It seems a bunch of Prairie 650 owners are having to adjust CVT belt tension. Why is this? Are the belts not adjusted right from the factory or are they going out of adjustment that fast? Either way, is Kawasaki refusing to make it right on warranty? It's not the kind of job most guys are willing to tackle, I can't believe this is considered part of "regular maintenance" on a new machine.
I'm already "belt-shy" because of the Polaris I own, and would not want to buy the 650 if it's already showing signs of having a high-maintenance CVT.

 

Hi Ron,
Some are too loose like mine. Kawi said they would pay for it. I would rather not have the dealer touch my bike. This probably happens on other makes, but people just don't check it. Kawi told me this cvt system is all new for this bike.

 

All belt drive machines including skidoos have had to routinely reshim or simply replace the belt as it wears. Although in this case I think they were coming improperly adjusted from the factory.
I am quite surprised that you havent had to do this on your polaris or mabe this will be an "eye opener" for you.
Have you noticed any loss in low end power form your machine? If so I bet your belt is too loose.

 

Yes, I've replaced my belt a number of times and have had some adjustments and even a complete cvt rebuild done in the 8 years I've had my Polaris. I owned the bike for several years though before anything needed to be done. As my bike is getting older I am also changing my riding style and doing more heavy-duty mudding and towing. As a result my CVT is become more labour intensive.
I was just suprised to see so many Kawi owners doing this so soon, and doing all their own work on it if they're still in the warranty period.

 

I hear you yukonron the belts should have been adjusted correctly from the get go but alot were not.
I think the reason why so many prefer doing it themselves is because a good dealer is a rare thing to find.

 

I think all machines need to have belt deflection readjusted, after belt breakin (50 miles). My 00 Xplorer was way off when brand new and my kids 01 500 HO blew a belt with less than 300 miles on it, when we installed the new belt we had to remove all shims just to get close to correct belt deflection. I believe this is one of the most overlooked performance losses there is. One thing aboout the Kowie is that it uses a 4 tower primary clutch which should work more efficently. Love this machine.