Year is around 2005. The motor may have been run out of oil (it's a two stroke with an oil reservoir, not pre-mix).

I was trying to see if the engine was seized (won't turn over) but it's got an automatic clutch and rocking it won't engage the engine. It's got a belt drive and I can turn that without turning the wheels but it's not moving the piston up and down.

How can I manually turn the motor to see if it's seized?

Thanks in advance!

 

There is a plate on the belt cover so you can fit a pull starter. If you take the plate off you can poke the starter gear teeth round with a screwdriver. To get a proper hold of the crank, take the whole belt cover off.

 

That's the plate right next to the foot peg right?

I took that off and exposed the belt and pulley and was able to turn the pulley easily and I couldn't see the piston move. I used a screwdriver between the fins and moved it about 10 degrees rotation.

Is the ratio of this pulley to the piston way more than 1:1? Do I need to turn the pulley more before I'll see any movement in the piston?

Thanks much for the reply, at least I'm on the right track.

 

You can take the fan cover off and turn the fan by hand.
OR remove the plastic that covers the motor and turn the fan.
If you moved the starter gear, the piston moved. I doubt you moved it much/enough.
I'm thinking you might as well remove the top so you can pull the head off to give it a real inspection.
Why don't the elec start turn it over?

 

I will try that.

Removing the head is outside my comfort zone but I may talk myself into it depending on what else I find.

The electric start just clicks at the solenoid(? where the spark plug wire goes) That's why I thought it was seized. I'll turn the fan more with a screwdriver in the cylinder to see if it moves. If it moves even a little I think I'm in good shape.

 

Did you press the button above the right hand rear wheel? This trips the starter out if too much strain is put on it. If the engine seized and you tried to start it, this could have tripped out. If the engine has freed off it should turn over, but a bad seizure will have caused compression to go down, so it may not start.