Trail ride today

[Simplespeed]

Out for a ride after some fresh powder fell upon us all morning and first broke down sled I came to was a ski doo that not only ate the belt but was a real rats nest with cords all over… Funny part was the man was standing there just looking at it so I pulled up and asked if he needed some help which he declined and was very standoffish… He went to try and start removing the cords and burned his hands the cutch was so hot… I asked if he had a spare and he said he did in stern tone which at this point I told him ok, andI told him he might want to drive slow cause as hot as that clutch is , that spare won’t last long either.. I then started my sled and went down the trail.. That got me thinking, have I ever blown a belt on the trail, nope but I can tell you this, I seen many Ski-Doos go thur belts, some Artic Cats, rare for Polaris, and use to be very rare for Yamaha’s.. These Sidewinders with high horsepower tunes are a very different animal for a couple of reasons and the problem with offset/ center to center/ deflection is first on the long list.. These are clearly poor quality from Yam/Cat . Second I would say the stock clutches are also low quality for a turbo application… so i hope these two companies are reading this cause they need to listen just a little …now for the guys that have the tunes blowing the belts… If your clutching is right you will never blow a belt and you never should.. If you blow a belt your clutching is wrong.. You have a flaw period… clutching is a balance when you get to proper balance you will eliminate the following:: Heat, Belt dust, belt wear, broken springs, coil bind, broken belts, and clutch parts wear will be reduced also… if your set up is out of balance the power of these tunes will make your clutches dangerous and or do damage to your sled… The higher the horsepower the even more important to have clutch balance. Iam not talking about the balance the factory does when they drill those little holes to balance, iam talking balance between your primary spring and weights, your balance between your primary and secondary, and balance between your secondary spring and your helix along with correct , weights, correct pressure for upshift and back shift and the correct speed at which it occurs… And target RPM at which max power is made …. The secret is to do this with a set up that each part is in total balance and a smooth easy shift that puts just enough force on the belt and no more and no less.. enough thinking out loud… Getting back to that Ski Doo guy ( Mr Iam having a bad day ) why is it they blow belts so often ??? My brother has two 850’s ski doos and he buys five belts at a time . I guess I don’t understand it ….

 

[SledFreak]

I am confused here????

 

[1nc 2000]

Story time?

 

[Simplespeed]

Confused me too.. You ever heard of anyone that had to use five belts to get back to trailer on a ride with his buddies… Well you have now and it happened.. Now after a complete new motor under warranty ( Newer machine ) the sled is fixed…. Point of the post is you would think that on a new machine , motor and clutching problems would be slim to none.. This post is not intended to knock Ski-Doo but I question the ability of the TRA clutching to withstand long hard pulls as I have witnessed more than a few belt issues on their sleds ..

 

[20/80]

Everybody has belt issues from time to time on the higher HP/ Tuned sleds, the clutch balance he spoke of is suppose to be set from factory but there is room for improvement were they are set mostly for general day to day trail riding not for steady full throttle pulls and wheelies all the time, the 5 belts his brother buys at a time is to probably get him through a full season on his 2 850s, not to get him back to his trailer after one ride. lol

 

[Simplespeed]

Everybody has belt issues from time to time on the higher HP/ Tuned sleds, the clutch balance he spoke of is suppose to be set from factory but there is room for improvement were they are set mostly for general day to day trail riding not for steady full throttle pulls and wheelies all the time, the 5 belts his brother buys at a time is to probably get him through a full season on his 2 850s, not to get him back to his trailer after one ride. lol

You know you are right it seems everyone is having belt issues from time to time… Some are better than others and after they get them figured out the belts are lasting longer .. Some are buying new clutches , changing belts, in effort to get more performance out of their clutches… some have tried every belt made they could find in search of getting them to last longer Some just don’t care if they last as long as they get arm stretching pull … The point I was making is when your clutching is correct and your pressure from belt to sheave is correct, and both clutches working together you will not only find the performance your after, you will not be going thur these expensive belts IMO …. And no he did not buy five belts for the season..lol the sled went thur five belts driving it back and why they would not tow it after a couple is beyond me.. He did also say they replaced the motor after this so I would assume the crank went out but would still run, but thats just my assumption..