New Sidewinder

[XP123]

I cant agree

I can't agree with this statement. I would say a lot of the clutching talked about here doesn't work, there are other sources that do work.

What I said was nothing more than my opinion. I'm sure there are many who have had great luck with aftermarket kits but I found myself trying different things with negative results. No doubt if you are not stock tuned you need to clutch accordingly but the stock clutching in my opinion works very well. I would however be very interested in what Yamaha has changed for 2019.

 

[STAIN]

My stock clutching slipped the primary and secondary clutch's. I have since changed to some more efficient clutching. I too want to see what changes are made for the 2019 models.

 

[Dewbo]

143 miles on my new sled....the noisy clutch had me scratching my head...gonna take covers off soon, go over it/get familiar with the machine...message me if you find something I should take a close look at...thanks, Dewey

 

[ricardo]

It's not the clutch,it's the crankshaft and there is no cure. One of the reasons I'm selling mine.

 

[STAIN]

Its the stub shaft fitment to the crankshaft, it is designed to be loose. It is also a ridiculous reason to sell the sled.

 

[SumpBuster]

I don't care for the heated seat. Every time I use it I turn it off after a very short time. It is one thing I could care less if any of my future sleds have it.

I use high temp anti seize on my exhaust bolts and they are now a non issue. I would repack both the drive shaft and jack shaft bearings on the clutch side of the sled every season. The one on the drive shaft is a junk bearing made in China and I have seen it fail at around 3,000 miles.

Make sure you keep an eye on the chain case oil level and also make sure you check chain tension a couple times a season.

Also keep an eye on the oil tank. Many are having issues with oil leaking out from the seal.

Personally if you intend on keeping your engine stock leave the stock clutching. All the aftermarket clutching stuff is a lot of hype and not worth your aggravation trying to make it work.

I have mixed feelings about the roll over valve mod. I did it and rode with it but by the end of the season I found I was always checking it and it bothered me. Even after doing everything right with it I had ice build up where it exited at the running boards. My sled started to idle poorly so I grabbed the end of the hose and moved it around and a chunk of yellow ice came out and the sled once again idles correctly. I feel that this mod will give just as much or more trouble as the valve when temps get low. I even had a huge slit in my hose 8 inches above where the ice formed. I ended up going back to stock and I will take my chances with the valve.

This is a very high performance sled and with that comes more need to check things and correct things. This is also due to some suspect design flaws created by Cat.

I won't report about belt issues because I have 2800 trouble free miles on my original belt.

The end result is a sled that performs like no other sled that has ever been built. The power acceleration and performance feel can't be matched by anything other than another Winder.

The sled weighs a ton but you would never know it when you ride it. It steers and handles better than any of my Doo's and the ride is excellent. I love the seating position and find the overall feel of the sled to be top notch.

I would suggest you be careful when reading about all the issues here and don't be too quick to make changes. The sled right out of the box is very hard to improve on.

Yeah, what you said!!
Helluva sled, bar none.

 

[SumpBuster]

143 miles on my new sled....the noisy clutch had me scratching my head...gonna take covers off soon, go over it/get familiar with the machine...message me if you find something I should take a close look at...thanks, Dewey

Embrace the rattle...let someone make fun of the turbo diesel, then go suck their flimsy hoods off....lol.

 

[POWERHAULIC]

What I said was nothing more than my opinion. I'm sure there are many who have had great luck with aftermarket kits but I found myself trying different things with negative results. No doubt if you are not stock tuned you need to clutch accordingly but the stock clutching in my opinion works very well. I would however be very interested in what Yamaha has changed for 2019.

there are nice gains to be had with stock programming
Bit less spring pressure primary, little more aggressive ramp much better trail manners. But it is decent stock.

 

[nytroxtx17]

I don't care for the heated seat. Every time I use it I turn it off after a very short time. It is one thing I could care less if any of my future sleds have it.

I use high temp anti seize on my exhaust bolts and they are now a non issue. I would repack both the drive shaft and jack shaft bearings on the clutch side of the sled every season. The one on the drive shaft is a junk bearing made in China and I have seen it fail at around 3,000 miles.

Make sure you keep an eye on the chain case oil level and also make sure you check chain tension a couple times a season.

Also keep an eye on the oil tank. Many are having issues with oil leaking out from the seal.

Personally if you intend on keeping your engine stock leave the stock clutching. All the aftermarket clutching stuff is a lot of hype and not worth your aggravation trying to make it work.

I have mixed feelings about the roll over valve mod. I did it and rode with it but by the end of the season I found I was always checking it and it bothered me. Even after doing everything right with it I had ice build up where it exited at the running boards. My sled started to idle poorly so I grabbed the end of the hose and moved it around and a chunk of yellow ice came out and the sled once again idles correctly. I feel that this mod will give just as much or more trouble as the valve when temps get low. I even had a huge slit in my hose 8 inches above where the ice formed. I ended up going back to stock and I will take my chances with the valve.

This is a very high performance sled and with that comes more need to check things and correct things. This is also due to some suspect design flaws created by Cat.

I won't report about belt issues because I have 2800 trouble free miles on my original belt.

The end result is a sled that performs like no other sled that has ever been built. The power acceleration and performance feel can't be matched by anything other than another Winder.

The sled weighs a ton but you would never know it when you ride it. It steers and handles better than any of my Doo's and the ride is excellent. I love the seating position and find the overall feel of the sled to be top notch.

I would suggest you be careful when reading about all the issues here and don't be too quick to make changes. The sled right out of the box is very hard to improve on.

Great advice, I think I’m leaning more to the LTX SE with the adjustable front shocks and forget about the heated seat. I don’t plan on doing any clutching modifications as this sled is completely fast enough for me out of the box. The drive shaft bearing being a cheap Chinese bearing is a bit concerning, should I repack it or change it before I ride the sled next season? I plan on tinkering with it through the summer.

 

[XP123]

Great advice, I think I’m leaning more to the LTX SE with the adjustable front shocks and forget about the heated seat. I don’t plan on doing any clutching modifications as this sled is completely fast enough for me out of the box. The drive shaft bearing being a cheap Chinese bearing is a bit concerning, should I repack it or change it before I ride the sled next season? I plan on tinkering with it through the summer.

I would leave it while it's new and worry about it next season.