So long story short, I bought a 2001 Kawasaki Prairie 300 for the wife. Got it from the original owner who only put 50 miles on it. Got it running after cleaning the carb, rpms wind up but speed is extremely slow. Hardly even crawls. Thought maybe it would be the belt from sitting for 20 years. Clutches look brand spanking new but I noticed the primary clutch is not closing in all the way and catching the belt. What would cause this?

 

Also I’ll add this is my first belt driven quad so not too familiar with the clutches and how they work.

 

"the primary clutch is not closing in all the way and catching the belt"

That is because in this case it really is a clutch. The descriptions used on variator parts are stupid and confusing. Most variator gearboxes don't have a clutching action but makers still insist on calling them clutches. However Kawasaki variators do act as the clutch. The belt slips at idle as the front pulley sheaves come too far apart to grip it, so it acts as the clutch.

If the front sheave doesn't move in and grip the belt when revved up, the centrifugal mechanism must be stuck. On some the weight assembly runs dry, others are greased, not sure about Kawasakis as I only work on Suzukis and Yams.

 

I just learned my 2000 400 4x4 drive clutch required periodic lubrication. Hmm, I replaced it with a comet 103hpq 16 years ago. Hasnt been used that much, but I called Comet a few days ago and they said to lube the end of the spring and when I asked about the rollers they said yes. They recommended the lube they sell.