New top gear & Drive axle on 2022 sidewinders

[sidewinder 2018]

1.771” should be the diameter of the bearing journal on the new shaft.1.770”should be the diameter of the inner race on bearing for a interference fit

 

[sidewinder 2018]

What are the measurements on the O.D of the driveshafts?Every can complain about the bearings being loose but the numbers dont lie!!!!There is a standard for bearing fits ALL engineers have to follow,Measure and compare the bearing I.D. and the shaft O.D..then grab a machinist handbook and see if its in tolerance..Everyone can say on here the bearing is loose but that means nothing without telling everyone the actual measurements!!!!Numbers guys not opinions just saying.Would be interesting to hear what everyone is getting for measurements on there driveshaft.

1.771”shaft journal diameter/1.770”inner race bearing diameter.once I had a anti-rotation pin installed (welded)in my original shaft ,and slotted inner race I will not have to re -visit this again

 

[Upstater57]

I would just remove the bearing, clean up the shaft, and repack it every year as part of annual maintenance. I am sure the bearing to shaft clearance in that shaft is designed that way. I know guys can't get their primary clutches off the engines. I would more concerned about that. LOL
I have never owned a high performance sled that did not have quirky design issue that needed some work, The early ZR9's had a number of issues that took several years to fix. Compared to those issues, Sidewinder/Tcat issues seem less troublesome.

 

[1nc 2000]

I would just remove the bearing, clean up the shaft, and repack it every year as part of annual maintenance. I am sure the bearing to shaft clearance in that shaft is designed that way. I know guys can't get their primary clutches off the engines. I would more concerned about that. LOL
I have never owned a high performance sled that did not have quirky design issue that needed some work, The early ZR9's had a number of issues that took several years to fix. Compared to those issues, Sidewinder/Tcat issues seem less troublesome.

Its not an easy fix, the tunnel is weak flexes and cracks. The bearing needs to be locked down but they won't do it with this design.

 

[vodoo child]

Typical AC/Yamaha bullshit! When I changed out my my driveshaft and bearing 2 yrs ago I bought the BOP wedge. Set the wedge at 40 lbs. Done ""PROBLEM SOLVED""! AC most likely still has a trailer load of drive shafts they'll continue to use cause. ""THEY DON'T SEE A PROBLEM""!!!

 

[stevewithOCD]

I would just remove the bearing, clean up the shaft, and repack it every year as part of annual maintenance. I am sure the bearing to shaft clearance in that shaft is designed that way. I know guys can't get their primary clutches off the engines. I would more concerned about that. LOL
I have never owned a high performance sled that did not have quirky design issue that needed some work, The early ZR9's had a number of issues that took several years to fix. Compared to those issues, Sidewinder/Tcat issues seem less troublesome.

I'm not sure you realize what is going here. No offense.
I'm NOT being facetious here, but the outer & inner race aren't supposed to move so the little balls rotate around. i:e Ball Bearing
If the races aren't locked down the "balls" don't get to rotate cuz the race is spinning on the shaft. At this point why even have a bearing?

If they want the bearing "sloppy" for chassis flex, then add 1 pound of material to strengthen it. Or put a pillow block style in there.
OR just lock it down like every other bearing installed for the last 125 years.
My bud put a new drive shaft in my old sled last year.
When he put the bearing on it fell off faster then gravity. He looked at me in disbelief as i laughed my arse off.
The BOP McWedgy tool didn't work at 65lbs.

SOME people got lucky & a tighter fit.
LUCK does NOT make me feel warm & fuzzy when i've committed $1000's and time off work to have a bearing designed poorly go bad 12 hours away from home.

 

[rtx moose]

It’s a #*$&@ design and we all know it. This new shaft is not going to change anything no matter what a calipers reads. I don’t need caliper and numbers to know that the shaft in my 2022 is not going to spin inside a bearing. It will spin if left alone from factory and no wedge from BOP.

I said nothing about the design just that numbers are what matters with bearing fits and specifications.if the chassis is the weak spot then that's the root cause!!if the bearing and driveshaft fit the specs then it's something else!!

 

[stevewithOCD]

Different specs on the shafts. Some are loose, some snug.
THAT RIGHT THERE is an ISSUE
I had pics of 2 different shafts, but erased them.
So you'd have to get 10 measurements then take the average. It's that bad/sad

 

[Upstater57]

I'm not sure you realize what is going here. No offense.
I'm NOT being facetious here, but the outer & inner race aren't supposed to move so the little balls rotate around. i:e Ball Bearing
If the races aren't locked down the "balls" don't get to rotate cuz the race is spinning on the shaft. At this point why even have a bearing?

If they want the bearing "sloppy" for chassis flex, then add 1 pound of material to strengthen it. Or put a pillow block style in there.
OR just lock it down like every other bearing installed for 125 years.
My bud put a new drive shaft in my old sled last year.
When he put the bearing on it fell off faster then gravity. He looked at me in disbelief as i laughed my arse off.
The BOP McWedgy tool didn't work at 65lbs.

SOME people got lucky & a tighter fit.
LUCK does NOT make me feel warm & fuzzy when i've committed $1000's and time off work to have a bearing designed poorly go bad 12 hours away from home.

No offense taken. I understand your point. I just think there is a engineering reason they designed it this way. Perhaps we should try and learn that answer. I have owned many cats and would agree that my 2022 Tcat would be the first one I owned with a loosely fit bearing on that shaft. Does anyone know why it is built that way?

 

[Turboflash]

Been asking that question and trying to find out for years. My local dealer has brought it up to Cat multiple times but never gets an answer. Crickets!

 

[STAIN]

I think the reason for this design is that in case of bearing failure the brake caliper does not get damaged. If the bearing is locked to the shaft and seizes, then caliper damage and possible brake failure may occur.

 

[REDLINE 1]

I think the reason for this design is that in case of bearing failure the brake caliper does not get damaged. If the bearing is locked to the shaft and seizes, then caliper damage and possible brake failure may occur.

May be a different scenario but all the old school Polaris sleds I worked on had the driveshaft bearing locked to the shaft via collar with set screws. I think it has more to do with being cheap and trying to save $$$ like not putting a fn drain plug in the chaincase, no dipstick to check and fill the chaincase, cheap plastic clear hose to indicate engine oil level rather than a site glass

 

[stevewithOCD]

No offense taken. I understand your point. I just think there is a engineering reason they designed it this way. Perhaps we should try and learn that answer. I have owned many cats and would agree that my 2022 Tcat would be the first one I owned with a loosely fit bearing on that shaft. Does anyone know why it is built that way?

WE have been asking for years.
The "smart" people on this site have come up with chassis flex. That's it.
If AC or Yam leaked out their reason..................at least we'd have a reason. The dealers can't answer the question.

If they don't give an answer, then we MUST use OCCUM's RAZOR!

P.S: OCCUM's RAZOR="the simplest answer is most often correct"
P.S2: The simplest answer is cheap, oblivious to reality, lazy or just stupid. I'll go with cheap.

 

[1nc 2000]

Jarret even says in his video of the two up sled that it gets more power thru the driveline with the stiffer tunnel on that model. Right from yamaha.

Look at the chaincase side, same setup except it runs in an oil bath and doesn't wear out the shaft.

 

[STAIN]

May be a different scenario but all the old school Polaris sleds I worked on had the driveshaft bearing locked to the shaft via collar with set screws

All the old school sleds locked the bearings to the shaft BUT the brake was not mounted on the lower shaft and the left side shaft bearing was not incorporated into the caliper