You cannot compare this engine to an apex....and this clutch already floats once rolling.
Apex was the smoothest engine ever put into a sled. It also had a reduction shaft.
These triples are harder on clutches then any other engines, 4tec guys know this. Im not so sure belt life will ever be what it was on apex engines with these triples having odd harmonics, even if HP was closer to apex.
I sometimes wonder if much of this started when YAM made the switch to the splined output shaft(so they could use same engine on many diff powersports) that may or may not cause the noisy clutches, and does this all attribute to some sort of heat increase in the belt/primary over the apex days, where those belts never had any heat on them.
What really sucks is, after two seasons now pretty much....NO ONE has any conclusive evidence of an issue, or cure. Something I dont like to hear.
Dan