i just bought a 2006 sportsman 450. the guy i bought it from said it had EBS on it but it only slows it down when i hold my rpms up. it also seems like the clutch is not kicking in as early as my other wheelers (04 sportsman 500ho and 03 sportsman 700) at about 3000rpm. are those signs of a bad belt??? my other question is without looking at the sticker on the side how can you tell if it has EBS

 

EBS belts have grooves running all the way around the inside surface, non-EBS belts don't. If you don't have an EBS belt then you don't have EBS.

 

if i was to swith out belts would ebs work or is there more to it than that

 

It has to have EBS clutches. It's expensive to change them, but worth it IMO if you ride in hilly areas.

 

but do you know what are the simptoms of a belt going out?

 

A badly worn belt can cause it to run a little slower and at higher RPMs and cause the clutch to not engage until it's at a higher rev than normal. I don't know what else they do besides explode if they're burnt. I never really wore one out but blew 3 of them over the years.

 

I'm pretty sure the Sportsman 450 didn't come with it stock because I am pretty sure I looked at a leftover yellow one.

From your description it also sounds like you were lied to.
It would have some hold-back when letting off the gas.
But it would not come on as soon or as strong (nature of the differences)
At certain points the belt would disengage and you would have no hold-back (down low)

 

06' sportsman 450 DID NOT come w/ ebs.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: jumbofrank

EBS belts have grooves running all the way around the inside surface, non-EBS belts don't. If you don't have an EBS belt then you don't have EBS.</end quote></div>

My ATV has EBS on it ,sticker and behavior.and it has the smooth outside like a normal sled belt.

Here is a video of EBS Polaris with the smooth belt also.

 

I think he said inside of the belt. Looks like the grooves are cross ways rather than long ways.