I was out riding a state forest in the Poconos today, what a blast. I have a question, when would coast slowly, or throttle slowly, down a rocky hill, I would hear a tapping noise comiing from the drive belt side of the engine. I know there are some kind of weights on the primary drive, could it be thoes that are tapping due to rough terain? I stops when I give it more throttle, It sounds normal, and I know there is nothing loose in there. I have no problems at all with the drives at all, it takes off when I hit it, the noise is there as when I coast or drive very slow in rocky terain. Can anyone explain? Its a 02 650 Prarie

 

Noise is one of the difficult symptoms to diagnose...
Check
1). Spider shoes side clearance on the drive clutch (more like knocking noise especially when idling).
2). Gear shift linkage adjustement (more so when decelerating).
3). Tight valves (would be hard to start).
4). Worn out cam lobes (power would be less).
5). Jumped cam chain (would be hard to start).
6). Loose bolts/nuts on exh pipes or heat shields (more like rattling noise).
7). EBC actuator going south... etc.

 

I'm shure its just your weights banging around in there mine does it all the time

 

I have had this sound since the first few miles of life on my Brute. I am used to it now.

 

How do you think this could be fixed? I looked at the EPI weights, they have adjustable ones, I wonter if these would be a fix. I also saw bushings, I also wonder if these go bad to cause this problem?

 

It is usually caused by the buttons in the clutch wearing. The cheapest fix is to take the clutch apart & clean it.
Then if all is not badly worn punch out shim stock to put behind the buttons as you reinstall them. Be careful not to use to much behind EACH button as the clutch will bind if it is too tight.
The same principle as a sled clutch only 4 tower.
hope this helps.
You will need a spider tool to take the clutch apart though.
GC