I was riding my 1999 sportsman the other day , all ran good no noise or anything, put it away for a couple of hours go to re start it and it won't turn over , you can't even pull the starter rope it's like the motor is locked up for no reason, any suggestion what to look for first?

 

Pull the spark plug first and see if it will turn over by the recoil or electric starter.If it doesn't then check the belt in case it may have shredded,locking up the engine.Pull the valve cover and check out the cam,chain and rocker arms for any damage. If it still wont budge,then possible piston/crank seizure.Doesn't happen often on the 500,but usually because of low oil level,wrong oil used or abuse in maintenance.Plus I've seen them lock up from too much gas if the carb is overflowing.Check the oil level and see if it's overfull,contaminated with fuel.

 

ok I'll check the belt, I did pull the spark pug but still won't turn. I'll let you know what i find.

 

Ok i took off the belt cover , belt was worn but still good , i replaced it anyway, and kept the old one for a spare. The problem was the flywheel magnets came off and jammed between the flywheel and the stator, so i have order a new stator and used flywheel. Should have it back together this week.

 

Not good when this happens also,but better than tearing an engine apart. Better if you could have gotten the updated flywheel,but close to $350 just for it is pretty expensive. Good luck on the repairs.