I just recently bought a 2000 Polaris Sportsman 500 and its my first Polaris. I had to clean the carb and do a few small things to get it running but it is now running smooth and sounds great. I was excited to get on and ride it but come to find out when I put it in gear it it will surge forward on its own a few times and then stop and when I press the throttle it will not move??? Just hoping you might have some advice or ideas on what the problem could be.

 

Common problem on these when the fiber washer and outer brass washer for the one way bearing wear,the one way will move and belts will track over and touch the insides of the clutch sheath.This causes belts to put pressure at all times on the driven clutch.Some become hard to shift,others just jump and creep forward. Sometimes a good blowing out of belt dust and belt replacement helps,but not in all cases. This involves removing the clutch and using a spider tool to break the clutch down for repair.Look at this and see if it helps.https://atvconnection.com/forums/pol...-creeping.html

 

Thank you so much for you help!!! I will try cleaning and replacing the belt first for the obvious reasons of cheap and easy and then if that doesn't work I will brake it down for repair. Thanks for the help, this youngster needed some wisdom haha have a great day!!!

 

Old Polaris Tech
I took the cover off the clutch yesterday and without removing the belt or the pulley I cleaned them attached. This helped tremendously as you said it would. It will now move when I press the throttle and runs good once I get going however it does feel like it is slipping in the beginning when I first give it gas. It slips and surges a couple times and then takes off. Do you think a new belt could resolve this problem and what are the tools needed to change the belt?

 

I also noticed that the belt isn't centered on the clutch pulley either it is on the engine side and I believe it is rubbing the inner sheath which is probably my problem. From the thread you attached before I believe the fix for this are shims??

 

New belt probably wont cure it all.Does sound like you need to check the clutches out and yes the link I posted is a good one on replacing the one way washers,shimming out the rear clutch,etc. There are also 6 guide buttons in the drive clutch that may need to be replaced along with the main bushing if worn. Driven clutch has three rollers that may need to be checked out also.If you need a manual,several are out there.https://www.tradebit.com/filedetail....er-500-service

 

Yeah I figured I was going to have a rebuild on my hands after I cleaned it and still had an issue. Thank you very much for the helpful information and fast feedback. Looks like my next job is to tear down that clutch!!!

 

Also on shimming the secondary?? Do you just add some washers to shim it and where in the assembly do you usually add these???

 

There is always one or two washers behind the driven clutch. Just get a couple more the same size if needed.