Hey guys,

Picked up my first ATV, a 97' Xplorer 500 4x4 (I think its identical to the Sportsman 500, or so it seems from parts diagrams and the guys at the stealership).

Its a bit of a project at the moment although I'm able to get it running and idling fairly smoothly. I have some experience with snowmobile clutches but am no expert. The problem is:

When the bike is at idle, the secondary clutch continues to spin but with not much force...I am able to slow it by hand and then put the bike in gear and ride it. However once the clutch cover is back on I will no longer be able to slow it to a stop in order to put it in gear.

Any words of wisdom?
Thanks in advance.

 

Did the problem just start or has this happened since new? Without knowing all the details, here are some things to check. If it has always happened, then check to make sure the correct belt is on (or even try a new belt as they are not all exactly the same length). I haven't looked at your machine but I am guessing there is an adjustment on the secondary (driven) to adjust the belt height. Also inspect both the primary and the secondary to make sure they are not sticking open/closed, they could be dirty (with belt dust) and need to be cleaned.

 

I just picked it up...so I assume its been this way a while although its also a mystery to me. The belt that is on there now is some cheap NAPA one although I picked up a new Polaris one and they appear to be identical...or very close, the NAPA one may be a little longer due to it being broken in.

Would a shorter (new) belt not just make the problem worse and the primary clutch converges closer to the center? I don't want to put on the new Polaris belt unless I know it wont wear it out immediately.

 

Thats the way they are. Unlike a snowmobile that doesn't have a neutral there is very little to hold the secondary back when idling in neutral so you will get a clunk when put into gear. The real problem is when you are trying to take it out of gear, if that is a problem then you need to look at clutches and clutch alignment.

 

Interesting...haha god do I hate the sound of grinding gears...however if that's how it is I suppose I'll have to learn to deal with it.

So just a good hard shift into gear then? Once I had it in gear, it seemed to be fine taking it back to neutral (low being a little harder than high or reverse).

How fast should this secondary be spinning? Its obviously not spinning with much force, however it kinda works off itself and maintains a good pace? Perhaps I could take a small video on and post it on youtube, might help you guys?

 

My opinion with belts (this is only my opinion), the cheap piece of crap belts are just that. If it was me I would take off the Napa belt and put on the Polaris one you have. Even if the belts look identical they could be different lengths (only takes a couple cm) to make a big difference. Don't worry about wearing the new belt it the little time it takes to see if it corrects the problem. You should be able to see if the sheaves are visually stuck.

 

Sounds good, will do and I'll also take a video once i slap the new belt on.

Thanks for the help!

 

dont know, but is that have ebs? make sure the belt is on right w/ the words facing out. if its a non ebs clutch then it should have a little slack in it sitting there where an ebs would have the belt tight. it will turn a little but if its hard to pull out of gears then its not correct. imo

 

I don't believe it does. Is there any obvious way to tell? I know up by the throttle it has a larger box and says it has ETC (Electronic Throttle Control)? The clutch cover is old and worn out so nothing obvious there.

 

I would bet it doesn't have EBS (that is a relatively new concept for atv's). I would agree with what was stated above, the secondary shouldn't spin that much. You might get a little creep but nothing that would grind gears from Neutral to 1 or 2. I have an Xplorer 250 (2001) and I had the cover off off mine this weekend and in gear there is no secondary movement.