Belt Drive Worth It?

thump426er · Sep 14, 2018

Hopefully I didn’t miss this question when I searched but,,, looking at belt drives for the new sled next week, and given that here in Canada they’re say $1250-$1500 or so tax in, is a belt drive worth the money??
I get that you lose a bit of static weight, maybe some rotational weight drops,,, but what else? Faster spin up? Nicer to blow a belt and have spare on the sled to keep playin.
Thanks

goridedoo · Sep 14, 2018

I feel like if you have a large budget and want to build a sled thats as responsive and light as possible then go for it... if not save that money for something like bumpers or shocks. Get that stuff taken care of FIRST. JMO.

I have noticed very little between belt drive and chain drive responsiveness. They say its there... I don’t know? Your dropping like 10lbs or so depending on the model so $ per pound its one of the better mods for weight loss behind a can and hood. You also gain some room under the hood which is nice, even though its not really useable space.

Yes the belt is easier than a chain to change, but chances are you will NEVER have to change a chain. Our group has spent more time adjusting belts than messing with chaincases, but the extent of adjusting belts is tightening them after the first 10-20 miles. After that they don’t need to be touched.

thump426er · Sep 14, 2018

This is the last thing on my hit list for the sled, shocks etc are taken care of, or at least so I think anyway until I hit the snow.

I think I’m trying to hinge my decision on hoping it adds reliability and the weight loss. I’ve had quite a lot of buddies have horrible chaincase blowups in the worst possible places. But,,, hoping there’s the added bonuses in there somewhere. I also question the responsiveness thing because in my mind what’s more responsive than a solid steel connection of a chain.

I don’t have enough experience with aftermarket belt drives, and sleds for me have been diamond drive, Pro with Quickdrive, or Axys with chaincase.

89sandman · Sep 14, 2018

Simple answer no, you won't notice a thing, except your wallet is a grand plus lighter.

goridedoo · Sep 14, 2018

thump426er said:
This is the last thing on my hit list for the sled, shocks etc are taken care of, or at least so I think anyway until I hit the snow.

I think I’m trying to hinge my decision on hoping it adds reliability and the weight loss. I’ve had quite a lot of buddies have horrible chaincase blowups in the worst possible places. But,,, hoping there’s the added bonuses in there somewhere. I also question the responsiveness thing because in my mind what’s more responsive than a solid steel connection of a chain.

I don’t have enough experience with aftermarket belt drives, and sleds for me have been diamond drive, Pro with Quickdrive, or Axys with chaincase.

It would be good peace of mind if you’ve seen blowups, and have the money to spend. I personally have never seen a chain go.

I think it make sense that belt drives are more efficient and they are just a simpler system, especially when there is no tensioner. One less place with fluid as well which IMO is actually one of the biggest advantages that I didnt mention above.

I hope Doo and Cat start offering factory belt drives soon, then we won’t have to have the discussions on whether or not they are worth it.

madmax · Sep 14, 2018

Last one I did on a Cat was an mvm. It lost just over 6lbs. I know a lot of guys say they are amazing, but don’t believe there is any measurable performance gain. I’d does make gear changes and belt changes easier. I’ve never blown a chain, or even seen one blow in over 20 years of sledding. I would only buy a belt drive if I was trying to build a super light weight sled.

boondocker97 · Sep 14, 2018

I pretty much agree with what goridedoo has said. On a 2018 or newer take care of the easy weight loss then go to the belt if budget allows to save a few more pounds, increase durability, and make it easier to work on. Not having to deal with chaincase oil is nice.

I lost a chain on my 2014 in a nasty creek bottom in DEEP snow and it wrecked the day for me and 6 other guys trying to get it out of there. 300lb+ geared up rider, big bore, jumping/creek hopping the stock 13W chain wasn't having it. I also broke a chain in a 2001 Mountain Cat prior to the diamond drive days. I feel reported failures are less prevalent in the 2016+ sleds when they went to the Borg Warner chain setup. On the older sleds when you already had to spend $300 to re-gear and upgrade to Hyvo or were doing the dropped driveshaft relocation it was easier to justify putting that money towards the belt drive. Aside from belts being easier to change, if you hit something and smash the bottom of the case you're not going to loose oil and end the day either.

As far as responsiveness, the belts are carbon banded and cogged so there's not much give in them. Probably about the same as taking the slack out of a steel chain. At a constant speed the efficiency of a chain and sprockets is hard to beat and doesn't take any more power to maintain that speed than the belt. Lighter weight drive components do make a difference in acceleration or "spool up" of the system. IMO in situations where the snow load and traction is high the lighter belt and sprockets will be less noticeable over a situation where the snow is lighter and the track is spinning more freely. Think % load from the snow vs. % load of accelerating the drive system. So in some conditions it may be a more noticeable difference than others. Might explain why some people think it helps and some think there is virtually no difference. There should be some small gyroscopic handling improvements of slinging a 0.5lb belt vs. a 3lb chain.

snowmobiler · Sep 14, 2018

thats a good excuse for falling off a sled.gyro did it

sno*jet · Sep 15, 2018

is the 6 pounds including the oil? I was planning one still, I don't like the oil that seeps out of the chain case plug. not too many mods that drop weight and add reliability also. there sure is a lot of hype from guys who claim they can tell a difference. but I don't want to break my 100bucks/pound rule, that gets stupid.
hmm..

summ8rmk · Sep 15, 2018

How do u grease the bearings when u go to a belt drive?
Chain provides oil bath, never need to grease. Thats why u only have to grease the jack and drive shaft on the clutch side.
I've lost a couple drive shafts from bearing failure behind secondary, seen a few more, never seen the bearing fail in the chain case though....

goridedoo · Sep 15, 2018

summ8rmk said:
How do u grease the bearings when u go to a belt drive?
Chain provides oil bath, never need to grease. Thats why u only have to grease the jack and drive shaft on the clutch side.
I've lost a couple drive shafts from bearing failure behind secondary, seen a few more, never seen the bearing fail in the chain case though....

Assuming its a sealed bearing?

Edit: must not be based on below post. Used to Poo’s, they are sealed.

sno*jet · Sep 15, 2018

^you pack the bearing with grease and the kit provides a seal. probably not as long of life as the oil bathed. some guys say maybe longer life tho because you getting rid of the aluminum gear particles in the oil. I think MVM said to repack bearing every 1000 miles? draining/filling oil is certainly easier than that. but more expensive too.

Pow-Shredder · Sep 16, 2018

^you replace the top bearing with a sealed bearing and the bottom you pack it and put a seal over it.

kiliki · Sep 16, 2018

Use a pick and pull off the seal every Thousand Miles pack it full and put the seal back on it

snowmobiler · Sep 16, 2018

or before a thousand if you see smoke coming out of it

Uncle Bob · Sep 17, 2018

I have had all positive experiences with belt drives, I installed one on my 2013 HCR and immediately noticed quicker revving and lighter feeling on the belt drive side, even with the weight of a turbo it was noticeably easier to side hill on clutch side vs belt drive side due to rotating weight, My next sled was a 2016 turbo axys 2.6 with a belt drive. I would switch often with axys turbo 3 " chain drive.but otherwise identically set up sled, and arguably minimal, there is certainly a quicker revving lighter feeling with the belt drive. I know have a belt drive waiting for my alpha to show up, i'm hoping i have the right gear ratio for it. I believe them to be better then chain and gears, its just a matter of if you can stomach the cost. Hopefully they will come stock soon and it will not be a problem.

jakey-boy · Sep 18, 2018

That chaincase sure hangs down a long ways to be reliant on not getting a tiny pin hole in it losing all your oil and grenading a chaincase in the backcountry. The belt drive was the first thing I did on my sled for that piece of mind. Definitely a noticeable performance increase as well but yes you are going to have to shell out some coin. Who is in this sport because they make sound financial decisions anyway?! :face-icon-small-hap

High Country · Sep 18, 2018

belt drive

I put a TKI belt drive system on my 2012 build(wanted a lite weight demon) which worked out very well...flawless no issues, very happy with a belt drive. I did find it noticeable in my conditions.
I do like the MVM set up for 2018-newer for the oil pump.
Waiting on my Alpha One and I will probably be leaning in that direction again.
As for the lower bearing seal, yup good idea to use the new seal and repack every 1000 miles. But even a better idea to get rid of that cheap Chinese bearing and put in a sealed bearing from Japan or Germany while you're in there.

Chewy22 · Sep 18, 2018

High Country said:
I put a TKI belt drive system on my 2012 build(wanted a lite weight demon) which worked out very well...flawless no issues, very happy with a belt drive. I did find it noticeable in my conditions.
I do like the MVM set up for 2018-newer for the oil pump.
Waiting on my Alpha One and I will probably be leaning in that direction again.
As for the lower bearing seal, yup good idea to use the new seal and repack every 1000 miles. But even a better idea to get rid of that cheap Chinese bearing and put in a sealed bearing from Japan or Germany while you're in there.

Happen to have a part number for a lower sealed bearing? And a good place to source?

runner · Sep 18, 2018

You can use the same two bearings that are on the clutch side, they are the same size and style just fully sealed. Part # 2602-247 and 2602-198

For a better quality bearing go to a bearing shop and get the following

SKF 2206 E-2RS1TN9 for the top
SKF 6009 2RS for the bottom

These both can be used on both sides.

Belt Drive Worth It?

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