Hi there. I am an active member on polarisatvforums and i have been referred to this site by member jgue498. He said i should try you for my problems. Hopefully you have some ideas for me.

My bike is a 2000 Sportsman 500, non-HO. Some history on what i have done to date:

oil change
air filter
carb cleaning and replacing needles and jets
new cam shaft and exhaust rocker
set timing
verified exhaust system clear of blockages
took apart secondary clutch and cleaned all up, works good.
Primary is an aftermarket Comet with no EBS. Some visible wear on outer sheave but belt is in good shape, new last season with minimal use.
new fuel filter and emptied and cleaned fuel tank.
verified fuel delivery lines clean and not blocked
rebuilt left rear axle joints. still some clicking but minimal.

Now my symptoms:

Bike starts and idles perfect. Revs under throttle good. I can also use the bike in low gear with fair response. Also i can move in reverse fairly ok. Now when it comes to high gear, I just cannot move. It seems liek the engine is trying to work but it is just being held back. almost like i am trying to pull a large overloaded trailer that is just too much for the bike. If i switch to low i can rip around ok. I am fearful there is something wrong in tranny and that scares me. One thing i havent been into on that bike and not really looking forward to it. I do have a FSM.

One thing i would like to verify with you is regarding the timing. I set timing like this:

one silver link on timing chain lined up with 2 raised dots on cam gear while piston is at mechanical TDC and flywheel mark is lined up correctly. The silver link was not mentioned in the manual so i was off a bit on previous attempts but i remedied that. The bike seems to have good response and power in Low gear with no backfiring. Something that is different to me is that before all this i sue to let off gas while traveling and would roll quite freely whereas i do not have EBS anymore. What happens now when i let off throttle is almost like my brakes are coming on. Its like a quick deceleration and enough to thrust you forward. When in high gear i just cannot get moving. The engine wants to try but it just cant go like the brakes are locked up. I can try and take a video of this if it may help?

I am just wondering if there is something i am missing or i can check on? Could it be timing related? Could it be carb related? I am just completely stumped and am going to be divorced if i spend much more time in garage...lol

If you can advise me on things i could check it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you so much...

Here is reference to my original post on other site...

Completely stumped! - Polaris ATV Forum

 

Doesn't matter about the plated links. They're there only for initial cam timing if the engine was disassembled and once the engine turns over dots don't line back up as they did previously. Main thing is that piston is at tdc as well as the cam sprocket alignment pin must be dead center of the head,the chain can be installed with the dots anywhere,then the cam chain tensioner is to be reinstalled to keep pressure on the chain to keep to keep it from jumping teeth! What I'm getting from your previous posts is that you installed an aftermarket Comet drive clutch. Did you have the non ebs system to begin with or had the ebs system and changed only the front clutch leaving the ebs driven clutch? Could be the problem.Both systems were offered on that year model and have had people have problems mixing clutches. Regardless,sounds like the front clutch and possibly the rear also might be the problem on up shifting and down shifting,if it feels like something is dragging down the power.Plus is it an oem belt or aftermarket? Can make a difference. Transmissions on the Sportmans are basically bullet proof if maintained properly.

 

Thank you for reply. I purchased this bike and it had 28 inch tires on it with jet kit and aftermarket clutch. I am not sure if i have aftermarket secondary or not. When i took secondary apart and cleaned it had a red spring with beige buttons(stock?) The belt is a polaris belt but only grooved on one side and prior to these repairs i would roll with minimal resistance on slight inclines while still in gear when off throttle. Now it is like someone is slamming on front brakes. I have the correct rod to make a homemade clutch removal tool so i will rpoceed with pulling off primary for a closer look and do some detailed cleaning. Secondary seems to be nice since it was unbound and cleaned up. I am concerned i have stock secondary with aftermarket primary that was set up for large tires.

Thank you for clearing up chain link on timing. I am going to pull covers and do a quadruple check on timing.

It is rewarding to hear that it is doubtful to be tranny problem. I can deal with clutch issues...hopefully. So if i am reading you correctly, you recommend focusing on the clutches? Thank you very much for your help. I am going to try and take a video and i will post here. thanks again...

 

I got clutch off. Took some pics. Going to double verify there is plenty preload on secondary. seems i can turn it fairly easy. Shoud be 1/3 turn, correct?

I honestly cannot tell if the front is in bad shape or if i have EBS? I can take it apart and replace parts if necessary....Here are some pics and here is a video of the clutch in action BEFORE i cleaned secondary. I also have corrected idle!

 

That's an EBS belt with the grooves on the inside of it but not an EBS clutch.

 

Takes the 3211077 belt for non ebs clutches.3211069 is for an ebs clutch. Shows both belts for the 2000 model that can have either the ebs and non ebs clutch system. Item #6 and 21. Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Honda, Arctic Cat & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse I'd still check out the rear clutch to make sure what the previous owner has done.

 

Definitely an EBS belt you have , you need the non EBS type as said above. It will be longer than your current belt and shouldn't turn your secondary at idle. Your idle sounds too high also.
I noticed the secondary doesn't seem to open very far when the rpms come up. I suspect your problem is there. Did you already take it apart? Do you have a roller secondary or the button type?
Where in NB do you live? We practically have the same bike, mines a 2001 with EBS....

 

Thanks Fellas! I have taken apart secondary. It was pretty bound up with grooving on Helix. I cleaned that all up and just got some new buttons to put in it. I got primary off and i am going to clean that up as well. I dont know if i have aftermarket parts in secondary? If i take some pics while its apart could you guys tell me? I am going to try and get hold of either a complete primary clutch or just the outer sheave used somewhere as you can see it has some nice grooves in it.

I am also going to pull valve cover and do another check on timing. One tooth could cause issues id assume but it works fairly well in low. When i pulled air filter and ran i noticed a bit of back spray from carb into airbox almost like either timing slightly off or valve seat?

Kev, I am in Hanwell. You?

 

Hey Kaboom

So you have buttons in your secondary, but the previous owner was using an EBS belt?? I would have thought you had an EBS secondary , but guess not.
The primary clutch looks good. I can't see anything wrong with it for that to be causing any issues. The spring isn't broken and it moves in and out smoothly. The sheaves look to be ok too. You can't buy just a sheave for your primary clutch. The clutch comes as a balanced unit and should not be dismantled to replace main parts. It's attached to your crankshaft and any imbalance will destroy your engine with vibration.
Since you mentioned some spray out your air box while reving the engine, that tells me your cam shaft might be worn. Might explain your loss of power in high gear. Funny though , you can still drive in low gear OK? The non HO bikes around our years had weak exhaust cam lobes that wore down quickly. Checking your valve clearance and exhaust cam lobe is a good idea. When you were taking the video, were u in high gear??
I live in Moncton....about 2 hrs away. Too bad you weren't closer, I would swing by and try to help. I've already played with my clutches a few times.
With the proper belt on , the belt shouldn't move your secondary pulley at idle. If your belt is moving at idle when you try to shift gears , it will be hard to do. If the belt is turning at idle, it causes "creeping" which is when the bike creeps ahead while in gear and wont stop or shift easy. A non EBS set up doesn't seem to creep as much , as the belt is much looser.
Good luck....

 

You can take a wire brush on a drill to take some scoring from the helix. If it's really bad replace it. 2-2 on the helix and sheath spring position along with 1/3rd turn counter clockwise on preloading the spring. When you do change to the 3211077 belt(wouldn't use anything but oem!),should have a reasonable amount of slack on the belt between the clutches,about an inch when pulled down on the center,not tight as it is now. If it still engine brakes too hard when you let off the throttle, the Comet front clutch spring can be changed to the stock blue/green spring from the Polaris non ebs clutch,but may not be needed with the correct size belt.