Yeah I was. Are you sure there are no photos on the thread somewhere? I don't have time to look right now. Yeah the rollers are in the variator on the engine side. Did you take your factory speed limiting spacer out? If so, thats where the rollers are. Its very easy to do. You can give me a call if you need help. 702-858-8061.

Eddie

 

Hey Dan,
Ed is correct. The rollers are on the front portion of the clutch assembly tucked in behind the variator. Just keep in mind that by removing them you may loose some top end speed but you will gain low end torque. To go one step further, the rear portion of the clutch. The part you stated has the spring behind it. That too can be modified. However, you will need a special tool to safely remove the assembly from the spring. On that part of the clutch, you can change the clutch compression spring (the big one) with other different tension spring. the higher the tension spring the higher the rpm before engaging. You can also change out the rear clutch shift springs. There should be three of them. I don't remember if the rear clutch on the LTZ50 has adjustable weights or not. I know the Can-Am DS90X does but that's a different headache all together. As for your earlier question about reassembly of the clutch and starter gear. You should install the starter gear first. Followed by the rear portion of the clutch. If you haven't removed the speed limiter spacer yet do so at this time by simply not reinstalling it. Next would be the belt then the outer half of the clutch assembly. I would get ther star shaped washer and nut started on the thread then play with the belt so as to free up tension so you can tighten the nut all the way down. Make sure it is seated correctly and tightned down all the way or you could have a repeat of your earlier problem. Hope all this rambling helps.

J-me

 

Ed Katt, lowlife, Thanks for helping me. So if I am understanding you correctly the rollers are on the opposite side of the engine where the recoil is and where I am working? So is the speed reduction spacer on the recoil side or the side where the rollers are? The picture in the owners manual makes it look like the spacer is on the recoil side with the belt. Maybe I'm confused. Is there two belts? Because the guy I bought the ATV from said he removed the spacer already and gave it to me. But I have no idea where it came from. Also Lowlife mentions a star washer. and the outer half of the clutch assembly. All I see is the flywheel or whatever is on the shaft that looks like a sprocket and is engaged by the pinion for starting. then there is the starter cup and recoil. Nothing else there.

 

Dan, The clutch is broken down like this. On the left side of the motor ( same side as the pull start) is your clutch assembly. Your clutch is broken down into two parts. A front and a rear. The front part consists of the clutch fan plate (outer piece) this is where the start shaped washer and nut I was mentioning bolt onto. A spacer (looks like a thick washer normally used to restrict the amount of engagement) and the Variator witch holds the roller weights. The only mods her would be to remove three rollers or install lighter roller wieghts and remove the washer that restricts the clutch full engagement.
Now for the rear portion of the clutch assembly. this too is located on the left side of the engine but is the back half of the clutch. You'll note that the belt wraps around the front part (variator) as well as this part (clutch assembly). The mods on this part would be to remove the assembly and replace the clutch spring with a higher rpm compression spring. You can also remove the three shift springs and install different rpm engaging ones. And the last thing would be to lighten the clutch assembly. I do not recommend this unless you know someone who knows how to do it correctly.
It's been awhile since I pulled the clutch apart on the LTZ50 so the star washer may be a regular washer for those. My sons new bike has a star shaped washer. And to clarify your question as to where the reduction spacer would be, from outer to inner it would assemble ike this - Pullstart recoil unit, outer variator plate, SPEED REDUCTION SPACER, variator assembly. Any more questions just ask. I'm more than willing to help. I just need a few minutes to shake out the cobwebbs.

J-me

 

Here is a link of the CT power upgrade kit I did a while back. Aside from this there is also the CDI box and clutch upgrades. But, this will give you some ideas of what you can look for in the future. http://www.flickr.com/photos/1...ets/72157603123273596/

 

Lowlife, I used your flickr photos Saturday to take off the body. There were no clutch photos though. Anyway I took another look. When Ed Katt said the rollers were on the engine side I thought he meant literally on the "other side" that's why I was confused. I took another look and found the rollers were where I was working already. I removed three rollers, keeping the best looking three. I cleaned everything with Carb cleaner. Are the rollers supposed to be greased with anything, or dry? And yes the spacer was already removed by the former owner which is why the nut was not tightened and caused all the problems. There is just a nut and std washer. No star washer. I went to the Suzuki parts site and assembled everything per the parts photo breakdown. I could not find anything called a variator or variator plate. Question: Do I only remove the exhaust pipe restrictive washer if I install a new race pipe? Or remove it anyway? I do not know how to attach a photo to this message. I wanted to add a photo of a green wire connector that is next to the ignition switch. There are 3 wires in the connector, black with white stripe, a red wire, and an orange wire. There is also a black with yellow stripe wire with a male pin that is outside of the connector. I don't know whether that wire should be in the connector or not.

 

This clutch system is a dry clutch unit. That means no grease. The variator is the unit that holds the roller weights and the variator plate is just a fancy word for the outer portion of the variator. I believe it is finned like a fan. If so, those fins are to help cool the clutch. Now, if you are trying to get the most out of the bike without dropping alot of money in it then the following mods are almost free and don't require performance parts to do the trick. You've already mentioned that the clutch restrictor washer has been removed so place a check next to step one. Step two, would be to to make it breath better. This will cost a little money not to mention the stock unit is a terrible design flaw. This would be the air cleaner. UNI would be best but I don't have a part number. So, a K&N with an outerwears cover would be the next best. look back a few pages and you should find the part number. When replacing the air filter you will have to do something with the hose that runs from the engine to the stock air cleaner unit. Option one would be to run a long tube from the crank case to the handlebars and snake it in the same maner as the gas cap breather hose. second option would be to install a $15 crank case breather filter. It looks like a small K&N filter. Last option is to run the hose to the aftermarket filter and tie it into the back. EdKatt did this mod and speaks highly of it. Give him a shout if you want better details. Now that it has the option to breath better you will want to allow it to exhaust the same. Step Three is to remove the exhaust from the head and take the restrictive washer out. You can let it exhaust even more by removing the (talepipe cover thingamajiggy as my wife would call it) also known as the spark arrestor. At this point you may need to rejet the carb. If you're lucky you could get away with adjusting the air/fuel mixture screw and be done with it (doubt it though). If you have to rejet, look in the carb aftre removing the jets and see if there is a plug in the hole. I had one in my kids quad but some people are not finding them in theres. If you see one, remove it. It's another restrictor. If you're feeling daring, you can shave some of the carb slide off the top to allow the slide to open fully. Take your time on this one and don't leave any burrs behind or you can wreck the walls of the carb. After performing all of these mods, you should notice a nice boost in performance and only be out $75 tops. Anything after this will cost a lot more money. So if you're going big, then get a CDI box. That will show the most gain in performance but will run you $195. After that the options are endless. Just keep in mind the bike can only go as fast as your kid and the suspension can handle. There are some other great tips a few pages back but you'll have to do some searching. Good luck.

 

Sorry I didn't answer the wire questions but I'd have to see the bike again to know for sure. I don't want to give any false info. I can tell you that the Black wire with white stripe is a ground and the red is a positive. Course you probably already knew that.

 

Lowlife, Thanks again! (EdKatt too). I still wonder if there is any adjustment needed when I install the new starter. As is: starter gear to pinion gear. I don't see any way to adjust anything. But after spending $300 for a new starter and new recoil I don't want to assemble it and have something go wrong again.

Also the owners manual says there is a special tool required to remove the nut when the spacer is removed from the clutch. It looks like a plain ole nut to me. What is the catch? However, I wonder why the nut and washer fell out and started this whole mess to start with?

 

You shouldn't have to shim the starter due to the fact that the starter gear is free floating ( able to move in and out) it shouldn't bind up as long as there's nothing loose to interfere with it.
Yeah I was told about the "special tool" from the dealer. They wanted to charge me $120 to remove my clutch spacer and said they need a special tool to do it that's why it's so much. Come to find out, the "special tool" is just an impact gun and a firm grip. When they told me the cost I made them show me the "special tool". I told them I could just purchase one and do the job myself for less cost. That service tech must have wondered the floor for a good 20 minutes trying to find something he could pass off as a special tool. I told him if he couldn't find one lying around I'm sure there is a picture in their manuals of what it may look like. Again he came up short. I hate dealers and hate the service dept. even more! An impact gun and firm grip is all you need to remove and install the washer and nut. If you don't have an impact gun you could use a wrench and a cork. However I do not recommend this method but it does work. I watched a friend of mine wedge a cork between the gear and the engine case and then hold the variator assembly while he loosened the bolt. Kind of shade tree mechanic way of doing it but it worked so who am I to judge. My guess as to why yours fell apart is that the previous owner didn't have it torqued down enough.