1996 500 XT jetting

caravanman

caravanman

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Oct 12, 2005
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Location
Southern MI
My nephew bought a clean low mileage 96 500 XT. This is the first 500 I have even been around or messed with.
The throttle response is bit doggy and the fuel ecomony is poor (about 5 MPG).
It has all of the stock jetting and clutching still in it. Were the 500's jetted too rich from the factory like my 96 600 XT was? I see in the jetting charts 1994-96 500's are all jetted the same.

What set up have any of you ran with good success on a 94-96 500?

Thanks in advance
 
The 500 throttle response will be doggy compared to the 600, it doesn't have that snap to flick the throttle and do a wheelie (skielie?) over a berm/driveway like the 600 has.
Fuel economy when new was 13-14 or better in good conditions, but tapered off to around 10 over time, wear, regearing, etc. 5 is much too low, something is amiss, likely in more than one area.

Before you jet down, make sure the plugs and pistons are reading about the same and not reading lean (which I doubt at 5mpg). Yamaha is usually conservative on jetting, so dropping a size is usually fine, but make sure the engine is sealed up with no air leaks, as these engines have been known to burn down from time to time. I lost each cylinder when still under warranty, the 1st dealer sucked and the 2nd dealer found molding flash on the plastic boost bottle/crossover that is mounted between the carb intake boots. He trimmed the flash and sealed it up with silicone on reassembly. Also found a broken bolt on the intake boot that was just glued back in place by dealer #1. Sled ran great for 15yrs & ~6000 miles afterwards (burned a cyl last year, but this may have been preventable with a little more maintenance).

Check the crank seals for leaks, and check the intake boots and boost bottle for leaks. Reseal anything in question.
Check the reed valves for damage.
Clean and check everything to specs in the carbs.
Is your oil usage in spec? Check and adjust the oil pump cable if usage is out of spec.
Clean and check the clutches and belt. Check clutch alignment. Make sure the clutches are shifting fine, the bushings are known to wear as are the weights/rollers and sheaves especially the primary. Is the belt riding at the proper height and with proper deflection.
Check ski alignment and condition. Make sure the plastic inserts are in good condition, or run plastic skis if you want.
Make sure the track is rolling around the suspension easily, run the track tension relatively loose as long as the drivers don't slip (ratchet) on the drive lugs inside the track when you nail the throttle (you can hear and feel vibrations when it slips). Make sure the track and suspension are aligned properly, and aligned with the ski's. Make sure all of the wheels in the rear suspension have good bearings and roll/spin easily.

Others may have more to add, but this is a good start. Many of the specs and procedures can be found in your owners manual or in a shop manual, and much of it can be found here on TY, do a search and also check out the tech pages in detail. Lots of great info on this site.
 
I have 500 xt when I bought it ,the first thing i did was lower the needles and rebuilt everything if it needed it. I put 8 cr weights in it with a w-s-w spring and an 80 * wrap on sec. youll need to add a lil' weight to the 8cr's to keep revs down to around 7800 rpm. gets around 10 per gallon and jumps the skis off the ground when nailed! It will stay with the 600's up intill about 80!
 
yammy said:
I have 500 xt when I bought it ,the first thing i did was lower the needles and rebuilt everything if it needed it. I put 8 cr weights in it with a w-s-w spring and an 80 * wrap on sec. youll need to add a lil' weight to the 8cr's to keep revs down to around 7800 rpm. gets around 10 per gallon and jumps the skis off the ground when nailed! It will stay with the 600's up intill about 80!
Click to expand...
Thanks Yammy this is just the kind of info I'm looking for.
 
srx700c said:
The 500 throttle response will be doggy compared to the 600, it doesn't have that snap to flick the throttle and do a wheelie (skielie?) over a berm/driveway like the 600 has.
Fuel economy when new was 13-14 or better in good conditions, but tapered off to around 10 over time, wear, regearing, etc. 5 is much too low, something is amiss, likely in more than one area.

Before you jet down, make sure the plugs and pistons are reading about the same and not reading lean (which I doubt at 5mpg). Yamaha is usually conservative on jetting, so dropping a size is usually fine, but make sure the engine is sealed up with no air leaks, as these engines have been known to burn down from time to time.
Click to expand...
srx700c
Thanks for the info, the sled is fast enough for the boy but need to get his mileage up so my brother can spend more time riding and less time looking for gas stops.
 
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