Trouble aligning the CVT belt on 2000 Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4

[MadMan]

Hello ATVers,

I need help aligning the belt on my Polaris Sportsman CVT. I bought this bike used and noticed a little smoke coming out of CVT exhaust under heavy throttle (smelt like burnt rubber). The previous owner claimed he installed a new belt, but when I opened up cvt cover I noticed belt was out of alignment causing the edge of one side of belt to fray. A small chunk of the belt was missing in one area. I removed one of the washers from behind the secondary pulley to move belt back to alignment with primary pulley. The washer acts like a shim and removing it moved the secondary pulley back about 1/8" which is what it needed. I don't like moving the pulley so close to the back of the plastic cvt case but my alternative (per the service manual) is to loosen the motor mounts and move the motor slightly to change position of the primary pulley and then re-tighten the mounts. Please correct me if this info is wrong. I haven't done this step, but I will do so if someone with more CVT experience could chime in. My son and I went for a ride and he typically drives in HIGH range which I'm told is bad for slow trail riding or driving thru mud. Primarily what we drive on are slow forest trails and very muddy sections. Apparently the combination of him being in HIGH range and the belt already frayed caused it to break. So I ordered an EPI sever duty cvt belt and a clutch kit since this bike's cvt has never been serviced. I plan on installing bigger tires for mud, so I ordered a kit designed for this type of riding. Any advice on how to adjust belt tension and alignment would greatly be appreciated. I don't wanna blow another belt. Standard OEM belt is $70 and this severe duty belt is $100!! They are not cheap.

Edited November 8, 2013 by MadMan