Hey guys, I bought a used 2000 Sportsman 500 about a year or so ago and it's in amazing condition for its age. However, it still has the original drive belt and I think I would like to replace it just for peace of mind. I don't do any kind of severe riding, the bike has never seen any mud, and the only hauling it does is once a year it has to haul me and deer carcass out of the woods.
Aside from the OEM belt, what other drive belts do you all recommend? I don't think I need to spend a ton on a high performance or severe duty belt, but I could be swayed if it's really necessary. My Sportsman DOES have the EBS if that matters.
I just picked up a 2000 Sportsman 500 4x4 and I also went with the Gates belt for approx. $40. I didn't realize that there are two versions of the belt depending on if your machine has EBS. You can look at the primary clutch and if the center where the belt rides on is smooth, it's a Non-EBS, if it looks like what a car belt would go on with the ridges, it's the EBS version. I didn't know the difference and I picked up the Non-EBS and had to return it recently.
Mine has the EBS so ordered the right one I think. Should be here in a few days. I was able to get the clutch cover off and get the old belt removed. It looked decent. The ribs on the inside where showing some wear, but nothing terrible. The inside of the clutch cover was completely coated in a thick black grease though! Got it on my arms and hands it wouldn’t hardly come off. I used a brush and Dawn dish soap and had to wash the inside of the clutch cover 3 times to get it clean. Not sure where all that grease came from. Everything else inside looked normal.
Agreed! I ended up using the tool to take off the primary clutch and and cleaned it up. Mine wasn't greased up at all but the amount of dust that came off it was crazy. Good luck and hope to see more progress!
Got the belt in today and got it installed in less than 5 minutes. Looks like a very high quality belt. I took it for a short ride around the neighborhood to try to start the break in process. Everything works like it should. One thing I noticed that was different is that the EBS engages and slows the ATV down a lot faster than it did with the other belt. You let off the throttle and you slow down pretty quickly. I do about 70% of my driving in low range, so I don't think I'll ever need to replace the belt for as long as I keep the bike. Just peace of mind really.
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