Reverse Grinds and Pops out?

[DigitalFusion]

Hey all,

I had an issue with my sled at the end of last season. It would go into reverse, but pop out after moving anywhere from 1" to 1'. I noticed that sometimes I could keep it in reverse by holding the reverse lever all the way over against the tank.

I checked the linkage, and it was at 27.1XX mm, which is what the manual says it should be at? However, I noticed there is also a lower linkage near the footwell. The manual is very unclear as to what this should be set at. It says:

"Turn the shift rod so that shift rod free play is 0mm (in the direction where A [the lower rod] can be shortened appropriately) and then turn back the shift rod 1/4 turns."

What in the heck does that mean???

 

[Yamadog]

The adjustment on them is very touchy since they changed the linkage arm in 06 when the RX became the apex and they added the radiator. Clearance was the issue. you need to add a couple of turns to the rod end (out) and try it.

 

[sherlock29]

tighten up the lower linkiage... IE: make it a bit longer. this will help with the popping out of gear... inside your chain case the reverse gear fork is not pulling the reverse gear out far enought to keep engaged.... takes about 2 mins to adjust... and just keep trying it until is work smooth... i had this issue with mine once all the bushings "work in".

 

[biffdotorg]

Mine is doing the same thing.

So what you are saying is set it at 27mm as the manual states and work it out from there until it engages properly?

The sound is just horrible when it slips. I feel like the chain case is going to start spitting gears! My buddies just sat and stared at me each time I tried using reverse this past weekend wondering when the chaincase was going to blow up.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[DigitalFusion]

leave the top rod at 27mm, but adjust the bottom rod (near the radiator)

EDIT: you are from MN too... where the heck are you riding?

 

[Acedog1]

On my last 07 RTX I had to push the reverse handle forward once I had reverse engaged. I believe that the engagement dog inside of the gearcase isn't fully engaged without the added push forward. I know they put the spring on the linkage to do this for you but in the 6000 miles my apex never once slipped out by doing this little trick otherwise it would.

Where's the snow in MN???!!!

 

[biffdotorg]

We have ridable snow over on the White Earth Reservation between Detroit Lakes and Itasca, but it is slim.

This past weekend 4 of us drove 200 miles into Ontario to ride. One has a lake place up there that is only accessable by boat/atv/sled. It was pretty damn cool!

The Apex pulls a boggin like a Mother too! Too bad it is such a tank in all other ungroomed conditions. The two clubs up there are fighting, so nothing was groomed. We were running fresh pipelines, powerlines and railroad beds. It was work, but worth it.

http://youtu.be/0tt31anIf9o

 

[CANAM 4 Stroker]

I found this advise via the search function. I had the same issues. Started with gringing gears. I made a slight adjustment, as per the manual, and actual shortened the thread, following those instructions. That lead to a slamping sound when it engaged.

So after reading this tread....I lengthen the thread. About 2-3 turns is all it will go. turn a 1/4 turn back. And perfect.

Thanks !!

 

[biffdotorg]

OK,

So I did the adjustment last night and tested on the stand. It worked great, but is it possible that this will be more likely to pop under load?

I hope to take it out tonight and test on the snow, or what snow is left after our meltdown yesterday!!

For those that have not done this yet, take a tip from a yahoo with a wrench. The bolt is threaded opposite on either end. Meaning the nuts loosing in the same direction! Duh!! The only way to lengthen the rod when turning in the middle would be if the threads were in opposite directions.

I sat with my hand around that radiator for at least a half hour trying to loosen the other nut until giving up and moving to the top linkage. Then my brain kicked into gear and I realized you have to turn the nuts in the same direction to loosen. I'm an idiot.

Anyway, I will see if lengthening that top linkage helps under a load. That bottom linkage was near impossible to reach. Maybe I need better tools.

Thanks guys.

 

[CANAM 4 Stroker]

I think you have a better engagement now than what you started with.

The top nut is a different color than the bottom, I suspect as an indicator that it is a left hand thread. There is also a "L" marked on the column indicating as such.

If you take the side panel off, this adjustment is much easier

 

[DigitalFusion]

is it possible that this will be more likely to pop under load?

im my experience? yes. It is much more likely to pop out under load than it is when on a stand or under no load.

 

[Budweiser]

Mine used to do that also. I lived with it for a while cause it only got bad under load. I basically couldn't go in reverse sitting on the sled. What I did was take the side panel off, bungyed the brake caliper and removed rotor and ran it in the yard and adjusted the linkages until it worked correctly. Of course, I had no brake but I didn't need it. I'd tried everything people here had told me and I still couldn't get it to work right. When I adjusted, tested, adjusted, tested I got it right. Its been working correctly now for years.

 

[biffdotorg]

Thanks guys, it's just a trial and error.

I'm assuming this had sarcasm attached to it?
"If you take the side panel off, this adjustment is much easier"

I'm stupid with a wrench, but not quite that far off my stool. HA!

Thanks again, this forum kicks #*$&@.

 

[DigitalFusion]

hopefully we can get some snow here in minne-no-snowta so we can both test out our tweaks. This is getting sickening!