I have a 2000 Sportsman 500. I have 1250 miles on it. I have never got it to go over 48 mph! Is this normal? I was told if the belt is shot it wont go fast. Is this true?? But, I HAVE NEVER EVEN COME CLOSE TO BURNING IT. Are there other reasons it is so slow? Also, will the new splicless belt work on my Sportsman. Will it wear the clutches?
Thanks.

 

To loose of a belt will also cause your quad to be slow as the clutches will never fully shift out thus the drive train never spins enough rpms to take you to top speed. I would check your belt tension and adjust as needed and while your in there check the belt for wear. Later

 

maybe thats its top speed?

 

sounds to me llike there is something stopping the clutch weights from fully engaging your upshift on the primary clutch I would tak off the cover and check the shift weights make sure that nothing is blocking their swing,clean it up with a file and some emey cloth,make sure you line up the markings on the clutch when you put it back together and put on a sp700 belt, then see what happens

 

There really are several things that could be wrong and I'm just going to throw one out. If you look at thisdiagram # 8 is a limiting nut. If this nut backs off or was never down all the way it would definately slow you down by not letting your clutch shift out all the way. I saw this on another site dealing with the installation of a heelclicker clutch kit. That kit includes a new limiting nut that is just a little thinner than stock and if you don't change it with the kit you could loose topend. It just gave me the idea when I saw your post that if everything looks fine on the clutches you might want to check that nut. Also to see if you are shifting out all the way just take a black marker and make a line from the bottom of the clutch sheeve to the top and then rev it out. If its shifting out it will wipe off all of the marker, if it doesn't then something is holding it back.

Other questions would be:
Did you buy it new?
Has this been the top speed since new?
Did you add any huge tires, or other significant weight?
What elevation are you riding at?

After answering that kind of stuff there will be more people that can help you.

 

48 m.p.h. is real slow, you should get between 55 & 60 stock. a worn belt will cost you some top end but is more noticable on the bottom.