ReX
TY 4 Stroke God
If you don't have the updated cover and you are noticing a loss of chaincase oil, change that cover now - before you end up with a huge catastrophic failure or worse. Remember you won't have any brakes after the chain goes so having the chain fail at 105 mph can end up a lot worse than just a broken sled.
As I've mentioned before, we've noticed a very big difference in chaincase temperature between running the Apex magnesium chaincase vs running the 05 RX-1 aluminum chaincase. Aluminum conducts heat quite a bit better so the tunnel gets used as a heat sink more than with the Magnesium case.
I'm running an 05 RX-1 case assembly on my 07 RTX right now. Its a direct bolt on swap and with the cooler operating temperatures should be the ultimate in durability for those of you than want to run huge distances at full throttle.
One of the things we also notice is the chaincase oil with our magnesium cases always ends up turning black after a few 1000 km. The oil in my aluminum case always looks new right up to the next oil change (I change my oil every 3000 km/2000 miles).
As I've mentioned before, we've noticed a very big difference in chaincase temperature between running the Apex magnesium chaincase vs running the 05 RX-1 aluminum chaincase. Aluminum conducts heat quite a bit better so the tunnel gets used as a heat sink more than with the Magnesium case.
I'm running an 05 RX-1 case assembly on my 07 RTX right now. Its a direct bolt on swap and with the cooler operating temperatures should be the ultimate in durability for those of you than want to run huge distances at full throttle.
One of the things we also notice is the chaincase oil with our magnesium cases always ends up turning black after a few 1000 km. The oil in my aluminum case always looks new right up to the next oil change (I change my oil every 3000 km/2000 miles).
marq
Expert
ReX said:
Indeed. I was very lucky that the chain didn't get tangled and lock up the track and that I was on a very long ( and straight) railroad grade.
ReX
TY 4 Stroke God
marq said:
One time I blew a chain on one of my Polaris sleds and I was very lucky and thankful that the chain did get tangled up at 50+ mph.
I was screaming towards a sharp corner and just in time the chain tangled up enough to lock up on and off, slowing me down before the turn. Right after that the chain blew through the side of the case and I kept on rolling around the corner.
Ever since my multiple Polaris chain failures I don't take chaincase maintenance lightly. I change the oil every 3000 km (2000 miles), install a new chain every 10,000 km (6000 miles), and make sure there are no oil leaks regularly. I guess in a way I was lucky my 07 RTX was weeping oil from the chaincase when new. That leak prone cover wasn't on there for long at all and it never ran low on oil.
Considering the risks from a failure, is Yamaha willing to replace chaincase covers on out of warranty sleds?
marq
Expert
ReX said:
I plan to ask about that tomorrow when I'm at the dealer. I know a couple people with 06's out of warranty that haven't had a chaincase failure....yet.
1xr
Expert
I had the seal suck in on mine within about 600 miles of being new. That was the only warrenty claim. Even after that the seal did'nt have enough surface to hang onto the cover, it was leaning inwards some. I just glued the seal to the inner cover and it is stiff enough that it cant move now, and now it's the 3rd season with it and no further issues yet. I change the oil in the chain case that has reverse, every 1000 miles.
ReX
TY 4 Stroke God
1xr said:
Gluing the seal in place should work, but (for anyone thinking of doing this) to work reliably you need to clean off all of the oil first with strong solvent and then after assembling it wait until the glue has cured before filling it with oil.
I also have found, in other applications, quick set gasket adhesives tend to break down over a year or two (especially anything cyanoacrylate based). Quick sets are designed to help hold things in place while assembing, but are generally not designed to keep holding things in place long term. Silicon based adhesives/sealants are quite stable on the other hand, but are slower to cure (12-24 hours).
None of the guys I ride with have tried gluing this particular gasket in place though. We all have the updated cover and it works well.
berge75
Expert
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:51 am Post subject:
I just got the updated cover,because the oil kept leaking out. I found the seal was bending over under the cover creating a small gap which allows the oil to seep out. The seal is shaped like a u and fits over the top of the case. The thickness of seal from the top of the case to the top of the seal is much greater than the thickness of the skirt,or sides of the seal,so if for some reason the seal is allowed to move and push over it will create a gap under the cover. The guy that said the covers aren't tight enough( not pinching the sides of the seals to the case) hit the nail on the head. I check my oil before every ride to make sure theres oil in there. My last ride it went from full to empty in 300mi. after checking it. I went all season 2700 mi wth no problems until that last ride.
I remeber writing this last year,and the problem was the cover doesn't pinch the skirt of the rubber gasket against the outside of the chain case,and allows the top of the seal to bend inward creating a small gap between the cover and the chaincase.
I just got the updated cover,because the oil kept leaking out. I found the seal was bending over under the cover creating a small gap which allows the oil to seep out. The seal is shaped like a u and fits over the top of the case. The thickness of seal from the top of the case to the top of the seal is much greater than the thickness of the skirt,or sides of the seal,so if for some reason the seal is allowed to move and push over it will create a gap under the cover. The guy that said the covers aren't tight enough( not pinching the sides of the seals to the case) hit the nail on the head. I check my oil before every ride to make sure theres oil in there. My last ride it went from full to empty in 300mi. after checking it. I went all season 2700 mi wth no problems until that last ride.
I remeber writing this last year,and the problem was the cover doesn't pinch the skirt of the rubber gasket against the outside of the chain case,and allows the top of the seal to bend inward creating a small gap between the cover and the chaincase.
YammiMoose
Expert
re
Had the chaincase fail on the first ride in 06 with 600 miles on the sled. It was resolved with the updated gasket. Never changed the cover. Rode over 4000 miles since. No problems.
Thanks again Gary's in Caribou Maine who picked me up, gave me a loaner and fixed it so I could continure my Vacation!
A big
to ROGERS in Fort Kent who tried to SCREW me!
-Moose
Had the chaincase fail on the first ride in 06 with 600 miles on the sled. It was resolved with the updated gasket. Never changed the cover. Rode over 4000 miles since. No problems.
Thanks again Gary's in Caribou Maine who picked me up, gave me a loaner and fixed it so I could continure my Vacation!
A big
to ROGERS in Fort Kent who tried to SCREW me! -Moose
