Hey Guys, I hate to re-open this can of worms, but I am seriously pissed with paying over 140 bucks (Canadian) for the Kawi brand P700 drive belt. I have just reviewed all of the posts on here discussing the issues and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel, yet. If anyone has had some actual success with an after-market belt and a supplier, I would love to hear about it. The Dayco belt has apparently failed to impress anyone, but I have not tried it myself. If you have any tips that can help, PLEASE post or PM me with the info. Thanks

Maybe the heat we can generate in this forum discussion will cause Kawi to review their pricing, or flag an after market competitor to move on this issue. Are we being held to ransom ???

Bogtrotter, I have been using an experimental belt from Gates for the past year on my 650. It's awesome!! I have over 1000 kms on it and I haven't reset my deflection. No problems whatsoever and it will work on your 700. I had to shim the hell outta my driven clutch to get it to spec, but it has worked flawlessly. I don't know when Gates is gonna get these things on the market, but I would suggest contacting them for more info. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

MASTRBLASTR

Thanks for the reply MB. Can you give me any info on what that Gates belt part number is, or its description (ie; length and width), or where I can get it? I went to their website without any luck...Thanks.

140 Canadian $$ for the belt? That sounds high. It's about 70 US $$ here now. It was high here a few months ago but the price came down somehow according to my dealer. By the way, there is no "Kawi" brand belts. They buy from someone else and print their name on it. They changed the belt vendor at least 3 times that I know of within last few years. If you have to shim the driven converter to fit your aftermarket belt, that means you are losing some top speed (but possibly better acceleration). Think of that as putting a larger rear sprocket on a bike. Also, if it lasts longer under the same usage, it means something else is wearing out, like $600 drive converter, since we are using the "friction" . Something's gotta give. It's like getting a warped brake rotor after using a metallic pads. Which part do you want it to be sacrificial, $70 belt or $600 drive converter or $1000 for both converters? If you are using OEM part and something else goes wrong, you could at least "try" to blame on defective part, but if you are using a aftermarket part and some related part goes wrong, if your luck is pretty thin. Something to think about.

I visited a local supplier to ask about Gates belts. They did not carry them. Later I visited a Kawi dealer who said that Dayco had bought out Gates ATV and snowmobile belt mfr. license rights. I then contacted the local Dayco supplier who informed me that:
A. The Dayco part number for the 650P belt is HP2018, that for the 700P is HP2017.
B. Either of these belts cost $ (Cdn) 48.52, plus 15% tax
C. The belts are unconditionaly guaranteed for 1 year, unlimited use.
D. The belts each measure exactly 28mm in width.
E The belts are made of polyaramid (Kevlar)
F. The belts have an arrow on the top surface. The arrow must face top edge forward on the machine, (no matter what direction the pulley turns) or they will break down rapidly.
G. Either belt is a drop in replacement (without special adjustment) for the OEM belt. The shim adjustment of the driven pulley is not affected.

After just spending $ (Cdn) 156.35, plus 15% tax, for a Kawi OEM belt, I think the Dayco would be worth a try when my next belt replacement is due. The tech rep from Dayco is visiting tomorrow. If I learn something of interest to the ATV community in that meeting, I will post it here. The labor to replace the belt cost me $ (Can) 55.00, plus 15% tax. In all, that is justabout $200 bucks, way too much. I ordered the special tool for removing the driving pulley from the crankshaft ( @ $85.00) so that from here on, I can do the shim adjustment and belt replacement job myself. Sheeesh!

Bogtrotter, I didn't know Gates ATV was bought out by Dayco. I was given a Gates belt about a year ago and was sending information to a guy at Gates as to how it was performing etc. Last spring I was contacted and was told they had enough information to begin producing the belts. That's the last I heard from my contact at Gates. I tried sending an e-mail this morning to the guy I was talking to at Gates and it got sent right back to me with an "address does not exist" attached. So much for the Gates belt for the Prairies.