900 miles per belt

[stevewithOCD]

My last 3 belts blew almost EXACTLY at 900 miles.
Not great, but in SOUPY's world that's like a million miles.
2 belts i experimented on & tried to blow.
One of them i blew at 117 WOT for at least 6 miles .

I ran against my buds identical 2018 'Winder for about 15 minutes on lake at almost identical speeds. Pulled over & checked both belts with temp gun.
He weighs 100 pounds more than me & is un-studded. His clutches were 20 DEGREES COOLER than mine!

That's right, 20 freakin' degrees!

He has over a 1000 miles on his stock belt with very little belt dust.
I will be checking his center & offset in off season.
I'm pretty sure my 60.5 offset with 262 center is MY issue. Too late to fix it now.

I have about 900 miles on current belt & if it snaps tomorrow then i'll know to change them every 899 miles. LOL
Big pulls up here in Madawaska. Every railroad bed is a 2 mile plus straight away, a big bend at 80 mph then 2 plus more miles at 100 plus. Repeat process for 10 hours. I'm pretty sure it WILL blow tomorrow.

That will make 5 belts in 5500 miles. Not good, but not horrible.
At $78 per belt i'm not complaining......yet

 

[Soupy]

How do you intend to remedy your 262/60.5 problem? Offset? Relocate engine?

 

[Yamatario]

3800km on original belt.

 

[snowbeast]

How do you intend to remedy your 262/60.5 problem? Offset? Relocate engine?

Most likely like a few of us,remove the amount needed from end of secondary shaft! I guess now the sleds that have on occasion blown a belt was to hot,and had offset at 61 or maybe 60 plus,and when taken down to 58 or 58.8 had a lot of heat removed from belt and clutches. That is the direction I am now going,Dan and Mike Knapp both have done this mod,with good results. I hope you can get yours worked out Soupy.

 

[stevewithOCD]

How do you intend to remedy your 262/60.5 problem? Offset? Relocate engine?

First i'm going to measure my friends' clutch dimensions because i think he'll have a "good one". He'll have about 2000 miles on his belt at the end of this trip so that will be a good indication. IF it lasts.
Second, i'll monitor this site to see if we come to some final conclusions on what works best.
Right now, it looks like the guys with shorter center to center need less offset.
I do not know if motor is adjustable & i haven't looked, BUT i will look into it.

Then i will have my clutch turned so i can adjust offset.
I will remove my air intake & guard then really go over it with & without springs & then running full shift.

Unfortunately it will be 2019 until i have conclusive data that everything i did works or not.

Until then SOUP my friend, you will be the poster boy for BBA....Belt Blowers Anonymous

 

[Soupy]

Please post your buddies measurements when you can, lol. I'm debating attemtping to move the motor to get my c to c from 261 to 264-5.

 

[Shagnos]

How the hell can tolerances vary that much from sled to sled? It’s 2018 not 1918. Well at least all our engines are 998 cc or are they?? Sigh

 

[Kevin]

Two 17 sidewinders in my garage
Both clutched, one tuned
No blown belts
Never checked center to center or offset ....just lucky

 

[NOS-PRO]

Two 17 sidewinders in my garage
Both clutched, one tuned
No blown belts
Never checked center to center or offset ....just lucky

Some do and some don't Kevin. Still trying to figure out the cause, get everyone to not own belt blowers and still get the best speed and performance out of their winders. Everytime a good idea comes up to try and solve the problem, another member knocks it down.

As it always starts....Yamaha engineers don't check certain aspects of clutching and they say they have the best clutching out there. But there is always room for improvement. Fact is, the video where they show the sled running past a bunch of dealers claiming the sled running 123mph. Does every SW run 123mph stock? Nope.... Is Yamaha keeping the speeds down? I believe so.

Winter 2017/2018, poor to no snow in most of the states... (our local trails never even opened up this season and won't open this season. This is the 3rd year our local trails have been closed 99% of the time. I can't say 100% cause they were opened last year for 3-4 days and maybe 5 days the year before that). Members upset with their sleds... and as for me, only 2 trips up north and not as many miles compared to other winters (and I own 4 Yamaha sleds which really makes it hard to swallow).
This is why this year has been the most horrible season for me....

But, I can be happy to say I have been using the same belt since asphalt season, tried all kinds of clutching once again for 2017/2018 and very happy with my sled and no issues on the other sleds I have worked on this season.

Only thing that bothers me is that I feel I couldn't help a handful of members with their SW belt blowing problems. @stevewithOCD is one I thought we had a good handle on things, but wish we lived closer to actually work on his sled. It's hard to give advice to members over pm's, text and phone without actually witnessing what the sled is doing.

 

[ClutchMaster]

By by

 

[Shagnos]

Inconsistent clutch alignment = inconsistent clutching.

I don’t believe yamaha is trying to keep speeds down ... it’s more in line with keeping production costs down.

It’s certainly not hard to believe, they are manufacturing at a plant that has been sending out misaligned Arctic Cats for 10 years.

Made in America isn’t what it used to be that’s for sure!

Make em in China or Taiwan. They make the best stuff and the price would drop

 

[yamadooman]

1859 miles on mine. Hurricane 240 tune in it since 464 miles.. I clutched for the tune and have never checked alignment.. Still on original belt and the sled is an overachiever.. Runs with most 270 hp tunes..

 

[Soupy]

1859 miles on mine. Hurricane 240 tune in it since 464 miles.. I clutched for the tune and have never checked alignment.. Still on original belt and the sled is an overachiever.. Runs with most 270 hp tunes..

Count your un-frustrated blessings.

 

[yamadooman]

Count your un-frustrated blessings.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones !!

Sled if for sale locally also

 

[ClutchMaster]

Runs with most 270 hp tunes..

I think we should test that theory.
Wana Race?