Apex SE belt squealing

[ILVmax4]

I have a 13 SE. I'm in Houghton MI for my second trip this year. I have been up to UP several times but first time in Houghton. This area on MI is amazing! Anyway I have been noticing belt squeals at times. I have been able to isolate the problem. It will only squeal right after I brake hard( hard enough to lock track). If I stay on brake until completely stopped when I go to accelerate my belt slips pretty bad. As soon as sled starts moving it stops. If I slam on brake but let off and roll a few feet before coming to complete stop it does NOT squeal. Sled has 350 miles after today. It's not a huge issue because I can avoid it by just letting off brake at end of stop but would like to find out what issue is. Any ideas?

PS- I can't get over how nice this Apex is! I love everything about it.

 

[Riceburner]

All Yamaha's and many other sleds are like that.
Jamming on the brake at speed and sliding to a stop the secondary swallows the belt.
You have the cure. Don't stop the sled with the track not turning.

 

[Soldier'spapa]

Great job describing the problem!

Usually a few questions are needed from those trying to answer this
concern but you described the it "to a T".

This is normal with the Yamaha clutches when you come to a complete sliding stop for the belt to be stuck lower in the secondary. It's like trying to start off in third gear with a manual trans.

Enjoy that new SE!

P.S. make sure you run the "Frieda loop" while you are in the area. One of my favorite trails!

 

[raginyamaha]

P.S. make sure you run the "Frieda loop" while you are in the area. One of my favorite trails!

X2!!!!

 

[ILVmax4]

Great job describing the problem!

Usually a few questions are needed from those trying to answer this
concern but you described the it "to a T".

This is normal with the Yamaha clutches when you come to a complete sliding stop for the belt to be stuck lower in the secondary. It's like trying to start off in third gear with a manual trans.

Enjoy that new SE!

P.S. make sure you run the "Frieda loop" while you are in the area. One of my favorite trails!

Ride again today And just let of brake for a second which must allow the clutch to release the belt. Tried it on my buddies Nitro today and the Nitro does NOT due it? Is this an Apex issue? Not a big deal just curious.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Blue Dave]

I would be very surprised if a Nytro does not do this. I have owned a dozen Yamaha's over the years and every one of them would do this if you locked up the track at high speed and kept it locked until the sled slides to a stop.

As explained above, your belt is riding low in the secondary at higher speeds and it needs to be turning for the belt to smoothly slide up and down against the secondary sheaves. The brake is on the same shaft as the secondary so when you lock the brake the secondary is also stopped instantly which keeps the belt pinched right were it was when the brake is locked.

At this point the secondary needs to spin again for the belt to find it's proper position. If you slide to a complete stop with the track locked your belt is not only pinched low in the secondary but because the effective diameter of the belt against the secondary sheaves is smaller your belt is very loose in the primary. This means you will have to rev the engine higher to engage the belt with the primary and then try to overcome the effective high gear ratio created by the low position of the belt in the secondary.

Long story short, just release the brake before coming to a stop allowing the track and secondary clutch to rotate which consequently allows the belt to ride back up to the top of the secondary where you want it to be when you start out again.

 

[sleddog66]

Posible on that nytro that it has a clutch kit with a stronger secondary spring than stock???

 

[Blue Dave]

Posible on that nytro that it has a clutch kit with a stronger secondary spring than stock???

Or perhaps was not travelling fast enough when locking the brake. I would think that the lower that the belt is in the secondary when the brake is locked the more likely this will happen.

 

[sk-rx1]

Possibly a contributing factor. When I got my Apex SE I noticed when I was slowing like going down a hill, then picking up the throttle there was a slight hesitation, not motor but it took a second to get back to the right gear. Talked to Allan Ulmer, he said that because the new Apex has such heavy weights in the primary it can take a second to slow down, it hangs just a bit holding the belt from moving quickly up the secondary.

 

[ILVmax4]

Good explanation. I'm sure I was not going fast enough when I hammered the Nitro's brake. Thanks again.

 

[ILVmax4]

Posible on that nytro that it has a clutch kit with a stronger secondary spring than stock???

You guys know your Yamaha's--My buddy does have a clutch kit from SBM which includes a new spring in his secondary.

I can't express how nice it is to have a reliable sled. After having that Cross Fire 1000 I keep expecting to have a breakdown or at least something wrong with the Apex. It is so nice not having problems! I did not make it through one trip in 2010,2011, or 2012 without a major mechanical breakdown. Sledding is sooo much more fun now!

Now it's time to tackle the first oil change/-looking forward to it.

Thanks again for the quick responses.

 

[Blue Dave]

Posible on that nytro that it has a clutch kit with a stronger secondary spring than stock???

You guys know your Yamaha's--My buddy does have a clutch kit from SBM which includes a new spring in his secondary.

I can't express how nice it is to have a reliable sled. After having that Cross Fire 1000 I keep expecting to have a breakdown or at least something wrong with the Apex. It is so nice not having problems! I did not make it through one trip in 2010,2011, or 2012 without a major mechanical breakdown. Sledding is sooo much more fun now!

Now it's time to tackle the first oil change/-looking forward to it.

Thanks again for the quick responses.

The oil change is not that bad. Accessing the oil filter is a bit of a PIA but after you have done it a few times it is not that big of a deal. make sure that you shove some rags under the oil filter as it will make a mess when you remove it. There is a thread somewhere on the Apex oil change that has step by step instructions.