Hello...i was just wondering if its normal for a polaris atv to get its belt wet when riding into water at speeds of 15 mph...i am a young rider and this happened to me and didnt know what to do...i had to walk quite a ways to find out that all i had to do is run the motor for a while....is there any accesorie that i can buy to prevent water splashing in my atv's belt box??thanks

 

Not really. Just read the owners manual and follow the fording instructions. Try and take care of dad's quad so he does'nt come in here saying Polaris ATV's are crap (not knowing his son thrashed it).

 

this water was only about 2 in deep to add.......i take really good care of dads quad..i do all the mantenence on it...and am the only one who ever uses it.......he only uses it when hunting

 

spraying water and snow will get sucked into the intake of the clutch cover. You could try drivbing a little slower through the water, or like me, put an elbow at he end of the intake (next to gas tank) so water cannot be sucked straight in. That belt and clutch have to breathe though.

 

Unless your belt houseing is leaking the water has to be being sucked into the breather that is way high up under the front of the quad. High speed runs through water will cause water to get sucked into the intake disableing the quad until the belt dries...(run up in neutral for a while will clear this). You can try to modify the intake to guard against splashed water more, or just be careful blasting through water holes.

Good Luck and have fun!!!

 

How did you make the elbow and how hard is access to air vent.

Thanks

Hugh Sammons
Columbia SC

 

Well it almost sounds like the seal between the clutch cover is leaky or the seal behind the drive clutch could be tore also check and see if the clutch cover is warped from overheating it. Also is the clutch cover loose that some times happens. Word of advice you know those little spring clips that help hold the clutch cover together put two on the rear about 4 inches apart this will help the two halves seal and always replace your seal if it is even the slightest bit questionable

 

The key is to go into the water slow and try to stay away from splashing too much. But don't let this keep you out of the water. There are 6 SP500's in the group I ride with and we go creek riding alot. We've had ours in 4 or 5 feet of water several times (almost every weekend in the summer) with NO belt slippage. What we do is ride slow INTO the water and try not to splash high enough to get in the belt intake. Now, if you're going in the deep stuff, put your knees as far back on the seat as you can get them, when the water gets almost to your belt intake, put it in four-wheel drive and nail it! This will bring the front end up and keep your belt intake out of th water. It's pretty cool, I never would have dreamed a Sportsman 500 would float - but they will!

EADS