I just bought a 2002 650 prairie, The clutch belt slips alittle when I take off in high. I have a buddy who siad that he had one and he just took shims out of the clutch and it took care of it. I keep hearing about these kits and it giving more power and take off. I called the dealer and he told me to just take out a shim and put on a new belt. But while I am in there, if a kit is a good idea I might as well put one on. It has 26 inch tire. Does anyone recommend the kits and if so then what brand? Thanks ahead of time.

 

> Belt slip is due to wear - belt is thinner than before its effective inner diameter is larger resulting in increased belt deflection. It takes longer for the converter sheaves to grab the belt.
> Taking shim(s) out makes the effective diamter of the driven converter larger to compensate the increased belt deflection.
> Kit - it gives your quicker belt engagement resulting in quicker acceleration at a cost of quicker wear on belt and converter sheave surface.
> New belt - if you put a new belt, there is no need to take out the shim. You take out shim only on belt that is slipping. Whether new or old belt, always check the belt deflection and determine whether to add or remove shim(s).
The P650 is really a nicely designed quad - keep it that way.

 

Hayashi is right, my quad is the 03' model. Everthing is the same on mine as yours, just 1 year newer. All the other years were improved. I have almost 5000mi. on mine. I don't have the tools or the know-how to work on mine unless I take the time to log on here and ask "Hayashi" a Question and if it's a simple fix, I do it myself. If it's not a simple fix, him telling me exactly what the problem is saves me $ by telling the shop what to fix or replace. I use my Prarie for everything, from pulling mid-sized cars out of ditches (snow), hauling heavy loads of wood, metal and scrap around the field and up my brothers steep *** drive-way (half a mile or so) to the occasional trips to "Hatfield McCoy Trails". It'll haul upwards of 3,000lbs. Although I try not to pull that much. I keep regular intervals of changing fluids and filters. Also, if you take care of your quad, it'll take care of you.

 

Thanks for the Info Guys. I take great care of my ATVs. This is my first Prairie but I have had several bikes. I like the prairie so far better then all others. With that said, I take what you are saying is that if I just replace the belt I have no reason for the kit or to take out any shims. I do a lot of trail riding. (love Hatfield and McCoy). But I have no need for any more power then what it has. I think I will just replace the belt. Thanks agian.

 

If you are installing a new belt, it would be BEST to set the belt deflection at the minimum spec which is around about 22 mm with 13 lbs of force exerting on the middle of belt. But that could be more or less on your quad depending on the condition of your converter sheave surface. You MUST measure the deflection when installing a new belt and decided whether to add or remove shim(s). You want the minimum belt deflection for mainly 3 reasons:
> Quicker belt engagement, no slipping, giving you quicker acceleration.
> Reduced or complete elimination of belt squealing noise.
> Longer riding time without belt deflection adjustment.
You may ask 'why don't you set the belt as tight as possible?' Then it would cause the quad to creep when you are just idling in gear. CVT quad should not move or creep even in gear when just idling - it should stay still just like in neutral.
Also, don't try to save money by using aftermarket belt. I've tried a whole bunch and found that the LATEST generation Kawi OEM belt ($70) is the best bang for the buck. What quad420 said is so true - if you take care of your quad, it'll take care of you - more true on machines than on some people :0

 

Yea, the buddy that will be putting it on for me told me the same thing about the cheap belts. He bought one of those cheap Dayco belts and he said it didn't last anytime at all. Thanks for all the info