Harsh Clutch Engagement

[Slush Monster]

Hi ....
I have read sevaral reviews of the 06 Apex/Attak. One common complaint is harsh clutch engagement. My 2005 RS Rage was somewhat like that but very easy to adapt to and feather the throttle. Do these guy's who write these reviews not know how to adapt to the quick reving 150? or is this a real problem? Any of you guys who have had a chande to ride the pre production Apex/Attak, or have had a chance to mess around with the production model notice any of this harsh engagement? curious as to what to expect from my new sled. I have a new Attak on the way. Can't wait for snow.

 

[2BLUE4U]

I've rode my new Attak in the yard a couple of times. I never noticed anything harsh about the clutch engagment. It definitely has spot-on throttle response, that's for damn sure.

 

[Bakemono]

I think its more that these engines put out so much torque as such a low rpm that these reviewers are feeling the torque, not so much a harsh engagement.
These 4-strokes make their power over a much wider band and it come on a a much lower rpm than any 2-stroke.
Cap'n

 

[RX ROB]

I second Captions comment.

 

[welterracer]

have you ever riden a new skidoo... they have the harshest clutch engagements ive ever seen... its no wonder they do very well out of the box in the drags... and dont gain much when clutched..

 

[Slush Monster]

I have never had a chance to ride the new skidoos, all the guys in our group ride yamaha except one guy who has a RMK. We do alot of boondocking. The RMK burns up alot of belts, and engines!!!. The yamaha's have always had awesome belt life, even when riding in deep snow. I think one of the reviews came from snogoer, so I guess I can take that with a grain of salt. As you guys know, a harsh engagement sucks in the deep snow, the guy with the RMK has his set up to engage at a very high RPM when his clutch hit the belt it hits hard and spins and sinks. On my RS Rage I put in a primary spring with a softer preload to drop the engaugement RPM also put a smaller drive gear and went one size larger on the driven gear. Huge improvement in the deep stuff and on the flat lake run the clutches still did not reach there limits, sounds like the Attak will be just fine, thanks for the input. I bet going from the Rage to the Attak will be a big differance. The front suspension was great but the back,well, not so good. I had to keep the track super tight to keep it from ratcheting in the deep stuff with it set for full weight transfer. Does the monoshock solve this problem? Can someone give me the engagement RPM of the Attak? Great site guys! I can't believe how the other sites get all the trash talk in almost every post.

 

[TT670]

have you ever riden a new skidoo... they have the harshest clutch engagements ive ever seen... its no wonder they do very well out of the box in the drags... and dont gain much when clutched..

I totally disagree! If you rode a ski doo(s) with harsh engagement it was because someone either didnt have the belt deflection set right, was using an ill fitting aftermarket belt or a worn belt , played with the clutching and did a poor job or all of the above. Most ski doos are setup to engage around 3800 4000rpm stock and they do so well at the drags because the TRA is unmatched in low to mid shift belt squeeze combined with the fact that the TRA is a .83:1 overdrive and they can gear them lower for acceleration, without having an effect on the calculated top speed.

 

[doothedoo]

have you ever riden a new skidoo... they have the harshest clutch engagements ive ever seen... its no wonder they do very well out of the box in the drags... and dont gain much when clutched..

I totally disagree! If you rode a ski doo(s) with harsh engagement it was because someone either didnt have the belt deflection set right, was using an ill fitting aftermarket belt or a worn belt , played with the clutching and did a poor job or all of the above. Most ski doos are setup to engage around 3800 4000rpm stock and they do so well at the drags because the TRA is unmatched in low to mid shift belt squeeze combined with the fact that the TRA is a .83:1 overdrive and they can gear them lower for acceleration, without having an effect on the calculated top speed.

Tall ramps will do it for ya too

 

[Shperax]

I have never had a chance to ride the new skidoos, all the guys in our group ride yamaha except one guy who has a RMK. We do alot of boondocking. The RMK burns up alot of belts, and engines!!!. The yamaha's have always had awesome belt life, even when riding in deep snow. I think one of the reviews came from snogoer, so I guess I can take that with a grain of salt. As you guys know, a harsh engagement sucks in the deep snow, the guy with the RMK has his set up to engage at a very high RPM when his clutch hit the belt it hits hard and spins and sinks. On my RS Rage I put in a primary spring with a softer preload to drop the engaugement RPM also put a smaller drive gear and went one size larger on the driven gear. Huge improvement in the deep stuff and on the flat lake run the clutches still did not reach there limits, sounds like the Attak will be just fine, thanks for the input. I bet going from the Rage to the Attak will be a big differance. The front suspension was great but the back,well, not so good. I had to keep the track super tight to keep it from ratcheting in the deep stuff with it set for full weight transfer. Does the monoshock solve this problem? Can someone give me the engagement RPM of the Attak? Great site guys! I can't believe how the other sites get all the trash talk in almost every post.

Attak stock clutch engagement is about 3800 RPM. And its definitely too harsh. These engines already have tons of torque at these RPM. Its most noticeable when backing up. Change to a Yellow Pink Yellow Primary spring 90501-581L5-00 . It will change your engage RPM to 2800ish but you keep the same mid- top end. It makes the sled 1000x more controllable at low speed turns and when backing up.

 

[74Nitro]

Attak stock clutch engagement is about 3800 RPM. And its definitely too harsh. These engines already have tons of torque at these RPM. Its most noticeable when backing up. Change to a Yellow Pink Yellow Primary spring 90501-581L5-00 . It will change your engage RPM to 2800ish but you keep the same mid- top end. It makes the sled 1000x more controllable at low speed turns and when backing up.

You are responding to a seventeen year old post.
There is actually a chance he may not be alive.

 

[nflook765]

You are responding to a seventeen year old post.
There is actually a chance he may not be alive.

This may be true, but im interested. What spring or springs are u referring to? Yellow pink yellow?

 

[theCATman]

This may be true, but im interested. What spring or springs are u referring to? Yellow pink yellow?

Get a soft start spring from Barn of Parts.

I've used them in every Apex and Vector I've owned/ currently own. 25-2600 engagement making loading,unloading, backing up, tight corner throttle inputs, more engine braking on a downhill until it disengages much more controllable and still pulls full WOT RPMS just like stock.

 

[74Nitro]

I don't know what the spring colours are.
I am of the opinion that the profile of the weights at that point is what causes this. However, changing them to something different costs a lot so I agree with others that a lower engagement spring helps to remedy this.

 

[Shperax]

This may be true, but im interested. What spring or springs are u referring to? Yellow pink yellow?

I gave the Yamaha part number. Its basically just 30lb engagement instead of 35lb. You can google the Yamaha Primary clutch chart for more details on it.