My take on the sidewinder primary clutch

[Snowaddict]

I think NOS had posted before in other threads that his primary is machined. I’m sure he will clarify.

I won't speak for him either, but his clutch is machined for coil bind. These clutches are poor for sure in that aspect. Stock springs are binding and breaking. In my opinion, one of the best things you can do is ditch the stock stuff. The problem is figuring out what the right combo of aftermarket things is that will resolve the issues, but not get too hot, blow belts, or cause further problems.

 

[Sidewinder]

Mine isnt machined and it did it as well , Same as Terrys

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Short vid of mockup...

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Mine isnt machined and it did it as well , Same as Terrys

Your belt came over top of primary, and you are saying it did not break?

 

[OVR4D]

Something not mentioned is what might be happening to the clutch alignment under load. Given the tremendous torque that this motor makes, some twisting movement between the primary and secondary under load could cause a belt to run up against the edge of a sheave and then cause the belt to walk off the primary or the secondary. It would be almost impossible to check the degree to which clutch alignment is affected under full load, but it emphasizes the importance of rigidity in a chassis, especially as it pertains to the rigidity between the primary and the secondary. How still do the motor mounts hold the motor? How still does the jackshaft remain under load? As the primary and secondary are independent of one another, the rigidity of the chassis is crucial to maintaining clutch alignment. You can't easily observe what's happening to the clutch alignment in actual conditions (when there's a real-world load at the track). I'm not saying anyone here is wrong ... just that clutch design might not be the only cause.

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Something not mentioned is what might be happening to the clutch alignment under load. Given the tremendous torque that this motor makes, some twisting movement between the primary and secondary under load could cause a belt to run up against the edge of a sheave and then cause the belt to walk off the primary or the secondary. It would be almost impossible to check the degree to which clutch alignment is affected under full load, but it emphasizes the importance of rigidity in a chassis, especially as it pertains to the rigidity between the primary and the secondary. How still do the motor mounts hold the motor? How still does the jackshaft remain under load? As the primary and secondary are independent of one another, the rigidity of the chassis is crucial to maintaining clutch alignment. You can't easily observe what's happening to the clutch alignment in actual conditions (when there's a real-world load at the track). I'm not saying anyone here is wrong ... just that clutch design might not be the only cause.

There is very little movement with the way these are mounted. Far far less then the 4tec doo for sure.

 

[Dallas4Stroke]

Short vid of mockup...

Be warned the 8DN belt is very hard and can damage your primary.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

 

[staggs65]

Did they suddenly start making the primaries out of butter or something? Yamaha has been running 8DNs for 20 years. Yes they can get some grooving depending on clutching and riding style but it usually takes a lot of miles. I don’t get why all of a sudden people act like the 8DN is going to destroy your clutches. That said I’m going to try to stick with the 8JP on the Winder. The performance loss with the 8DN was noticeable to me on my Viper and a lot of people are getting longevity out of the 8JP on the Winder

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Be warned the 8DN belt is very hard and can damage your primary.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

Thank you, I had no idea. LOL

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Did they suddenly start making the primaries out of butter or something? Yamaha has been running 8DNs for 20 years. Yes they can get some grooving depending on clutching and riding style but it usually takes a lot of miles. I don’t get why all of a sudden people act like the 8DN is going to destroy your clutches. That said I’m going to try to stick with the 8JP on the Winder. The performance loss with the 8DN was noticeable to me on my Viper and a lot of people are getting longevity out of the 8JP on the Winder

100% agree.....apex over 10k miles with 8DN's.

Im more worried about losing 3 to 4mph then anything else..LOL

Im still gonna test with 8JP, and just have 8DNs for trail riding big miles.

Dan

 

[1nc 2000]

I had the Clutches wear grooves on a 04 RX1 and a 2010 Nytro running the 8dn belt. That's the main reason I haven't switched to the 8dn yet on my Sidewinder.
Would be great if Yamaha came out with a belt that was in between the soft and hard compounds. No grooved clutches and no melted rubber staining the plastic panels.
So who does the R n D on these sleds again?

 

[Dallas4Stroke]

15 thousand kilometers on my 03 rx1, switched to the 8DN this year for better belt life and bingo my clutch has grooves. It's only been 1300 km since the switch. Now I'm not ragging on those belts but I'd rather change a belt than a clutch on the side of a trail.

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[ROCKERDAN]

If you let your sled idle alot then most all belts will start to groove it. No reason for these sleds to be idling long.

You can use emery cloth to smooth out sheaves at idle if you have deeper grooves.

 

[GlennM]

I must be lucky because I have 3k km on mine, stock everything including the belt, clutches work great! Every time I go out I warm up the belt almost like I was breaking it in... I have always done that and haven't blown a belt in over 20 yrs lol

 

[MrSled]

I must be lucky because I have 3k km on mine, stock everything including the belt, clutches work great!

I think the real issue is the extra power.. not just 10 or 25 hp, its the 265 HP plus that will be the problem in the future. Clutches being raced and pounded are going to let go.. if your going to run gobs of 265 plus HP you should go to Billet Clutches to be safe or you are asking for it. Tossing on a Viper or Apex clutch is not the answer. I feel tat would be a foolish bandage to the real issue. PURE POWER. The damn belt cant stay together, do you actually think the clutches will?