if need be. That should clear up the hesitation.

For the clunk,(if still present), loosen lug nuts on all 4 wheels, jack all four wheels off the ground, support the quad with jack stands, remove the wheels, start the quad, put it in 2wd, feed it throttle and see if it clunks. Work it through hi and lo, if it clunks, it's not in the front end, if it don't, engage 4x4 and test again. Switch diff lock on and off if you have it. This should give you a clue where to look, find a friend to help, 4 ears are better than two.

Oh, and find a new dealer.

Good Luck.

Hefty

 

Thanks HeftyLefty. I do need to clarify some of my statements from above.
When I eluded that the dealer does shabby work I meant it was not to my expectations. I don't know if I could get any better anywhere else though. They are eager to help and jump right on it when I bring it in. I do know the mechanic was getting frustrated because it was late in the day, he was ready to go home, he couldn't figure out why the light wouldn't reset and I was looking over his shoulder. That last part is frustrating enough, I know. He was cool and actually let me "help" him to some extent. I still gave the respect that I was not suposed to even be in the service area. The wires left dangling, the misaligned front end, and the lights flashing were just a disappointment to me, but not caused by the lack of trial on the dealer's part. I think it was more of a "hurry up and get this thing away from me" situation. They have been more than willing to look at it if I would bring it back, but I don't really have the time. My fault, not theirs.

Second, I said that I don't think anything is worn. I know this to be a false sense of security. I don't WANT anything to be wrong, but I'm sure it is. I will probably find the clutches need to be replaced. Another thing I left out is the bike has probably 500 hours on it. I did some riding along a local shallow creek that has a lot of sand. I have made the comment to friends numerous times about how that ride took years off my bike. That is the ONLY time I have come even close to abusing my bike. However, that may have been enough to wear the shims or the clutches or whatever else. Sand gets into anything, sealed or not!

I really don't think the belt is slipping though. It does slip or "squeal" when in a bind, but I think the problem is more to the clutches not closing soon enough to grab the belt. There is no movement whatsoever until the rpm's are advanced, then all of sudden it literally jumps forward. There is no grinding of gears, just a hollow, aluminum sounding clink or pop as soon as it starts rolling. It doesn't do it any other time. I can let it roll for a few yards and stop, letting it go back to idle and it does it every time. But if I let it roll a few yards and let off the throttle but keep the rpms up a little, it won't do it. It does the same thing in forward or reverse, 2wd or 4wd. I don't think the noise is coming from the front end but rather from the clutch itself. I don't know enough about the clutch to know what is going on in there, but I think I may start with taking it apart. The worst thing that can happen is I end up having to buy a new clutch.

On that note, should I buy an entire assembly, primary and secondary with new belt, or can I just buy the primary and leave the old secondary and use the fairly new belt that is on there?

 

For what to replace, I don't know. I can't drive it or examine the quad. I know that seems to be a copout, but I don't want to guess and tell you buy parts you really don't need. Were I you I'd post for help on Highlifter.com forums. I'm sure you'll find plenty of Brute riders to help you. I know you don't have a Brute, but the CVT system on the Prairie and Brute is similar, if not the same.

You can post your symptoms, and someone there can probably tell you what the problem is and how to fix it; saving you time, effort, and money.

GoodLuck

Hefty