I have a 2009 Polaris Sportsman 550XP that has had a problem with the shifter sticking since the day I bought it new. With engine idling, the shifter will stick most of the time when shifting up or down. It'll stick going from P to H, H to L, R to P, etc, etc. And when I mean stick, it will reach a point where it binds up and I have to shift the other direction then back again, often multiple times to get it to go. It is so bad, that after only ~500 miles total riding, the aluminum Bellcrank15T (last part of shift linkage) completely stripped. Also, even when I can get it to shift, it is very hard to get it into Neutral. Sticking is worse if I am holding the brake while shifting. When the engine is OFF, I can shift up and down with no sticking at all.

The original Polaris dealer looked at it at first service (~20 hours) and told me to give it more time and that it'll work itself out eventually. Then they went out of business right when warranty expired!

Another Polaris dealer has looked at it twice. They have done the following:

- Verified proper idle speed (1650+/-)
- Checked both Clutches
- Shimmed clutch
- Replaced ASM Clutch One-Way (#1322809)
- Spoke to Polaris Rep - no useful info on this problem

The result -- no improvement, or if anything, maybe even a little worse. That dealer is completely stumped at this point.

- UPDATE 9/1/2011 -- On a different forum someone had similar problem and recommended replacing belt. I replaced original belt with Dayco XTX2244, only MINIMAL improvement. Machine creeps a lot in Reverse with old belt (~1mph), less with new belt (kinda grabs-releases-grabs-releases).

I just want the dang thing fixed -- any ideas????

 

Still sounds like a clutch related problem as you say you can shift when engine is off! Plus not sure where an after market belt is any better than OEM. OPT

 

Wasn't being negative toward the OEM belt, just went with the same belt recommended by the other guy that had a similar problem.

In his case he had debris from a blown belt get caught up in the clutch and rode for awhile. Ended up with similar shifting problem, did clutch rebuild, but still issues until he also swapped out the belt.

I've only replaced the one clutch part, he replaced several... But mine has been since Day 1, his was a result of debris, so it still isn't making sense to me.

 

What I'd do is pull the clutch cover and check the shim job that was done. If belt is touching either side of the front sheath then I'd still try shimming one way or another. If the belt is definitely NOT touching either side of the front sheaths and one way bearing is operating properly,then it has to be a problem in the rear driven clutch since the engine and trans are bolted together and shouldn't have the distance problem between clutches as some of the 700 and 800 sometimes had.Best guess I can make without seeing it!! OPT