Gates belt ?
- Thread starter damx
- Start date
S
ride the snot out of your sled, get the belt good and hot. Stop take the belt off, hang it on the bars and let it fully cool. A good heat cycle lets everything cure. (TRS can give you a more technical answer)
back pack, tunnel bag.... can be good options. I have thought about trying to mount a Pro belt holder. Typically I carry the Polaris as a spare in the holder.
back pack, tunnel bag.... can be good options. I have thought about trying to mount a Pro belt holder. Typically I carry the Polaris as a spare in the holder.
I just followed the instructions, really. Before I rode it hard, I took it for a couple easy rides, 6-8 miles each, easing it up to 40MPH or so, then backing down, and so on, after which I let it cool completely (just went inside for a couple hours instead of removing it). I still haven't seen confirmation that back-bending them will cause problems, seems like more of a "better safe than sorry" than a definite killer. I'd think Gates would mention it if it were all that bad. In fact, mine was bent back when I sent it in with the clutch to set clearance, and so far (300 miles or so later) I've had no problems. Just a 600 though.
I finally found a productive way to break them in, because i've always sucked doing it while riding.
Im lucky enough to have a few acres of snow covered yard to play in all winter so I head out, and just hammer the thing across the yard, hard brake and on the gas as aggressively as possible, in about 5 minutes of this things get nice and warm. Let the sled sit for half an hour. repeat 3-4 times total. Easy to do. doesn;t take much effort.
Also for storage I have the skinz roll up dry bag on the tunnel, that thing works awesome for storing them, they sit almost in a perfect full circle in the bottom.
Im lucky enough to have a few acres of snow covered yard to play in all winter so I head out, and just hammer the thing across the yard, hard brake and on the gas as aggressively as possible, in about 5 minutes of this things get nice and warm. Let the sled sit for half an hour. repeat 3-4 times total. Easy to do. doesn;t take much effort.
Also for storage I have the skinz roll up dry bag on the tunnel, that thing works awesome for storing them, they sit almost in a perfect full circle in the bottom.
I have never heard of not putting the gates in the stock belt holder. Mine was in there for 6 months after I washed/cleaned it. Ran it for a few light trail miles with the kids. Then it’s been ran hard all winter. Not a ton of miles on it, probably 300-400.
S
I had a buddy borrow my sled for a day this winter. They thought the belt was clunking. So they swapped my belts to my stock Polaris. When I got it home, first thing I noticed was belt in spare holder. When I pulled it out, it was split right behind a cog.
Was the clunking from the split in the gates belt?? IDK.... it did it for me the day before and I thought it was ice on the drivers.
Did the belt crack because I went through 2 drive belts?? long story... but IDK. I would think this would have caused other issues.
Or was it split because it was jammed in the holder. This seemed most likely to me, because it was split right on a bend.
Was the clunking from the split in the gates belt?? IDK.... it did it for me the day before and I thought it was ice on the drivers.
Did the belt crack because I went through 2 drive belts?? long story... but IDK. I would think this would have caused other issues.
Or was it split because it was jammed in the holder. This seemed most likely to me, because it was split right on a bend.
I went looking for the message I received from a Gates engineer.
Couldn’t find it. But it states: Absolutely do not back bend a carbon fiber belt. Carbon cords will break. The carbon belt cords are molded into the belt in a neutral position, back bending belts puts undue stress on molded in cords.
Couldn’t find it. But it states: Absolutely do not back bend a carbon fiber belt. Carbon cords will break. The carbon belt cords are molded into the belt in a neutral position, back bending belts puts undue stress on molded in cords.
Gates told me do not bend any belt backwards no matter what manufacture , yes the gates can break the carbon cords , the reason we get away with bending the Polaris belt backwards is it does not have carbon cords. That's what they told me over the phone.
Interesting. I've gotta believe what you guys are saying, but it's bizarre that there's not a word about it in any documentation from Gates. Given that most spare belt holders bend the belt back, that's a huge oversight. Now, it wouldn't surprise me if OEMs do things that aren't good for belts. I'm guessing to their mind, the backup belt has done its job if it gets you off the mountain – doesn't hurt if it sells a few more belts down the road either. After all, how many sleds come with the clutches mis-aligned badly enough to shorten belt life? Anyway, mine's lasted one season despite being folded, so maybe it's not a guaranteed belt killer. Now I'm curious whether I can blow mine up, but that'll have to wait 'til next season...
I've had great luck with Gates belts when I installed them right away and put my OEM Po belt in the holder. This years new sled I put the Gates in the holder and ran the OEM belt for a few hundred miles. The Gates was junk after being in the holder. I knew better so no blame towards Gates, and don't bend them backwards.
