[glenn]

A while ago I started getting a funny noise from my clutch/belt on my prarie 650. I talked to a guy with the kawasaki trailer at the Rocky Mtn atv Jamboree and he said that it needed a spacer in the clutch to fix it. Jimmy told me the same thing so I had him send me a spring and spacer. After installing them it still made the same noise so I replaced the belt. It still makes this irritating noise at 1-2 mph when slowing down or rock crawling. Any help with this is really appreciated.

 

[Kawi]

The only other thing I can think of that you are hearing may be the engine brake. Have you had a dealer listen to it? 8)

 

[glenn]

squeakin' 650

I haven't taken it to a dealer - I'm really anti on the idea. I was really pushed for time this spring and I took it in for service . I picked the bike up, drove 350 miles to where it was warm and it wouldn't run when I got there. I spent a big part of my trip to sunny Southern utah working on my quad. If it was the engine braking would it only make the sound when I am slowing down ? ( dumb question huh ? ) You guys really helped me out a while ago and faxed me some copies of a factory service manual. Can I just buy one from you ? With the info that I got I had the bike running in no time . Thanks

 

[Lothi]

Hi

Maybe a hint from a GPZ305 BeltDrive owner:

The belt of this machine is also usually squeaking. Especially on very low speed or if shuffling the bike.
Yes, sounds like a bad brake. But comes definitly from the belt (from the front sprocket).
Firstly I thought the belt need adjusting, but everything was o.k.
(Otherwise You should see scratches on the belt)
I figured out that the use of edible- or sun-flower-oil on the belt let this squeak and creak vanish. Also it seems to have positive effect to the lifetime of the belt.
But don't use silicone-oil, that weakens the belt !

Maybe this sounds a little curious, but hands-on-experience on the GPZ305 shows that this little trick works very fine.

Hope this helps You

 

[glenn]

still squeakin' 650 belt

This sounds crazy enough that it just might work. My question is, do I soak the belt in oil , wipe it on with a rag or what ? Also, I imagine that canola oil would also work ( since that is what my wife uses ) please let me know so I can get rid of this squeak !

 

[Lothi]

Hi Glenn

I use sunflower-oil, but I think canola is equal. ( The VW-Passat of a friend of mine runs with canola oil instead of diesel 8).

No, no soaking needed.
I take a brush or a piece of clothes and dispense a little bit, especialy on the edges. Like if You want to clean or polish the belt or so.

The belt of my machine is covered with black polyurethane ( teeth are solid polyurethane) and covered with a thin yellow-white nylon-film on theeth side.
The effect seems to me the same as walking with a special sole of a shoe on a smooth floor (squeak, squeak).
Therefore You need not much oil, only a thin film to disrupt the vibrations.

Sometimes some people are afraid that the belt slips off when putting oil on it: me and other drivers here in germany have never watched the belt slipping of even if You use too much oil. Some mechanics told me so, but if I ask them closer they also have never watched such an effect.
On contrary, in my opinion it could not slip off, due to the teeth. So there is absolutely no risk of using edible oil.

Only one drawback I know: If You use too much oil, dirt will easily adhere on the belt. But not if You use it "economically"

Hope this info helps You.

 

[Kawi]

Glenn also call Lauri at 1-800-556-3098 at Beartooth Kawasaki and order your service manual she will save you 15% off list , keep me posted on the progress with the belt. 8)

 

[glenn]

Sorry that it has taken me so long to reply but I haven't been able to work on my bike untill today. I didn't have any luck with the oil idea-belt slippage problems and it still made the noise. I cleaned everything up and then got an idea. :idea: The front clutch pulley has four cams . I took a bottle of turbine oil - the kind that we oil blower motors with - and put two drops on each cam. I really didn't think it would make any difference but I did it anyway. And what do you know, its as quiet as it was the day I bought it. This will become part of my annual maintenance and I would be very surprised if other people haven't had this same problem .

 

[Anonymous]

BELT SQUEEK FIX

ON the old TTY type printers in the Navy we had the same belt problem...thinking bearings and such...really! Use some liquid graphite ((Lock Anti-Freeze)) mrom one of the auto parts stores. It won't harm the rubber because it is not all rubber and it evaporates very quickly leaving the graphite in and on the belt!!!

 

[joey]

belt deflection-very important--please read

In regards to the belt squeak on yours or any 360/650/300/400 prairie with a belt drive. Prairies use what is called a continously variable transmission(CVT). The CVT varies the drive ratio between the engine and the transmission by changing the effective diameters of the drive and driven pulleys. This is done by changing the widths between the sheaves of the pulleys. This happens automatically. The CVT reacts to engine rpm and vehicle load. While canola, sunflower, graphite, turbine oil, etc may quiet the final drive belt on a GPZ 305, it is not recommended to be used on a CVT and will accelerate belt, componant, and clutch wear as well as cause slippage of the belt. The belt drives on those are a completely different system from the CVT. The cogs on the belt for the CVT's are for the purpose of keeping the belt cool. Keeping the clutches and drive belt clean and dry is essential to the operation of the CVT. Lubrications(such as those previously mentioned) can cause belt dust to stick to the moveable parts inside the pulleys and cause premature failure. There are special lubes for the parts inside the clutches. The main cause of the belt sqeak is the belt deflection being out of specification. I would very strongly suggest to anyone having such problems to either obtain a service manual or consult a trained technician.

 

[Anonymous]

SQUEEKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE??//CANOLA OIL!!!

I now understand...what you are saying...the Polaris Automatic is a CVT buying a NEW belt "IS" the correct answer...for the final solution...using oils causes the belt to swell and it acutally is destructive but a quick fix... ( then again he could rough up the pullies or even rough up the belt) using the graphite will let it slip and it will get hot and do basically the same thing as your oils...the "V"'s are for cooling and they can't keep up with either the OILS or the Graphite thus the swelling like you would have putting water on wood to get the pores to swell, so that you can sand and eventually get a Slick as a marble finish.
I also have a seperate issue with motorcycles that will do in excess of 120MPH+ when most people don't even have the tires that are rated at the speds that their bike could turn. My PERSONAL idea for urban or city use is to change the gearing...it not only allows a 600cc bike to beat a stock 1000cc (power/weight) and better handling (usually shorter wheelbase and different setup) it uses all of the gears and doesn't leave the 5th and 6th gears only for the open road...of course if you live out in Reno, Las Vegas, or someplace wide open they come in handy IF you have the proper speed rated tires..
I'm SORRY if you think that I gave someone the wrong advice...it works on U.S. NAVY equipment as a quick fix...till the belt that is on order FINALLY arrives...
Bottom Line...you do need a NEW BELT.

 

[glenn]

650 belt

okay, just so everyone understands where I am at with this, here goes- after installing the new shim I got and checking deflection, I still had a squeak. The sunflower oil idea was a disaster. I used a brand new belt (from Beartooth,of course) oiled it up and put it on. I couldn't even get my quad out of the garage. I tore everything down and cleaned like crazy. After I did it I realized this wasn't the brightest thing I'd ever done. I lubed the cams with turbine oil- just a couple drops - and the noise was gone.If there is something else that should be used , and I'm sure that there is, please let me know and I'll have Lauri send me some. I couldn't find anyone in northern Utah to sell me a manual let alone something like cam grease!

 

[Lothi]

Hi Gleen

Sorry about the trouble You ran by using edible oil
Me and other owners of a GPZ-305 motobike _use_ sunflower oil without any of the problems as mentioned above. Only silicone-oil is to avoid, which weakens the adhesives of the multi-layer belt indeed.
Also no one of the owners I know ever had a belt slipped.
But now I have learned that the belts of the motobikes are too different to those of the transmission-box of the Quads :roll:
The belt of my bike is only for end-transmission; a kind of "service-free replacement" for the chain bikes usually have. It has nothing to do with gear or transmission-box. It is made of a kevlar-mix as a basis, the theeth are made of solid polyurethane, half an inch deep, square-formed, and covered with a small layer of nylone on the surface. All these materials are oil-resistant and do not swell.

So I am sorry about the advice I gave to You and which turned out to be very wrong in this case.

"You live and learn"

 

[glenn]

still squeakin belt

Hey, it was just one of those things as far as I'm concerned. I would just as soon lose a few battles along the way so I can learn and do more. I went to school to be an aircraft mechanic but that was 20 years ago.( I'm sounding like my dad now) It's hard to keep up with all the new stuff out here and still take care of business and family,etc. So thanks for giving it a shot , it's really no big deal.