Axys primary lifespan?

tdorval · Feb 9, 2018

Different folks are going to get different results. Some are inherently harder on things. That said clutch components just don't last as long as I think they should. Weight bushings every 3-500 miles here too, gets old. Rollers etc can be a pain. If you're the guy that rides hard all day and is coming back on fumes while everyone else is at a quarter of a tank you're the type that won't have long clutch life. Sucks.

Wheel House Motorsports · Feb 9, 2018

tdorval said:
Different folks are going to get different results. Some are inherently harder on things. That said clutch components just don't last as long as I think they should. Weight bushings every 3-500 miles here too, gets old. Rollers etc can be a pain. If you're the guy that rides hard all day and is coming back on fumes while everyone else is at a quarter of a tank you're the type that won't have long clutch life. Sucks.

Exactly, to a lot of people, weight bushings every 3-500 miles doesn't seem bad... when that is almost 10 sets a year... every 3-4 weeks in peak riding. It gets OLD fast. I like working on my sled but having to replace something that often starts making me wonder how we can keep things holding up better.

I either pack spare gas or a scoop shovel. 1 tank of gas with no jump building just isn't not very satisfying. Thats like 3-4 hours of riding. We did 17 gallons in a day earlier this year... 2 belts and almost 2 full tanks of gas. Still made it out before dark on the shortest days of the year too. lol

Got a new indy specialties Tru-shift cover coming to see if that helps keep things from wearing out quite as fast.

Motorbreath_ · Feb 9, 2018

Do the trail sleds share the same components?

Wheel House Motorsports · Feb 9, 2018

Motorbreath_ said:
Do the trail sleds share the same components?

Yeah, P85 is the same on pretty much all polaris clutches across the board for a long time now. Well, aside from the sheave change for the axys.

aksledjunkie · Feb 9, 2018

Nick have you gotten your clutch balanced?

Wheel House Motorsports · Feb 9, 2018

aksledjunkie said:
Nick have you gotten your clutch balanced?

I haven't. I wanted to. But down time isn't ok. LOL I might need to just get a spare one so I can rotate through them, just keep sending them to dan for love as I burn up my other one.

aksledjunkie · Feb 9, 2018

Haha, the struggle. I got mine balanced with my ZRP cover on it and it smoothed out my idle a ton at the beginning of the season. Wasn't but maybe 150 miles later and I was replacing motor mounts though. And I just had my dealer today put some Pro chassis mounts aside for me cause the second batch of motor mounts are already sacked out and my idle is super low.

Vern · Feb 9, 2018

Jebus!, and I always thought cat was the one with clutch issues because I lose a roller or crack a spider roughly every 2k miles. Doesn't sound so bad after reading this

kiliki · Feb 9, 2018

And we didn't see this type of thread when cat went to the lightweight crank in 2010

tdorval · Feb 9, 2018

Yep gets old. I'm trying to alternate out with the bike to make the sled last longer. Would work better if the snow wasn't always so damn deep up here lol. Makes it hard to not take the sled.

Let us know how that cover works out.

Tomorrow should be a damn good day, stay safe out there things have to be a little touchy with all the fresh.

Wheel House Motorsports said:
Exactly, to a lot of people, weight bushings every 3-500 miles doesn't seem bad... when that is almost 10 sets a year... every 3-4 weeks in peak riding. It gets OLD fast. I like working on my sled but having to replace something that often starts making me wonder how we can keep things holding up better.

I either pack spare gas or a scoop shovel. 1 tank of gas with no jump building just isn't not very satisfying. Thats like 3-4 hours of riding. We did 17 gallons in a day earlier this year... 2 belts and almost 2 full tanks of gas. Still made it out before dark on the shortest days of the year too. lol

Got a new indy specialties Tru-shift cover coming to see if that helps keep things from wearing out quite as fast.

diamonddave · Feb 10, 2018

Killer Time Racing said:
I have ES and eat Weight Bushings every ride .. the rollers seem ok but I'll prob just replace the Sled and get a free clutch !

What brand of weights are you running?

I'm not saying that the added ring gear mass is going to solve for every other variable that might be in play that could lead to premature bushing failure. If your clutch or crank are already out of balance, then it's not going to be the cure all. But that added mass of the ring gear is only going to help smooth out naturally induced vibes.

But this is a new phenomenon that we didn't see with the Pro-Ride or Dragon chassis.

So what has changed? The belt and the crank. I don't like the belt at all and have a few guys running the ol 1115 in their Axys with already better belt life.

The crank is the big player here. Assuming we didn't end up of with an unintended manufacturing change or an out of tolerance machining issue of the P-85 (remember 2010-2012 broken snouts), then at this point in time, the crank is the only "physics based answer."

aksledjunkie · Feb 10, 2018

I can see what you are saying about the weighted affect but I’m running ZRP light weight cover, lightweight pins, and light weight cover bolts. I sent everything to Indy and they balanced it and I’m running the turbo clutch kit. I don’t blow belts. Ever. I retire my old one at around 1000 miles cause the belt to sheave clearance is no longer as true to what Indy set it up for. But that’s a lot of lightweight added to the lightweight crankshaft. And I’m over 1200 miles so far this season alone.

Installed the Pro motor mounts last night as I do seem to go through those every 1000 miles it seems. Plus the SLP Torque Arm this go round.

jhurkot · Feb 11, 2018

Another thing I've noticed is that rebuilds do not have a very long life compared to a complete factory clutch. The price difference is not that much either. One of my rebuilds only lasted 1.5 rides. Another 6 rides. I would say do not bother rebuilding these things.

ZRP Engineering · Feb 11, 2018

Just wanted to chime in with a few points. (The p85 is not the most durable but it can and should last plenty long)

- adding motor mount torque arms from fire 'n ice (or slp) are huge. If your clutches are being pulled out of allignment abnormal wear will occur. The motor mounts on the Axys are poor to say the least.

- the new axys motor has a bad harmonic, somewhere at or above 8200rpm and becomes more pronounced with a turbo. Adding or removing weight to the primary will not much change this characteristic of the crank/motor

- bad clutching calibration will destroy everything eventually.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

diamonddave · Feb 11, 2018

aksledjunkie said:
I can see what you are saying about the weighted affect but I’m running ZRP light weight cover, lightweight pins, and light weight cover bolts. I sent everything to Indy and they balanced it and I’m running the turbo clutch kit. I don’t blow belts. Ever. I retire my old one at around 1000 miles cause the belt to sheave clearance is no longer as true to what Indy set it up for. But that’s a lot of lightweight added to the lightweight crankshaft. And I’m over 1200 miles so far this season alone.

Installed the Pro motor mounts last night as I do seem to go through those every 1000 miles it seems. Plus the SLP Torque Arm this go round.

This doesn't and wouldn't surprise me. Big key here is you had this clutch balanced and it sounds like you are running a good clutch calibration. Glad you're happy with the ZRP components. But your lightened ZRP parts have a much different effect on dampening harmonics and vibrations than a ring gear. Apples and oranges.

For the masses out there that just ride and don't modify in detail, not very many people actually have their clutches balanced. Would this help? Absolutely. And we know, Polaris Industries doesn't and isn't going to do it with a specific calibration correct for all altitudes. Just another reason why I'd like to see the added ring gear on all clutches.

It's not just about the adding or subtracting mass but the design and location of the added mass and it's location on the clutch assembly. In this case, the added ring gear's mass being much farther away from the center of the crankshaft is going to react much different than your ZRP clutch parts.

Snowbird11 · Feb 11, 2018

ZRP Engineering said:
- the new axys motor has a bad harmonic, somewhere at or above 8200rpm and becomes more pronounced with a turbo. Adding or removing weight to the primary will not much change this characteristic of the crank/motor

i guess i should be grateful that my axys rarely can hit 8200.:face-icon-small-sad

aksledjunkie · Feb 12, 2018

diamonddave said:
This doesn't and wouldn't surprise me. Big key here is you had this clutch balanced and it sounds like you are running a good clutch calibration. Glad you're happy with the ZRP components. But your lightened ZRP parts have a much different effect on dampening harmonics and vibrations than a ring gear. Apples and oranges.

For the masses out there that just ride and don't modify in detail, not very many people actually have their clutches balanced. Would this help? Absolutely. And we know, Polaris Industries doesn't and isn't going to do it with a specific calibration correct for all altitudes. Just another reason why I'd like to see the added ring gear on all clutches.

It's not just about the adding or subtracting mass but the design and location of the added mass and it's location on the clutch assembly. In this case, the added ring gear's mass being much farther away from the center of the crankshaft is going to react much different than your ZRP clutch parts.

Now we are talking way beyond my depth haha.

adamg · Feb 13, 2018

Snowbird11 said:
i guess i should be grateful that my axys rarely can hit 8200.:face-icon-small-sad

Ditto! Mine lives at 7950-8050 all day, all year, since I got it.

edgey · Feb 13, 2018

Where do u guys get your weight bushings slp is $21 bucks a set is there some place cheaper?
1150 miles on my 17 axys I'm running slp pipe, pro QD pullies, X3 162 with 7 tooth avids extros. About 500 miles on belts and weight bushings never had this kind of trouble with my pro's

RMK-King · Feb 13, 2018

jhurkot said:
Another thing I've noticed is that rebuilds do not have a very long life compared to a complete factory clutch. The price difference is not that much either. One of my rebuilds only lasted 1.5 rides. Another 6 rides. I would say do not bother rebuilding these things.

I rebuilt a P85 with a SPI rebuild kit once to try and save a few bucks over the OEM rebuild kit, 200 miles later all the bushings and rollers were shot again. Use OEM parts or buy a new clutch if you want it to last is what iv found.

Axys primary lifespan?

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