Well after 2000 miles I took my 650 to the dealer just for the heck of it really, and to get the the provibial belt yowling addressed. To start off with the tech couldn't believe there was 2000 miles on the machine, since the first of the year when I bought it, why he hadn't seen one with even close to that. I could of told him that I knew of one with 4000 miles on it but chose not to. Going to the dealer is a big deal here, since it is about a hundered miles away but I had to go the Boise(the armpit of the universe) anyway to a convention so away we go!!

When I pick it up the next day, this young guy, sorta rubbed me the wrong way when he took me aside and asked in a strong whisper if I towed a trailer with this machine. "Well yes, I do it is a ATV trailer I use to repair fences with. I load it up and do lots of stop and go which is just part of the deal when you have to fix fence. When I spray weeds though I put the sprayer on my 450-s though because I like the transmission going down hills." He had a tough time putting this info togther, and finally just said, "Well the sheaves of the clutches had gotten really hot because they were blued(colored blue)." Seems like I recall from snowmobile 101 that belts come apart at the same temprature they were put together at, and that heating the sheaves till they turned blue should of smoked the belt. So howcome I got the original belt at 2000 miles? I asked it the 650 was sold as a utility machine? it is, and therefore should be able to tow the same trailer the 450-s did, whithout a whimper. No comment. He suggested I use low range for this duty, and I told at one time I logged 50 miles straight without ever comeing out of low range. It took me about a week to go the 50 miles.

Bottom line is I left with a new belt, things are good, and today I racked up another 40 miles. I think this 650 is awwwwsume!!!though as a true utility machine it may not be. Makes a neat cow chaser though!!

Go forth and ride

98 450-s
17300 miles
stock
Titians

00 Kodiak
stock
Titians

02 Prairie
stock
2000 miles

 

Are you sure that's in Boise? Cause I could swear that guy works here in Rochester NY. All kinds of hair brained ideas come from some people that work at dealers.


In an effort to reduce sheave surface grooves, I drive in low range as much as possible, especially when I don't think I am going to go over 30mph.

Yeah the 650 would be as good a utility machine as any, if the belt drive were more durable.

 

Maybe I've got something wrong, but when I'm in low range and let off the gas it makes horrible grinding noises like I'm trying to shift while moving. Is this just me? I thought it was normal to keep you from using low at more than an absolute crawl.

 

Man, that guy was really feeding you a load of crap!!!! If he knew anything about aluminum, there is NO way it would turn blue, cause you can't make aluminum turn blue!!!!! This is right up my alley cause I am a welder and I know for a fact that you cannot make aluminum blue. Try it sometime. Get a piece of aluminum and heat it up with an oxy-acetylene torch. It will get shinier as you heat it up and then it will just melt!!! Sorry to go off like this, but misinformation gives me an ulcer!!!! Phone that ******** up and tell him he doesn't know his a$$ from a hole in the ground. No wonder most of us do our own work on our quads!!!!!!!!!!

 

Bad bama Prairie, You need to to adjust the shift linkage (shorten the rod), cuz you are not pulling the tranny into low range far enough and the gears are grinding. It is a piece of cake. Just balance the adjustment out so that reverse still works to. I ran my engine while adjusting it, so I could se at what point the gears clacked. Works perfect now.

Mastrblastr, I would like to think that if I were a dealer mechanic, I would have seen it all and the experience would have made me more quad savvy that any non ATV mechanic. It is just funny how stupid the dealer is sometimes. Maybe they aren't that dumb, maybe they just think we are dumb enough to believe their stories so they can overcharge etc..

To be fair, the dealers around me are pretty smart (except for that one guy) and nobody I know of complains about anything except for the price of parts.

 

Nyroc, It makes a guy wonder doesn't it? These guys are supposed to know all about what they sell, and most of them don't know jack. I have learned way more from this forum than I could ever learn from a dealer. While I have your attention, I want to thank you for the tip on toe-in. I just checked it this morning and found it was toed-in 3/4 of an inch. I set it at 1/16 of an inch toe-in and it now handles like a Viper[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] HEHEHE! ! ! ! ! ! ! Before I checked it, I was all over the road when I was up around 90kmh. Now, it is smooth as silk. Also, I was talking to a friend of mine who has owned sleds for years. He says the hardest thing you can do to these clutches is to gas er right off the line. He said that if you get the belt moving first and then give er the juice, you will reduce wear considerably. Just my .02.