[CostaRicaZFORCE]

Hey guys. New to the forum and a new Zforce owner. Got a 2016 550 for a good deal but it’s had its abuse…

Belt recently blew up on me so I put a new one on tonight and now it’s extremely hard to shift in to gear with the engine running. Once in gear it seems to run fine, but getting it in gear I feel like I’m going to snap the lever. With the engine off it shifts no problem.
I’m going to take the cover off again and inspect it running to see if anything is noticeable right away in the clutch.

My main question is which way should the one-way bearing be facing or spinning, towards the front of the machine or towards the back? (Counter clockwise or clockwise?)
Upon inspection it appeared to look like it was 2 bearings with a sheave over them making it one unit, but after researching on here, it seems more like my bearing has actually fallen apart as i can slide the casing off the 2 portions and slip them back in together. The one way bearing should be one solid part right?
Sorry if this is a stupid question, I’m a newbie and haven’t torn a clutch apart like this since my snowmobile days back in like ‘04.
Thanks!

[NMKawierider]

Sounds like it's come apart...but normally you should be able to spin it opposite the normal direction of the engine but it should lock when turning in the same direction of the engine. The parts breakdown here doesn't show that bearing being sold separately but I'll "almost" bet one from a 2018+ 500 would work. Don't hold me to it though...lol.

[CostaRicaZFORCE]

Sounds like it's come apart...but normally you should be able to spin it opposite the normal direction of the engine but it should lock when turning in the same direction of the engine. The parts breakdown here doesn't show that bearing being sold separately but I'll "almost" bet one from a 2018+ 500 would work. Don't hold me to it though...lol.

Thank you much. I don’t think I fully removed the bearing to be able to flip its direction but i was waiting for the belt for a few weeks so I don’t really remember. Going to open it up tomorrow and check it’s rotational ability’s and sturdiness.
Thanks again 

[NMKawierider]

Sounds like it's come apart...but normally you should be able to spin it opposite the normal direction of the engine but it should lock when turning in the same direction of the engine. The parts breakdown here doesn't show that bearing being sold separately but I'll "almost" bet one from a 2018+ 500 would work. Don't hold me to it though...lol.

Thank you much. I don’t think I fully removed the bearing to be able to flip its direction but i was waiting for the belt for a few weeks so I don’t really remember. Going to open it up tomorrow and check it’s rotational ability’s and sturdiness.
Thanks again 

If any part of it tends to slide off..IMO..there is something wrong with it. They don't last very long anyway.

[CostaRicaZFORCE]

Yeah I agree, one of the sealed bearings comes right out of the whole bearing setup so a new one is on the way (difficult to get parts quickly here in costa rica)

It does go back together nicely and take a bit of force to come apart so ima run it till new one comes in.

Now that it’s back up and running with a new belt however, I feel like I’ve lost a little bit of top end power… could it just be the tightness of the new belt? Could I have overtightened something? I only did a little zip zip with that impact to reinstall the clutch so didn’t put a whole lot of muscle behind it but could an overtightened nut be causing more drag causing me to lose top end? Thanks in advanced 🤘🏼

[NMKawierider]

Yeah I agree, one of the sealed bearings comes right out of the whole bearing setup so a new one is on the way (difficult to get parts quickly here in costa rica)

It does go back together nicely and take a bit of force to come apart so ima run it till new one comes in.

Now that it’s back up and running with a new belt however, I feel like I’ve lost a little bit of top end power… could it just be the tightness of the new belt? Could I have overtightened something? I only did a little zip zip with that impact to reinstall the clutch so didn’t put a whole lot of muscle behind it but could an overtightened nut be causing more drag causing me to lose top end? Thanks in advanced 🤘🏼

It's been my experience that changes in power or top end speed relating to the CVT system usually comes from either a failure to complete the shift-out or belt slippage. Also it is critical on most all makes to use the correct torque values.

Shift out failure reasons include incorrect assembly of the primary, incorrect preloading or assembly of the secondary, spring resistance too high or an alignment problem. Belt slippage comes from glazed or burned belts, foreign materials on the belt like water or oil or excessive wear areas on a clutch sheave.     

[CostaRicaZFORCE]

Thanks NM,

I couldn’t see any alignment marks when putting the primary back together besides a blue dot on one of the casings. But nothing on the inner sheave. I’m going to tear back in to it tomorrow and see how it’s all looking. I finally found a large enough socket as well to remove the secondary so going to inspect and clean that as well. When I inserted a bolt to spread it to change the belt, it wasn’t easy to spread and didn’t return closed very easily… so I’m thinking I may have an issue in there.
Do you happen to have the torque specs of the clutches handy? I rode for a bit today and it ran great and plenty of speed on flat ground, but it appears that hills are the downfall and it drastically looses speed untill it hits about 15mph and holds steady there. Shifting in to Low would help a little but would max out only a few MPH faster.
Thanks!

[NMKawierider]

Thanks NM,

I couldn’t see any alignment marks when putting the primary back together besides a blue dot on one of the casings. But nothing on the inner sheave. I’m going to tear back in to it tomorrow and see how it’s all looking. I finally found a large enough socket as well to remove the secondary so going to inspect and clean that as well. When I inserted a bolt to spread it to change the belt, it wasn’t easy to spread and didn’t return closed very easily… so I’m thinking I may have an issue in there.
Do you happen to have the torque specs of the clutches handy? I rode for a bit today and it ran great and plenty of speed on flat ground, but it appears that hills are the downfall and it drastically looses speed untill it hits about 15mph and holds steady there. Shifting in to Low would help a little but would max out only a few MPH faster.
Thanks!

I don't off hand but I do have a bad copy of the Z500/550 service manual that will have it in it. I will PM you the download link. Sorry about it being a bad copy...it's all I have.

[CostaRicaZFORCE]

Big helps. Thanks so much. If I squint hard enough I’m sure I’ll find it 🤣 thanks again