Sidewinder Clutch Replacement ?

[JPS]

I'm no expert but rollers are a known problem, Secondary ones get flat spots and primary ones the bushing walks from the roller. Both of these could result in improper operation of the clutches which could lead to failure/blown belt. Not sure if the 2020 ones are better but for the ~$100 I thought it best to replace with aftermarket.

Springs/Helix just make the clutch engage at different RPM's and perform better. Typically I lean on a expert, call them up tell them my setup and then go with their recommendations.

One thing I do not like about the Yam clutch is the noise, I went from a Super Quiet Muffler back to stock midway through this season and the noise reduction I got from stock muffler was almost voided by the now increased clutch noise (didn't hear it as bad with the SQ muffler) So +1 to the Cat clutch for that. If I were to buy a Tcat I would do the Torsional Upgrade from Ron Ward on the Secondary Clutch.

I am still using the stock rollers in the primary have 3,000 miles on them with very little wear and 3/4 of the miles are on TD Max 16.

 

[journeyman]

Plain as the sun is shining, anything more than stock, their Junk very weak for HP, you can change 6000 springs and settings, don’t matter. 270 hp up need TAPP,pro 4 etc, secondary to much spring bind ,pro4/stm

No!! Only the guys with 250HP plus have to keep a close eye on the clutches. Mine have been perfect and it has over 5000 miles on it. Yes the majority was stock but I have a stock bundle tune on it now...225/240/270....Furthermore the newer Yamaha rollers have been just fine. I have only taken a few test runs at the 270 tune, been leaving it at 225/240.

This is a case of too much reading social media. Only the guys with trouble post, the one’s that have no trouble are busy riding and not posting anything.

 

[journeyman]

While I agree stock Winder is best for reliability.....I think most of us who are tuned know there is a HUGE difference between stock 204hp and 270++ hp. For me the HP total is less of a concern, where as the EARLY SPOOL is what makes or breaks these sleds corner to corner.

If I only rode lakes, or big wide open trails....I would be fine with a stocker.....A stocker comes on very docile and does not hit hard at all, it ramps up slowly then pulls nice and hard up in the RPMs.

But for corner to corner, I will say the Winder is a DOG. It is not fun, nor flickable and feels like a pig. When you blip throttle quickly the sled simply goes nowhere. So lifting the nose off knolls/moguls or snapping the sled instantly corner to corner is IMPOSSIBLE. Honestly I hated my Winder stock for my trail system. The 998 becomes a total different animal when you add a early spool tune, even a 240r hurricane tune early spool changes this sled entirely, and the 270r tune even more so.

So I recommend everyone ride their Winder for 500 miles until your first oil change. And if you run big wide open trails you will easily be happy with stock HP and how the stock ramps up the BOOST slowly from 5500 to 8800.

Dan

So did you sell it?

 

[Sledroll]

Replaced the stock SW clutch with the previous style Yamaha clutch (Viper) and all clutch/belt issues are gone. And I play hard

View attachment 147324

Your sled must not be a coupled skid !