Got her pretty wet and muddy yesterday, got stuck a few times, towards the end of the ride I lost all low end. It would rev high and barely move and then it would eventually engage and take off. Made it back barely. Does this sound like a wet belt? No water came out of the V-Belt Cover Drain Bolt. Today I ran it up and down my street and it feels normal again. It has a little hesitation, but nothing like yesterday. Maybe I'm paranoid now, and I just didn't notice the hesitation before. Do belts/clutches have any adjustment?? Or do you just replace them and there is no adjustment. Could this be a burnt up clutch?? The bike has 140 miles now...I babied it up until 100 Miles, changed the fluids, and then put her through hell for 40 miles. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm worried this will come back the next time I ride?? I think something other than a wet belt is wrong, since I couldn't get water to drain out.

 

Pull out the drain plug, it is a little bolt under the clutch housing and if you are still concerned, take the housing right off, it is a really easy thing to do. the easiest way to do it is to take off the floorboard and then from there it is a matter of taking out the bolts, make sure you get them all, there are a few ones that are hard to see but you will see them if you look. And dont overtighten when you put them back in.

 

No water came out when I took the bolt out. I'm satified that water didn't get in. I may just have my mechanic install an EPI clutch kit, and put a new belt in while he is at it. This should eliminate any problems, an from what I have read, is a pretty good performance modification.

 

You could have got some water in and not had anything come out of the drain later, allot of air moves through the clutch and it generates some heat. I've never slipped the belt on my AC, but on my polaris and on a grizzly if you get water in there you know it then, it slips immediately. When I kill the belt on my polaris it works ok in low but won't take off in high.

 

Makes sense. In that case, maybe I don't need the EPI kit. Maybe what I need is a snorkel to keep water from getting in there again. Should I remove the cover to see if any mud/dirt got in?? Do these belts have any adjustment??Calibration?? DOes removing the clutch cover require any gaskets?? Do I need to drain the oil first?? Thanks

 

Just to take off the cover no you dont have to drain the oil, I just installed my epi clutch kit a while ago, and for that you need to drain the oil, I didnt wreck the gaskets on mine so I didnt replace them, if you are careful you should be ok, and yes the clutch kit makes quite a difference. And as for throwing on a new belt, I do believe they are close to 200$ cdn. If you are worried about mud in the clutch, take off the cover, probably 1/2 hour to take off. I have had mine pretty deep though, couldnt see the engine, and didnt get any mud in my clutch.

 

Thanks, I got similar info from my dealer... He indicated that I probably did get water in the belt housing, and over time it blew it out. He said If I would have pulled the drain bolt as soon as it started slipping, and rev it in neutral, it would have stopped the slippage and dried out faster. I basically road 5 miles bacjk to the truck blowing water out and slipping the whole way. He said not to worry about the belt, it should be ok, and that if I was worried about mud in the housing...I could pull the cover, I could check the outer bearing as well. Regarding the EPI, my dealer had no experience with this model. He did say that a Dyno Kit and K&N filter make a nice improvement. I think I'm going to get my mileage up before I make any ower improvements. From what I hear they get stronger at the 400 mile mark. By the way Doober, did the EPI help get rid of the hesitation off the line?? Thanks again..

 

The off the line hesitation is gone now, it holds speed a lot better on hills and through mud, my top speed is about 50 or so, I could get about 53-54 before so I did lose a bit but I didnt but it to go fast. Reverse is a lot better also it seems. But it is still no race bike. These werent made to go fast they are utility quads remember. And yea it does wake up a bit more with some more milage and your fuel milage will improve a bit also. Have you modified your muffler?

 

No I haven't modified the muffler, any suggestions?? I noticed the clutch kit is $100. My dealer quoted me 2 hours labor to install. So we are looking at $250. For the same price I could get the Dyno Jet Kit and K&N installed. Which would you do first for the biggest low end to mid power improvement?? Also, If I decide to go with the EPI, and I have stock tires now, and I upgrade to heavier 6ply later, even the same size, EPI indicated that I would have to redo my kit adjustments due to the heavier tires. Any input?? Thanks

 

I was having a sputtering problem when in mud (restrictive exhaust, found that out on this site) just take off the end cap and take out some baffles( a bit more to it that that but that is the basics) but if you arent having any problems dont worry about it. I paid about 130 cdn for my EPI clutch kit and I think it is worth the money. As for jet kits and filters, I dont have a clue, I dont have either done on mine so I cant comment on those. I have stock sized 589 on mine and I put the oversized tire kit on mine, cause of the weight of the tires, seems to work good for me.