I have a 2005 Prairie 360, that I purchase used, with a problem.
When in gear the thing won't start moving until you give it excessive throttle. This happens at all engine operating temperatures.
I jacked it up and removed the converter cover. Here is what happens:
I put in any gear and the clutch doesn't engage until I give it mucho throttle. At this point I see the drive converter move in, the belt tighten and the rear wheels move (as it should, I suspect).
Any ideas why it needs excessive engine rpms to get the clutch engaged?

The previous owner installed bigger tires and I've wondered if he also swapped the spring. I seem to recall reading that they are different colors and people swap them for performance reasons. The current spring is red in color.

I've troubleshooted using the big tires and the stock tires - no difference.

btw - I have a 2009 Prairie 360 and I've considered using it to swap parts. However, I don't know how to remove the drive pulley. The service manual mentions several specialized tools. Has anyone ever removed the drive pulley?

 

The previous owner had an "EPI" decal on the fender. I perused their website and found a "red" primary spring, which is the color of the primary spring on mine. I then spoke to their tech support. It looks like he may have swapped out the factory spring. The techie did say that it would require an add'l 500 rpm to get the clutch to engage. I don't have a tach but it does sound like it might be needing an additional 500 rpm before it engages. I'm going to purchase the EPI pink spring. She said that the bigger tires would be a logical reason for someone to upgrade the primary spring.

I'm still going to need and remove the drive pulley. Has anyone ever done this? thanks

 

You will need a special puller. I believe EPI sells those also.

 

Hi, I was about to order the puller but the guy from EPI told me I didn't need it, even though the online instructions indicated that I did. He was correct - I simply removed the front part (8 bolts and the big center bolt) and it came right off.

Those EPI technicians are pretty good. Not to sound sexist but the first 2 people I talked to were young females and they also really knew what they were talking about (I thought they'd transfer me over to some guy, once the conversation got technical). I love when you're able to contact these companies and talk directly to the guys (and gals) that actually know what they're talking about.