HI-

I have a 2004.5 sportsman 500 ho. I took the belt cover off just to inspect. I noticed that the belt seems tight and in neutral with the engine at idle (1050 rpm) the secondary clutch is spinning at the same rate as the primary. Is this normal? In high gear in idle it really seems as though it is trying to pull the machine ahead at least a little bit. It does not creep forward in gear and does not grind going into gear.

Things I also noticed was that the outside of the belt is cracked all the way around it and on the inside it has some rubber pealing up. On the edges of the belt you can see cords in some places but not alot.

Also on the primary clutch I can grab the outside of it and pull back and fourth on just the outside half of the clutch about 1/8"-3/16"...Is this normal?

Thanks for any info!

 

I would get a new belt and see if that fixes the problem. I am trying to picture what you are discribing and I would think that the lose strands are enough to keep a slight bite on things to keep motion. Do a search on how to change the belt. Me and the guys had a discussion last week about being able to read the lettering on the belt when you put it on, check it out. The primary is spring loaded and you can move it. By the way you should check into getting a better spring while you have the cover off. Alot of us are putting on better springs to get more power. This mod is easy and cheap. Call Rick Ritter at Ritter cycles and he will hook you up. I put mine in 2 weeks ago and love the differance.

 

Definately get a new belt and see if you have any problems after that.