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2006 VKPro Ratcheting

Jack_Shaft

Jack_Shaft

TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
727
Location
N53.486 W59.860
Hoping somebody is alive here this Spring :)

My 2006 VKPro is starting to ratchet under heavy load, i.e. pulling my big drag. I increased track tension and it still ratchets, I am now wondering if the driveaxle brg may be on the way out. Has anybody encountered this on their machine?
 

have not had it happen to a vk yet but have had the drive axle break inside one of the drive cogs on a sx500r and the phazer rtx/x in my signature. they where doing similar things before they failed.
 
maim said:
have not had it happen to a vk yet but have had the drive axle break inside one of the drive cogs on a sx500r and the phazer rtx/x in my signature. they where doing similar things before they failed.
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Thanks for the reply, I was expecting only my own voice to echo from the back of the cave LOL

The VKPro has had a tendency to ratchet under heavy load in the past (that engine is very powerful) but my issue came on "all of a sudden" after two years of grooming, which is why I am suspecting something is amiss, either the front torque arm, drive axle brg or rear axle tension problem/broken part. I'll get it in the bay for a look before too long to see if I can pinpoint anything but those will be my first three targets.
 
Jack_Shaft said:
Hoping somebody is alive here this Spring :)

My 2006 VKPro is starting to ratchet under heavy load, i.e. pulling my big drag. I increased track tension and it still ratchets, I am now wondering if the driveaxle brg may be on the way out. Has anybody encountered this on their machine?
Click to expand...
I’d start with track tension and check your cogs
Jack_Shaft said:
Hoping somebody is alive here this Spring :)

My 2006 VKPro is starting to ratchet under heavy load, i.e. pulling my big drag. I increased track tension and it still ratchets, I am now wondering if the driveaxle brg may be on the way out. Has anybody encountered this on their machine?
Click to expand...
 
Track tension has been adjusted to what I would consider tighter than it should be vs. my other sleds and it continued to ratchet when trying to pull from a stop. I will hopefully be tearing into this one over the next two weeks to inspect the drive axle bearing and the drive axle itself. If I go the anti-ratchet route I think I can buy Wahl Bros units and get them pressed on at the local Yamaha shop, they did a lot of these in the mid-2000's on VK Pro's that were doing the same thing.

Has anybody else here done this?
 
Any chance that it’s slipping inside the chaincase? Seems odd that the drivers look good and the track is tight. Does your track have the metal guides in all the windows. Just throwing things out there.
 
I think your first instinct is on target. Can you feel any play in the drive axel bearings if you yank on either side of the axel?
 
sxr70001 said:
Any chance that it’s slipping inside the chaincase? Seems odd that the drivers look good and the track is tight. Does your track have the metal guides in all the windows. Just throwing things out there.
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It's fully clipped. I can see no signs of heat/scratches/wear or deformation on the drive sprockets. If it was ratcheting under load you'd think you'd see something, right?

I'm going to bring it in shortly, back off the track tension and get into the case/drive axle bearing and go through both. Maybe the chain is skipping or the chain is worn and "stiff". I won't know if I don't tear into it, I was just focusing on what I knew they were prone to doing when grooming (track/sprocket ratchet).

Time to stop posting and start wrenching I think.
 
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Jack_Shaft said:
It's fully clipped. I can see no signs of heat/scratched/wear or deformation on the drive sprockets. If it was ratcheting under load you'd think you'd see something, right?

I'm going to bring it in shortly, back off the track tension and get into the case/drive axle bearing and go through both. Maybe the chain is skipping or the chain is worn and "stiff". I won't know if I don't test into it I was just focusing on what I knew they prone to doing when grooming (track/sprocket ratchet).

Time to stop posting and start wrenching I think.
Click to expand...
Get’r done ✅
 
Alright, lined up a set of anti-ratchet drivers thanks to an amazing fellow member! Summer has been hot and a lot of other projects have taken the front seat for a while. Hopefully actually get the VKPro in the shop this weekend and remove the skid/track/chaincase guts/driveaxle in preparation for the anti-ratchet driver install.
 
Well they're here! Have the local Yamaha shop lined up to install them on the driveaxle next week, have to take the chaincase apart, get the skid and driveaxle out over the weekend, maybe start at the ccase some night this week we'll see. I have not pulled a driveaxle from one of these before and there is little YouTube info. I saw one video where a fellow pulled the whole case off to get the axle out but that seems like a lot. I'm hoping pulling the driveaxle brg and the cover+guts will get it out of there.

Anyone offer some guidance here?
 
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