Drive problems

[stiehlm]

I have a 2015 500i LE with just over 400 miles on it,up to now been an awesome machine zero problems. Got it out this past Sat. and got hung up in some deep snow, after several tries of back and forth was making progress of getting it unstuck, mind you was not beating it by any means, it acted like it was stuck between gears.After removing the seats and engine cover nothing looked amiss,linkage and everything appeared fine. Was able to with the help of a buddy to rock the machine back and forth and it appeared to snap back into reverse.It then seamed to shift alright but did not sound quite right but thought it was because the engine cover was off and everything sounded louder. So after some thought  I thought well you plowed some heavy deep snow the weekend before and gave it a nice workout then put it away in a unheated garage so maybe some melted snow or whatever got in there and froze up.So put it the garage with some heat on it for several hours and tried it again just in the backyard and everything seamed fine. Put it away for the night thinking great all is ok,so Sunday back out to the garage and put engine cover back on and reinstalled seats etc. Then took it for a longer test ride putting thru all of it's paces and everything worked as it should but did appear to make a little more drive belt noise. Thought ok I can live with this just probably shortened the life of my belt is all. So returning home doing 36 mph it just locked up and slide to a complete stop,thank God the road was snow and ice covered so it slid to a stop,if not I am afraid it could of been ugly. After numerous attempts was able to somewhat get it into reverse and get it out of the road. Tried last night to tow it to my garage but the rears wheels are dragging no matter what we do so quit the towing process not wanting to further damage anything. Reached out to local dealer,sadly they are worthless,tried numerous ways and times to Kymco USA with so far zero response. I have never owned anything that was CVT driven so do not know much about them,I am a millwright by trade so very mechanical but could use any help you guys may have . Sorry so wordy but wanted to sare the whole story.  Thanks

[airshot]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Based on what I am reading it sounds like your cvt belt broke or come apart. Possibly a spring in the cvt clutch may have broke. Get a service manual and take off the cvt belt cover and see what the issue is.  With your skills you should be able to fix this with a service manual.  Also look up cvt drives on youtube, lots of videos showing how they work. Unfortunately they are not easy to get to, but very doable!  Let us know what you have found.

[stiehlm]

What a poor design to get to the drive belt,looks very labor intensive just to get belt cover off. The drive belt being the lifeline of the machine should be much easier to get to like most other brands. Will update when I finally get to the belt and clutch.

[Viper254]

They're a pain to get to on most of these scooters, but it should only take 5 minutes with the right rachet and heads

[airshot]

Sport machines are easier to access however ytility machines like ours are built for work and more heavy duty so it makes acess to the belt more labor intense. The rocking it back and forth in deep snow probable cooked the belt. Whenever in stuck conditions like that or for plowing or hauling heavy loads be sure to always use LOW range, using hi will overheat the drive belt. I have more than 1000 miles as do many others by using low range more often. Also possible a spring on one of the clutches might have broke, and that would be from just bad luck...keep us posted and good luck

[stiehlm]

By rocking it back and forth I meant the 2 of us pushing on the machine why it sat there under idle,always plow in low,still think it is a bad design to have to remove fuel tank etc. just to get the belt cover off

[airshot]

Cant argue with you idea of better acess to the belt, but if you look at other similiar machines each one has things that dont make much sense!  Having been in tool design for the past 40 yrs, even us designers are limited to the time we can spend on designs and even then they will go over our heads to save some money. I am on numerous forums covering many different manufacturers.  It seems everyone has some complaint about each different machine. If you dont have a service manual, i got mine online at "Cyclepedia.com" they even offer some trouble shooting services.

[stiehlm]

Well so far it is not the rear brake,belt,primary clutch,secondary clutch,wet clutch,one way bearing.Jack up the rear and rear wheels still do not turn but 10 or 12 degrees.Next is remove rear driveshaft to see if it is the rear diff or tranny. Can't say I am real impressed with it seeing as it only has 412 miles on it. Finally talked to a lady at Kymco USA who was zero help,her answer for everything is you have to go thru your local dealer and she stated that they can no longer sell me any parts. NOT IMPRESSED

[airshot]

Have you actually removed the belt cover?  Unfortunately your is the first I have heard with a serious problem that the dealer hasnt taken care of. When I spoke to Kymco USA the gentleman was very helpfull.  Sorry to hear about your issues.

[stiehlm]

Yes everything in the previous post has been removed

[stiehlm]

So another piss poor design, in order to remove the rear drive shaft the entire rear diff has to be removed

[Viper254]

Yes. this is the case with most scooters sadly. Thankfully I've never had to replace one...

[stiehlm]

This is not a scooter it is a side by side

[CROSSBOLT]

This is not a scooter it is a side by side

Believe me, Viper knows that! I just hope I never have to get into the guts of our UXV500i 'cause it looks like a giant PITA!

[airshot]

Dont know what the 500 or 700's look like, but my 450 doesnt look like any fun either!  However one day in the not to distant future I will be replacing the cvt belt. Have a service manual so it doesnt look that terrible but there will be lots of bolts to remove!  Guess it is the price you pay for having toys...