99 Venture XL 500. 40 MPH Max speed

[2uprider]

Ok, before I just came on here asking dumb questions I did a little reading to try and solve the problem but I will still ask a dumb question(s).

Sled is new to me and my first sled. Bought it with 1138 miles and a guy just used it for ice fishing (story I got so who knows). She runs fine but it seems as if 40 MPH is max most of the time. I have been able to get her up to 60 but seems to come and go.
- changed belt. Primary and secondary were clean, I didn't notice any odd wear on the belt.
- Carbs. Never cleaned them, probably should.
- Plugs. Yep probably should replace them as well.

In two weekends of riding I put 300 miles on this gem with days at 125-150 Miles per day which probably has been the most per day ever for this girl. In my limited research the engage RPM is 3250 and this seems to be about where she engages. The shift RPM per the specs I found (on this website so thank you) is just over 7000 RPM. at 40 MPH I am at about 6000 and most of the time it is pinned. Seems like sometimes she will want to run up to 60 with higher RPM's and other times she doesn't. I also read that the gearing in these , some had a bigger gear and 60 is max speed anyways. Sled is not at my house so I will check.

Could this be a primary spring? Could it be the shims in the back of the clutch that I have read about? All of the issues I have read about these and the need to remove the shims is because the sled wants to creep at idle and the clutch is grabbing. Mine seems to have the opposite.

Any help is appreciated. Nice sled other than that issue and I would want to enjoy it even more.

Thanks!

 

[Maim]

that motor should tac to 7800 rpm. sounds like the secondary is set fine but you should blow them out. a disassasembly and clean to make sure they are sliding freely would not hurt. odds are there is a ton of belt dust in it. do not use brake cleaner as it leaves a residue that messes up belts. a scotch brite pad and soapy water are the best for cleaning them.

https://totallyamaha.com/Totallyamaha/mainTechIndex.html under sled tec are the stock specs for your sled.

i had a 01 sxr with the same specs and it would hit 80 mph before it ran out of gear with a 121" track. had to gear it up for better fuel milage. as you have a 136" track, gearing should be perfect. odds are it needs a new primary spring as that one is weak with age. cleaning is a must though with this age nvm milage.

i would leave the secondary alone, as other than it sticking from belt dust, it should be fine.

 

[2uprider]

Thank You! This points me in the right direction. Hopefully I can get a chance to work on this and get another ride in before the season is over.

 

[74Nitro]

If this is the fan cooled 500 I think max power is 7200-7500.
Check the primary rollers and weights for wear.
What is total mileage?

 

[Maim]

sry my mistake. that is an air cooled sled. it should tac to the 7200 range. still should hit 60-70 mph range. i still reccomend the new spring for primary and the carb cleaning. fuel filter would not hurt either as it is probably still factory one.

 

[2uprider]

If this is the fan cooled 500 I think max power is 7200-7500.
Check the primary rollers and weights for wear.
What is total mileage?

Thanks. Yes a fan cooled, 7250 max rpm on this website. Machine has 1435 miles on it now. My riding season is over so I will give the machine a good going over before next season. 60-70 MPH is fine with me on this machine.

 

[norwegian]

If you want to do the sled a favour, get a set of dupont slides. It will go better than stock, once the issue is fixed of course.

 

[Ding]

Definitely something not right with either the power it is producing, the clutches shifting (primary in/secondary out), or the drive train drag. Those sleds will get to 60 quite easily and then climb to 70+.

The way I diagnose them is just by the process of elimination - some things are easy to eliminate, while others a little more involved.

I would start by eliminating drive train and track drag - jack the rear up and rotate the track by hand. You should be able to turn it fairly easy.
Then mark both clutch sheaves with a indelible marker and take a test run that includes a straight at WOT. Check to see if the marks are removed by the belt or not.

If the drive train and clutches all check out - just visibly checking is not good enough have to test them, then I move on to the engine - which is a whole book :-)