This is my brothers.

He isn't too happy right now. The dealer thinks the belt is bad, and obviously that isn't covered. How it could be bad with 13 hours is beyond me? They said they are going to check other things. The atv hasn't even hardly seen mud. It has never been stuck. He doesn't believe the clunks are normal. It can be like 3 clunks when in gear. They are extremely noticeable and can be felt.

 

I guess I should have stated it is multiple clunks. If it would be a single one, then I could understand.

 

If it is the belt, I've seen customers destroy belts in a very short time,some even quicker than yours. Had a chart on the wall at the shop that showed 9 different ways a belt could be destroyed and only two of these were caused by mfg's defects! You won't know until you pull the clutch cover,but could have some chunks out of the belt. If any part during the 13 hrs you were driving slow and in high range this could be enough to glaze the belt and it could start disintegrating. Little things like loading up on a truck or trailer in high range etc, can start to shorten a belts life. But if the dealer will work with you and the belt does have chunks out of it instead of glazing spots that can cause it to jump also,he can always say mfg defect and warranty it. OPT

 

The belt itself wasn't missing any chunks. I think I have someone straightening things out for me.

 

Are you sure it's not just the clutch engaging? Sorry, I didn't read page two before replying and can't seem to be able to delete this reply. It does however sound like a belt issue.

 

The dealer said something was definitely wrong. I don't know why it would need to grab, let go, grab, let go again, then grab again. The belt obviously wasn't bad when they just said it could be it but are going to look at other things.

 

The dealer "thinks" the belt is bad. They cannot tell me why it is bad. If you don't have an explanation, how can it be bad? Of course they want 240 dollars to replace it. One of the powertrain engineers at Polaris want's the dealer to check a few things. I think he will probably get the situation resolved...

 

I have a question for OPT. What exactly is a low speed for high range. I mean the manual sais high range is for any speed and low range is for under 10 mph hill climbing and loading on trailers ect. ect. I'm in the break-in time fram and dont wanna mess anything up. Now as far as the clunking is concerned I may not have the same thing going on as the other guy but when decending hills and letting off on the throttle I get the gear lash clunk pretty good. Thank you for your time.

 

Just read your owners manual! Low range is intended for times when you are below 7-10 mph or pulling a load or both. It's to keep the strain off the clutches,belt and engine. According to a Polaris engineer that I trusted,clutches,belt can run 140 degrees hotter in high range at a constant 7 mph than in low.This I believe is pretty accurate. Low keeps belts from prematurely wearing out,glazing,stretching,etc.You can exceed the 10 mph in low when needed without having to switch back and forth such as having to climb a steep hill with a load. Using the machine constantly above 10 mph then high range is desired as it's really a "transport" range.But people are gonna do what they want as I've seen over the years and I have gone through a lot of belt issues when they do. Just use common sense.

 

$240 for a belt change?

I bough a OEM belt in rip off Canada from my rip off Dealer for $75 because I was in a hurry to go fishing and did not get one online, and it takes less then 1/2 hour to change.
Heck you can change them on the side of the trail.

Do the 2011 500s use some kind of super exspensive belt?