Hey guys. I've had my 650 for about 3 months now and have had no problems whatsoever----until today. I was muddin with my buddies and after I washed all the goo off, I noticed my cv boots were twisted real bad. I twisted them back into shape with the help of a pair of vice grips, but noticed some grease on the backside of the outboard cv boot. With a little more inspection, I found a tear in each one of the boots. Man, was I bummed!!! Anyways, the mud that we were in was full of grass, and it was knotted around the front cv's real tight. I guess with all the strain on the cv boots after they were all twisted up, they couldn't take any more and ripped. Gonna have to wait till the weekend to fix em. After looking it over, it doesn't look like it will be too bad of a job. Anyways, thought I would pass this on as something to watch out for.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I will watch for the grass, and clean it off.

I heard that someone makes kevlar CV boots for the 660 (which has inferior boot protection). I wonder if there are kevlar boots for the 650? Maybe there are some that fit? Ripproof boots would be good.

 

Ripproof boots would be too sweet!!. The grass was really knotted up. I literally had to pull it out of there with pliers. If you hear of anyone who makes Kevlar boots, let us know. I don't think it was a matter of having inferior boot protection, but rather that the mud and grass was really packed in there, twisting it tighter everytime I gassed er.

 

I looked around and I was a bit mistaken.

Yamaha sells a kevlar kit, looks like a boot protector sock:

4WD KEVLAR® CV BOOT GUARDS
Made of heavy-duty Kevlar® reinforced fiber that's tough yet lightweight. Installs over the OEM boots using supplied Velcro and zip-ties. Two front and two rear guards provided. 4WD Models (All)

ABA-2HR95-00-00 $65.00


Here is a picture:

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/access/0...C33-02-500.jpg

 

I don't know what's different about the design compared to my Polaris, but this 650 picks up all kinds of debris in the front end. I trashed my rear boot on my front output shaft the first week.

 

If you did not get any mud or anything inside the torn boot, I would not think it would eb to bad. I do not know if they make any that will fit an ATV boot, but I know you can go to auto parts places and get a replacement boot that is alreayd packed and take your old boot on off and slide one of these in place. I do not know how well these work or if they only make them for autos, but it may be the easiest and cheapest way to repair the damage.

 

I haven't ripped it apart yet to see how much crap is in there. I do know that it is a pain to change the outboard cv boots. You have to remove the axles, remove the inboard cv boot, disassemble the inboard ball bearing assembly, and <u>THEN</u> you get to remove the outboard cv boot. Assembly is the reverse, so I would imagine that this will take a few hours. The cost of the boots was around $28 Canadian for each boot kit. Each kit comes with a boot, four of the metal bands(two for the inboard boot and two for the outboard), and a tube of special grease that will not harm the boot. I was gonna do it this weekend, but I won't get the parts till next Wednesday. Will let you guys know how it went.

 

On my polaris 4x4, I was tearing boots like crazy, even with Oxlite guards. I always had spare boots and clamps ready. I ride where there is a lot of loose shale rock and it builds up and rubs on the guards. Also, there is a lot of field grass and mud that wraps around the axles. That is one reason I didn't like the sportsman 500 - too many cv boots for my riding conditions.

I haven't torn a boot on my 650 yet, but I'm tempted to order a couple cv boot kits just to have. I actually like the plastic cv guards that are on it. They provide fairly adequite coverage, and are flexible so stuff doesn't seem to build up or collect on them.

I may be wrong, but I think Gorilla Axles has cv boots that come with a lifetime warranty?

 

I may need to inspect mine a little closer. Riding in gumbo, it builds up behind the guards, and rubs on the boots. As you all know, when gumbo dries, it takes an act of congress to get it off/out. Also, using mine mostly for hunting, I always have to ride through a treetop, or similar &quot;limby&quot; obstacle. So far, I trashed the REAR boot on the front output shaft, and pulled my vent tube off my radiator (which caused my leak). I don't know how, but the reserve would fill up with antifreeze, and the radiator would run dry. I finally discovered how to get to the overflow, and it was off. By the way, I've always been told heat sensors won't work in a dry radiator...is that true?

 

That is true! There is nothing incontact with the sensor in the radiator. The radiator would be cool because of no fluid running through it giving it a false reading that the system is not hot.