My 04 500 ATP seems to want to creep forward ever so slightly when it's in gear. It does not do it when cold but only after you've been riding for 10 min or so and the engine and clutch and such has warmed up abit. Idle speed is fine and it doesn't appear difficult to shift into gear.

I am hoping not to have to dig in too deep and could I be as lucky as to only swap out the belt and be OK? If it's a cleaning, where should I start?

 

Pull the clutch cover and look at where the belt is riding on the front clutch one way bearing. Usually they will drift over and touch the inner clutch sheath which keeps pressure on the rear clutch.This causes creeping and if bad enough causes hard shifting. This is usually from wear on the one way inner and outer washers. Plus at times the rear clutch needs to be shimmed out also to keep the belt running dead center of the one way. Items#2,21 are the washers. Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Polaris, Suzuki & Kawasaki OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse Plus look over these posts.Clutch belt creeping - ATVConnection.com ATV Enthusiast Community You can usually tell wear on the belt as it will have glazed or burnt spots if worn bad enough. Hate for you to just replace the belt and have it happen again. You can try to blow out accumulated belt dust from the clutches first and see if it it helps on the creeping.

 

I'll pull the cover off and carefully rip around to warm it up and have a closer look. Shimming out the rear sounds fairly easy.

 

Ok. Had a look at it with the cover off. Even at cold it's drifting over abit and grabbing ever so slightly at the belt. It does not seem to be idling perfectly smooth and that seems to aggravate it abit or at least make it more obvious.

The inner clutch sheath (against the motor) does have a slight groove in it and the belt itself is quite shiny with a few teeth gone so it needs to go. I blew out some dust too but it still drifted over after that. Just under 4000 Kms on the machine so likely all original. I'll order the one way washers and a new belt but wondering about rear shims. Is there supposed to be any in/out play in the rear clutch? I can move it a few mm and wondering if it is supposed to be tight and also maybe has a worn washer or bushing.

 

Rear clutch can move in and out a little on the transmission shaft as the shaft itself has play in it. Most of them do this and may or may not have anything to do with alignment of clutches over time. Plus always check condition of motor mounts as worn/broken mounts can cause the engine to shift and cause problems. Just take one of the shims behind your driven clutch and get a few extra at a good hardware store. Plus if you look at the forum link I posted above,you can substitute the brass washer that goes under the "cup" on the one way bearing for a harder metal one that may last longer. Or just take the brass one and match the size up with a metal one when you tear the clutch apart.

 

Great. Thank you for the advice. I think I'll get some threaded rod and make myself a cheap puller.

 

You need a spider tool to separate the front clutch also if the one way washers need replacement.Spider Tool for Polaris 4654253 | eBay

 

There is no way for me to find 3/4 fine threaded rod without buying the higher grade stuff and it's way to pricey. I forgot that I do have this little puller that I think I used at one time for a scooter engine. The section to the right does thread in correctly but it doesn't seem to go deep enough to create any push.

What can I put in there as a spacer? I don't want to mangle up the threads on the end of the crank but I think this clutch puller will work with a correct sized spacer?

Or not?




Clutch puller

 

Problem is torque needed to pop the clutch of the tapered shaft.. Really need a tool with the nut head so you can really impact the clutch off.