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OEM vs Ultimax


Dr. KNAPP said it best, but here's some real world results on the 4 stockfish Sidewinders I'm dealing with right now.
My bud bought my first Winder that is mildly tuned & clutched.
It took me years, but I got the 8JP belts to last 2000 miles with the best top performance of ALL the belts for MY set-up.
They would lose performance over 1000 miles so I was changing them at 1500 max.
He is now blowing belts, most likely from lack of maintenance he does.
The XS I gave him is lasting & NOT blowing, but he loses 200-300 rpm's.

The other 3 STOCK Winders, 2017-23, are ALL now blowing 8JP's rather quickly.
Again lack of maintenance, but I gave them 8DN's & they made it through the year.
Since I had dozens of belts from my Apex's, they are all just using those plus they're only $70 new.
The 8DN is definitely 2-3mph slower on top, but at least we were not changing belts EVERY day.
I had all of them go through the clutches this summer & I gave them the alignment/offset tool.

At $70 they all decided to stay with 8DN.
Some guys are cheap, some are lazy, some just don't understand they're dealing with 200hp

With STOCK clutching my results show TOP PERFORMANCE with 8JP
The XS loses rpm's but lasts longer & is cleaner but is over $170
For $70 the 8DN is a good choice for the average guy

These are REAL WORLD results for average stock dudes
 
stevewithOCD said:
Dr. KNAPP said it best, but here's some real world results on the 4 stockfish Sidewinders I'm dealing with right now.
My bud bought my first Winder that is mildly tuned & clutched.
It took me years, but I got the 8JP belts to last 2000 miles with the best top performance of ALL the belts for MY set-up.
They would lose performance over 1000 miles so I was changing them at 1500 max.
He is now blowing belts, most likely from lack of maintenance he does.
The XS I gave him is lasting & NOT blowing, but he loses 200-300 rpm's.

The other 3 STOCK Winders, 2017-23, are ALL now blowing 8JP's rather quickly.
Again lack of maintenance, but I gave them 8DN's & they made it through the year.
Since I had dozens of belts from my Apex's, they are all just using those plus they're only $70 new.
The 8DN is definitely 2-3mph slower on top, but at least we were not changing belts EVERY day.
I had all of them go through the clutches this summer & I gave them the alignment/offset tool.

At $70 they all decided to stay with 8DN.
Some guys are cheap, some are lazy, some just don't understand they're dealing with 200hp

With STOCK clutching my results show TOP PERFORMANCE with 8JP
The XS loses rpm's but lasts longer & is cleaner but is over $170
For $70 the 8DN is a good choice for the average guy

These are REAL WORLD results for average stock dudes
Click to expand...
That is an awesome, descriptive comparison between the OEM 8JP, 8DN and the Ultimax XS825 Steve! The 8DN seems to be a very good choice at a fair price, the XS825 is more money, a bit better but cost more and brings the rpm down do to better grip.
I just ordered and received the XS825, this will be my first try with this belt. I just installed it and had to adjust it so it was almost 1/8" below the top of the secondary sheaves to stop the track from turning while on the stand (was about 1mm wider then the stock belt). Mike suggested running it for a bit and re-adjust. Also running the Dalton easy adjust weights which will definitely help bring the RPM back to where they need to be.
Thanks again Steve for your real world results!!!
 
ranger1 said:
I am in "rip off Canada". OEM belt here is $185 and I just bough a XS 825 for $195.
Click to expand...
Very sad in 2019 the 8jp was $90 tax in in canada
 
Don't forget, just like KNAPP says, the XS can be adjusted for with a little clutch tuning, but MOST guys just don't have the time or resources especially with lack of snow for test runs.

I ENCOURAGE my buds to use the 8DN cuz;
1. I'm the one that ends up on my knees digging belt shrapnel out of clutches
2. They give me $20 per belt & I have dozens of them
3. SUBCONCIOUSLY it takes away their edge on top................at least I'm honest
 
The 8DN is one tough belt for sure.
Before I purchased my 2019 SW I saw and read about the SWs blowing belts regularly and always wondered why people didn't ditch the 8JP, run an 8DN, and just float the secondary like all other Yamahas so thats what I did, very successfully, from new with mine
As I said earlier, I ran and tuned the 8DN for the first few years from new on my tuned SW...I have never used an 8JP. I tried the XS belt for a very short period but found it felt a little lazier and rather then change my clutch calibration I went back to the 8DN.
I trail rode, and successfully snow dragged the sled for 1000s of miles with zero belt issues. I also found in 1000' or more the sled was 2 to 3 mph slower then the RedLine or Ultimax because of belt length but I didnt find any negative performance effects in shorter drag races.
I have since run the RedLine belt for a few seasons with zero issues and no loss on top speed.
 
Last edited:
I tried a Ultmax belt for about 2,000mi. It was holding up but it seemed to maybe be a tad short. Lost some rpm but I'm not convinced it's solely due to less slip in my Adapt clutches, I believe it upshifted sooner due to less operating length. The Cat belt was obviously beefier too, going to stick with oem.
 
At roughly 3400 on my xs for my cat.

Likely all of those tuned
 
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