I copied my response from another thread as this problem really needs attention before someone gets killed. When you loose your lower pulley, you loose your brakes.
Keep in mind, this is only my opinion. I sell the TKI belt drives and see and hear lots on this subject.
All years can be out of spec. but generally the 14"s seem to be the best.
You can use the ARP bolts or order from Fastenal the 12.9 socket head bolts as I did. You will need to buy 25 pc. like I did and sell to your Poo friends.
The stronger bolts may just delay the inevitable though. If the pulley moves at all on the splines you will have failure to either the bolt or the driveshaft and here is why:
The bolt head presses on the pulley (with washer) and in turn the pulley presses on the bearing. This side loading is the only thing that locks the bearing from spinning on the driveshaft. With a loose fitting pulley, every time you go from forward to reverse or even hit the brake, the pulley moves on the splines AND rotates under the bolt head. Now just imagine back and forth all day, every day you ride. The splines wear a bit but think about the interface between the bolt (washer) and the pulley. The underside of the bolt will wear into the washer (or washer into the pulley). Now the pulley and bolt get looser. Now the pulley starts rocking under the bolt head and as the underside of the bolt head does not tighten completely to the shaft, the bolt bends back and forth until it is stressed enough to pop off. This rocking is partially due to the poor design of not having long enough shafts to center float the pulley's. If your bolt simply looses and does not break, the shaft can spin in the bearing and wear the shaft down. This was common in 2013 and will be returning for the 15's. The cupped washer in 13 did have some merit as it may have added some spring tension to the pulley to take up some slop and extend the time before disaster.
I do have some 12.9 bolts in stock for the Canadian guys for $3 each but that is not my motive here.
How I fixed mine:
Well I lost a 8.8 bolt in my 2014 and lost a 10.9 bolt in my 2015 and surprisingly survived as we were in the big mountains. Anyway the 14 is pretty tight so I just added a 12.9 hard bolt but for the 15 I had to go all the way. I drilled and tapped the hole for a 12 mm bolt, then I used a 12.9 hard bolt and cut off the head and made it into a stud. I bottomed the stud in the shaft with red Loctite. Now I used Loctite 660 on the splines. The 660 is for worn splines and shafts. It is removed with heat. Next I drilled out the washer to fit the bigger bolt. Finally I used 2 nuts, one to tighten down on the pulley to 45 ft/lb and the second as a locker. This idea was maybe overkill but I can easily check the torque without breaking any thread locker.
I also heard that Polaris went to a bigger bolt for 2016? We will see.
Several rides and it has not budged. Previously I could see the pulley rocking on the shaft even with the bolt at 45 ft/lbs. In addition I used the Loctite 660 on the top pulley as it was rocking on the splines too.
I also ordered the Loctite from Fastenal. http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...91071109,d.cGU
Chris
Keep in mind, this is only my opinion. I sell the TKI belt drives and see and hear lots on this subject.
All years can be out of spec. but generally the 14"s seem to be the best.
You can use the ARP bolts or order from Fastenal the 12.9 socket head bolts as I did. You will need to buy 25 pc. like I did and sell to your Poo friends.
The stronger bolts may just delay the inevitable though. If the pulley moves at all on the splines you will have failure to either the bolt or the driveshaft and here is why:
The bolt head presses on the pulley (with washer) and in turn the pulley presses on the bearing. This side loading is the only thing that locks the bearing from spinning on the driveshaft. With a loose fitting pulley, every time you go from forward to reverse or even hit the brake, the pulley moves on the splines AND rotates under the bolt head. Now just imagine back and forth all day, every day you ride. The splines wear a bit but think about the interface between the bolt (washer) and the pulley. The underside of the bolt will wear into the washer (or washer into the pulley). Now the pulley and bolt get looser. Now the pulley starts rocking under the bolt head and as the underside of the bolt head does not tighten completely to the shaft, the bolt bends back and forth until it is stressed enough to pop off. This rocking is partially due to the poor design of not having long enough shafts to center float the pulley's. If your bolt simply looses and does not break, the shaft can spin in the bearing and wear the shaft down. This was common in 2013 and will be returning for the 15's. The cupped washer in 13 did have some merit as it may have added some spring tension to the pulley to take up some slop and extend the time before disaster.
I do have some 12.9 bolts in stock for the Canadian guys for $3 each but that is not my motive here.
How I fixed mine:
Well I lost a 8.8 bolt in my 2014 and lost a 10.9 bolt in my 2015 and surprisingly survived as we were in the big mountains. Anyway the 14 is pretty tight so I just added a 12.9 hard bolt but for the 15 I had to go all the way. I drilled and tapped the hole for a 12 mm bolt, then I used a 12.9 hard bolt and cut off the head and made it into a stud. I bottomed the stud in the shaft with red Loctite. Now I used Loctite 660 on the splines. The 660 is for worn splines and shafts. It is removed with heat. Next I drilled out the washer to fit the bigger bolt. Finally I used 2 nuts, one to tighten down on the pulley to 45 ft/lb and the second as a locker. This idea was maybe overkill but I can easily check the torque without breaking any thread locker.
I also heard that Polaris went to a bigger bolt for 2016? We will see.
Several rides and it has not budged. Previously I could see the pulley rocking on the shaft even with the bolt at 45 ft/lbs. In addition I used the Loctite 660 on the top pulley as it was rocking on the splines too.
I also ordered the Loctite from Fastenal. http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...91071109,d.cGU
Chris
