Yamaha, there is a possibility of someone getting hurt with these SW primaries!

[Thunder Products]

Yes, I am extremely upset over what I have dealt with and what others have dealt with about these Sidewinder clutches being weak, flexing, cracking, coming apart causing major damage!

But this past weekend, 3 Sidewinder primaries have come apart and the one that truly upsets me is a Sidewinder with 1,500 miles on that the weight pocket blew out, sent the pieces flying into the fuel tank, causing fuel to pour out and also severed the brake line!

This is not just a clutch explosion! This is a serious situation now! You want proof? I have the video! This customer of yours is lucky he was on an open lake and not on the trail winding through the trees...cause we would possibly be reading his obituary.

The SW clutches that I have hundreds of pics from FB, Forums and what we see in our own shop rebuilding and servicing these clutches.

You may think that it's just flashed sleds....but I have proof it isn't. It's happening to stock sleds as low as a couple hundred miles!

YAMAHA, I HOPE YOU ARE SEEING THIS HERE CAUSE I AM NOT BEING NICE NOW! I have contacted you on numerous occasions about these junk Sidewinder clutches, by phone, by email, by texts, at snow shows, through customer support and through your dealers that refuse to even report issues because they don't want to deal with it and know they won't get anywhere with you. Customer support 1-800-962-7926 is where I was told there is no problem....and again, you turn and look away at something that is extremely serious!

These are from stock sleds:

 

[yamamarc]

I pulled someone's clutch apart for maintenance and had a weight fall apart when removing it. I would say this guy was very lucky!!

 

[yamamarc]

Same arctic cat team primaries i have seen a alarming amount of cracked sheave and clutch explosions stock and tuned

 

[Bigblue1]

View attachment 158499
I pulled someone's clutch apart for maintenance and had a weight fall apart when removing it. I would say this guy was very lucky!!

I hear you. You just serviced my buds viper clutches and they are meticulous afgter 6,000 miles. I have owned 4 yamahas and I have never had to be so meticulous with a primary. While you should always inspect and your clutches after each ride etc. With these its a must do or you'll have trouble. My RX-1 and Apex, I rode hard for over 20k miles and the clutches just needed standard servicing. Sold the RX-1 to a friend. Original clutch ...going on 20,000 miles. Not thrilled at spending so much money on a sled and having to address lax engineering or QC on these primaries from day one. Had to buy your clutch set up and the offset tool to get it right after many blown belts stock.

 

[Thunder Products]

Same arctic cat team primaries i have seen a alarming amount of cracked sheave and clutch explosions stock and tuned

Yes, you are so correct!

I haven't even mentioned the TEAM clutches and I have hundreds of pics of those cracking, chipping and TEAM primaries blowing apart. These are coming apart on stock 6000's with hardly any miles.

 

[blevis213]

Yamaha should switch out us sidewinder owners with viper primaries for no fee. I haven’t even put any miles on my sled and already looking to replace the primary. But being a new sled with no miles i would like a new primary with no miles on it also.

 

[MrSled]

Are these all tuned Sidewinders? Make sure you have all your facts in order. Just saying.

 

[Thunder Products]

Are these all tuned Sidewinders? Make sure you have all your facts in order. Just saying.

These are NOT tuned sidewinders I have posted the pictures of and I have information on all of them, even the names and VIN numbers.

The sled in question about the severed brake line and fuel tank punctured was a flashed sidewinder...I am not going to lie about that.

I have hundreds of photos of clutches that have been sent in, that we have worked on personally, seen on FB and have specific dealer information and pics from STOCK sleds.

 

[MrSled]

These are NOT tuned sidewinders I have posted the pictures of and I have information on all of them, even the names and VIN numbers.

The sled in question about the severed brake line and fuel tank punctured was a flashed sidewinder...I am not going to lie about that.

I have hundreds of photos of clutches that have been sent in, that we have worked on personally, seen on FB and have specific dealer information and pics from STOCK sleds.

I sure would not want to get involved in this unless it was actually on my sled, lots of risk. Good luck.

 

[Thunder Products]

I sure would not want to get involved in this unless it was actually on my sled, lots of risk. Good luck.

This has happened to my sled, mine was caught before it blew apart.

 

[KnappAttack]

The three cylinders harmonics are very hard on any of these clutches. IMO the three cylinder should go away and we need that sweet Apex engine back in play with its cushioned output shaft back in a good chassis. Never any issues with them.

 

[jonlafon1]

This issue will continue until someone is seriously injured and battles Yamaha/CAT in court. Unfortunately that's the reality of it.. It seems its all about profitability and NOT quality control and or producing great product!

 

[jonlafon1]

View attachment 158499
I pulled someone's clutch apart for maintenance and had a weight fall apart when removing it. I would say this guy was very lucky!!

Curious> how many miles? The rollers and bushings are trashed.. Not saying or implying anything just curious.
Thanks

 

[Sledroll]

Curious> how many miles? The rollers and bushings are trashed.. Not saying or implying anything just curious.
Thanks

If this is mostly ,but probably not all, about harmonics wouldn't the Hurricane noise reduction ring go a long long way to making the SW clutch a lot more durable , and even possibly as reliable as the Apex clutch ?
When I had both the 3 and 4 cylinder sleds idling side by side , it was amazing how much smoother the Apex was .
So when you get up in rpm's this only , I am guessing , gets worse ??
Recipe for disaster .
This is coming from someone that has had no clutch issues , beyond a primary spring broken in 3 , with only a 240 SM tune .

 

[KnappAttack]

The four cylinder Apex has a rubber cushioned drive, with a gear reduced output shaft on it. The 998 will never be as easy on clutches and belts as the Apex was. The Hurricane crank weight would help I suspect, but will still never be as good as an Apex is to clutches. IMO the Apex is/was the finest engine ever put into a snow mobile, tight on its heels was the four cylinder V-Max-4 two-stroke. Both of the best two and four-stroke engines are now gone, and we have lousy 3 cylinders engines with god awful harmonics in its place. Then look at the existing two-strokes and they are now all two cylinders! All the new engines absolutely hammer clutches and belts. We've made steps in reverse, not forwards in this sport.

IMO gear reduced cushioned output shafts are worth the little bit of added weight. You can add power by spinning the engine RPM much higher with reduction output shafts and make life easier on the belt along with running an even longer belt, making life easier on the belt yet again. The old V-Max-4 had a very long belt with long centers!