Quick Drive Belt Break In

cb2honk · Nov 14, 2012

If you can't even hit wot at all in the first 100miles due to belt break in, then your motor is not going to be broke in properly. You need to hit wot in short durations to seat your rings properly. So, take your pick, break in motor properly or belt properly. WHAT A F-ING JOKE POLARIS!!!

kidder17 · Nov 14, 2012

savagerunner07 said:
I see why the belt failed. You didnt follow the break in procedure. You know its there from the manufacture for a reason. I know its hard not to have WOT. I figure that 100 miles is nothing compared to what I plan on putting on this sled. If this helps make the belt last that much longer, than I'm all for following procedure.

Please re-read my post. I am well aware of what the Manual says for break in period. Your post has nothing to add. I did not come on here wining, bitching or complaining about the belt or the QD System...nothing. But to simply look for information and create dialouge and discussion about what other are seeing in the field.

My post was to ask a question in regards to what is physically happening during this break in period to the belt, to which in my opinion Mountainhorse and others have provided information on.

I think people need to chill just a little until we can get some more seat time in, if proper break-in is what is required then so be it.

savagerunner07 · Nov 14, 2012

No man. I agree with ya 100%. The people that are breaking the belts then blaming Polaris are not doing it right. If you read the manual, it states that a new belt break in is 100 miles. A replacment is 30. I think that if you have 50 or more on a belt, you should start working on the motor break in.

kidder17 · Nov 14, 2012

Snoriders West Article

Hers is a very good article from Snoriders West regarding QD Belt Break in. It explains what is happening with the gears and the belt well.

http://snoriderswest.com/article/inside-your-ride/breaking_in_your_new_sled

From the Article:

"The belt drive is geared square and the belt is grooved square so it is imperative that sufficient break-in time be allotted for this system. Taking the time to break in the belt-drive gears and your belt only makes sense.

After you have broken in the gear grooves for the belt drive, the next belt installed will not need as much break-in time because the gears will already have smoothed into optimum condition. To ensure proper break-in, vary your RPMs—rather than holding it wide open—for the first 160 kilometres of use. From the factory, the belts contain a mould release compound on the surface. This needs to be gradually worn off. If the belt gets too hot, it could mess with the integrity of the belt system. You’ll notice a fibrous residue shed from the belt. Simply wipe with a dry shop towel to remove the residue. This is completely normal."

Momma · Nov 14, 2012

kidder17 said:
Hers is a very good article from Snoriders West regarding QD Belt Break in. It explains what is happening with the gears and the belt well.

http://snoriderswest.com/article/inside-your-ride/breaking_in_your_new_sled

From the Article:

"The belt drive is geared square and the belt is grooved square so it is imperative that sufficient break-in time be allotted for this system. Taking the time to break in the belt-drive gears and your belt only makes sense.

After you have broken in the gear grooves for the belt drive, the next belt installed will not need as much break-in time because the gears will already have smoothed into optimum condition. To ensure proper break-in, vary your RPMs—rather than holding it wide open—for the first 160 kilometres of use. From the factory, the belts contain a mould release compound on the surface. This needs to be gradually worn off. If the belt gets too hot, it could mess with the integrity of the belt system. You’ll notice a fibrous residue shed from the belt. Simply wipe with a dry shop towel to remove the residue. This is completely normal."

Thank you for posting this up!!

So looking forward to this year!!

Trish Drinkle
Snoriders West Magazine

kidder17 · Nov 14, 2012

Not a problem Trish, it is an excellent article with a message that I think needs to be spread to all Pro owners.

Cascade Addiction · Nov 15, 2012

savagerunner07 said:
No man. I agree with ya 100%. The people that are breaking the belts then blaming Polaris are not doing it right. If you read the manual, it states that a new belt break in is 100 miles. A replacment is 30. I think that if you have 50 or more on a belt, you should start working on the motor break in.

A motor is about 90% broke in at about 20 miles, if you wait till 50 to start setting the rings you might as well tear down and start over, cause if you baby it till then what's done is done and there's no making it right later.

Boondocker82 · Nov 15, 2012

cb2honk said:
I don't care if you rode the sh!t out of it, no excuses for these failures. I know stuff breaks, but between this and the driveshaft issues, polaris didn't test well enough. Not every person that owns one of these sleds is on snowest talking about their issues. So, with the few that I've seen reported on here...really makes me wonder how many actually are breaking. Will they cover that belt under warranty, beings it only had roughly 15 miles.

The people that aren't having problems aren't on here looking for answers either. Its just the same as the CFI-4. There's good ones and there are bad ones. Same as anything you buy.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

mountainhorse · Nov 15, 2012

BREAK EM IN.

AKSNOWRIDER said:
Eric,
I have heard from several sources now that overheating the belt during break-in can cause delamination...seems to me this is most likely the cause of most of these early failures, and why both the dealer and Polaris is stressing the break-in period...I am told if you ride your pro hard at all during initial break in the belt gets very hot..something a few could watch and report on?

Here is a good post that was put up in another thread related to this topic.
AK is a savy guy, and top notch mechanic... what he says makes for common sense.

I agree that proper break-in of these belts is KEY in long term durability of these QuickDrive belts.

Different than the engine threads about break in... I believe that these rubber and metal parts need to be bedded into each other on the actual machine they are installed to help prevent issues down the line.

TAKE YOUR TIME TO BREAK-IN YOUR QuickDrive BELTS .... Don't get em too hot!!

From the Gates "Synchronous BeltFailure Analysis Guide"

Heat Degradation
When rubber belts operate at elevated temperatures (greater than
185°F) for prolonged periods of time, the rubber compound gradually
hardens resulting in back cracking due to bending. These cracks
typically remain parallel to the belt teeth and usually occur over land
areas (in between belt teeth).

High-temperature rubber belt constructions are available for belt drives
that must operate in high-temperature environments. These special
belt constructions help to improve belt service. To determine if a special
high-temperature belt construction will improve the belt performance in
specific applications, contact a Gates Representative.

Belts generally fail due to tooth shear , which can lead to tensile cord fracture.

The body material used in urethane belts such as Poly Chain® GT®
Carbon® belts is thermoplastic, meaning it has a melting point. When
subjected to environmental temperatures in excess of 185°F, the teeth
may begin to soften and deform. In addition, the tensile cord to urethane
adhesion loses its integrity. Figure 18 illustrates a Poly Chain® GT®2

It is possible that Polaris uses the higher temp belts pointed out above.. would like to see what one of these failed belts does when you put it in boiling water (212°F) and checked the tooth attachemet/softness.

.

Excalibur · Nov 15, 2012

This may be the key in durability. I put an new QD belt on last night, ran it in the shop maybe a minute. The belt was quite warm to the touch. The belt is very stiff when new, it has to flex allot to match the small upper drive(Glad I had the installation tools).We all need to understand this belt is different in material and process compared to a clutch belt! The breakin procedure would go a long way in reducing belt temps! Maybe we can get some reports from those that followed breakin procedure. :face-icon-small-coo Waiting on SNOW!!!!

savagerunner07 · Nov 15, 2012

pawpaw said:
A motor is about 90% broke in at about 20 miles, if you wait till 50 to start setting the rings you might as well tear down and start over, cause if you baby it till then what's done is done and there's no making it right later.

So your saying that my motor is broken in now? I guess I'll keep working on the belt now.

Trashy · Nov 15, 2012

Dumb question, and not a Polaris guy, but if the belt break in is so critical you would think the manufacturer would invest in something hi tech like a machine that breaks them in at the factory so the end user gets them ready to ride them however the situation requires.

AKSNOWRIDER · Nov 15, 2012

TrashCat said:
Dumb question, and not a Polaris guy, but if the belt break in is so critical you would think the manufacturer would invest in something hi tech like a machine that breaks them in at the factory so the end user gets them ready to ride them however the situation requires.

part of that is they need to seat to the sprockets they will run on...but yes, I would imagine it would help if they did an initial run in on them...

rmscustom · Nov 15, 2012

All I know is that after 2 heat cycles in the garage that belt is shedding some serious material... So there just might be something to this break in thing. How in the hell I'm I suppose to break the motor in like I want it if i gotta ***** foot around for 100 miles?

AKSNOWRIDER · Nov 15, 2012

rmscustom said:
All I know is that after 2 heat cycles in the garage that belt is shedding some serious material... So there just might be something to this break in thing. How in the hell I'm I suppose to break the motor in like I want it if i gotta ***** foot around for 100 miles?

lol...very carefully..go get a used belt off a buddies sled........

Going West · Nov 15, 2012

If the issues is heat related you can still do some heavy throttle as long as there is some cool down time.

But this whole business does seem like a giant pain in the ***. I would have rather paid a little extra to have some machined gears and a proper tensioner.

Momma · Nov 15, 2012

I can see both sides of it. We live in the mountains. So taking the time to do a road ride and break in the QuickDrive Belt for us isn't huge. But if you are someone who only gets to ride a few times per year, it may have a totally different effect on that riders perspective on following break in procedures.

Going West · Nov 15, 2012

Exactly my point, we drive 11 hrs one way to ride. First trip is next weekend and it will probably take 2 or even all 3 days were out there to get 100 miles, plus I wont be able to ride with the rest or the group, half throttle is not a option. I guess well see how this belt holds up with about 30 miles on it cause thats about all its going to get.

whoisthatguy · Nov 15, 2012

Strap it to your trailer, jack up the rear end, put a water hose on the coolers, fire it up and get your 30 miles on the belt before you leave the driveway. Then you will be ready to rock n roll.

rick5150 · Nov 16, 2012

Breaking in a motor under no load....not good
I think I'd rather replace the belt if it goes and have a properly broken in motor.

Quick Drive Belt Break In

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