• Don't miss out on all the fun! Register on our forums to post and have added features! Membership levels include a FREE membership tier.

1st ride after 2017 165" "Updates"

T
Nov 29, 2007
680
92
28
Wuhan, WA
Just a brief history on the sled. I picked it up at the end of Feb. last year with 105 on the clock. Still on the original belt. Rode deep powder days in Idaho, Togwotee, and WA. At around 675 miles the original belt started to pull of cord so I changed it out to a Gates belt. Put about 50 miles on the gates belt before the end of the season. Clutches would get hot. I never babied the sled though and never stopped every 10 minutes to let it cool down like some suggest. When I would adjust the clickers or belt deflection I would usually need to let it cool down for 5-10 mins before I could touch it.

Tuesday (12/5/17) I had the dealer do the 2017 updates. They did the shim, gear, exhaust, but said that my throttle bodies were in spec so they didn't need to be changed.

Wednesday (12/6/2017) Went out for the first ride of the season and first ride after the updates. Clutches seemed to be hotter than they were last year. Checked deflection and everything seemed to be kosher. RPMs never over 8100 RPM. Last year my max RPMs was 8250. After 15 miles riding with the updates the gates belt blew. Had to wait at least 20 minutes before I could even touch the clutches or belt to pull it out. Definitely seemed to be hotter than I've noticed it in the past year.

Considering my first belt lasted over 600 miles, and the Gates belt lasted under 100 miles. 15 miles after the updates. Higher clutch temps. I'm wondering if something happened during the updates. Are they just removing the motor mount bolt, shoving the shim in there and then bolting it back down, or are the moving the motor around and messed up my clutch alignment?

20171206_133751.jpg 20171206_134858.jpg 20171206_134912.jpg 20171206_134920.jpg
 
Last edited:

turboless terry

Well-known member
Premium Member
Jan 15, 2008
5,565
6,765
113
Big Timber, MT
I traded mine in but still have my wife's 17. Both were flawless. Running them 79-8000. Not doing the updates. If it ain't broke, why fix it. Had mine in the deepest powder I've rode in 8 years before I traded it in. It was on the 5th of November. Never shut it off or let it cool down. Just over 500 miles on original belt. Wife's is probably the same. I put probably 200 of those on hers before she rode it and 1 day was really deep. No problems.
 

winter brew

Premium Member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
10,016
4,332
113
56
LakeTapps, Wa.
I would run the new belt before digging too deep. Have never heard of much luck with the Gates.
Look over the obvious...motor mounts and alignment and try the new Doo belt.
Curious as to the results.
 
T
Nov 29, 2007
680
92
28
Wuhan, WA
I finished out the day on a Doo belt, not the "new" one I haven't purchased one of those. I sent the pictures to Gates and asked them what they thought went wrong.

"It looks like the belt had some delamination as well as some teeth breaking. This could be caused by a number of different factors such as excessive shock load or misaligned drive.

I would recommend having your local service facility take a closer look at the clutch drive components to make sure they are all in good working order."
 
T
Nov 29, 2007
680
92
28
Wuhan, WA
I traded mine in but still have my wife's 17. Both were flawless. Running them 79-8000. Not doing the updates. If it ain't broke, why fix it. Had mine in the deepest powder I've rode in 8 years before I traded it in. It was on the 5th of November. Never shut it off or let it cool down. Just over 500 miles on original belt. Wife's is probably the same. I put probably 200 of those on hers before she rode it and 1 day was really deep. No problems.

That's all I thought about for the rest of the day... why oh why did I let them talk me into doing the updates. I was getting greedy and hoping to get more than 700 miles out of a belt like my older sleds would get.
 

live2beel

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
1,140
481
83
That's all I thought about for the rest of the day... why oh why did I let them talk me into doing the updates. I was getting greedy and hoping to get more than 700 miles out of a belt like my older sleds would get.

This is why I told the guy that just bought my 17 to just ride it and not do the updates if it’s working fine. 600 miles all deep original belt.
 
I did the updates and think my clutch's are cooler? I never had any real belt issues but I was very cognisant of the heat, and half way through the season I put on the blowhole which definitely helped for sure. So far two rides this year after the updates, with no babying this time, 40miles to a tank of hard steep n deep riding in 2-3' of pow and no issues or radical temps!:)
next time out I will take the infared temp gun again to double check but so far so good. Picking up the gates belt I ordered tomorrow but won't get a chance to test for at least another week though unfortunately.
 

rmk all the way

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 29, 2007
642
158
43
Dayton Wa
Hard to tell for sure but did the belt get pinched at some point? Looks like it may have a hour glass shape to it but hard to tell


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
T
Nov 29, 2007
680
92
28
Wuhan, WA
X2. I've ran gates belts before that would look like that. would also have to clutch to the belt just so they might last any length of time.

Good to know that the gates may be the culprit. I know that at the end of last year i was running the gates and it wasn't getting as hot as my clutches did Wednesday. At the same time though I don't think I ran the gates in any deep snow so that could have an effect. I did adjust the clutching to the gates belt, I didn't just leave it where it was with the stock belt. We will see how the BRP belt goes before I undo all the "updates" I guess.
 
F
Nov 27, 2007
2,495
712
113
medicine hat
Stoped by a napa dealer last year needing a spare belt, the only one they had was the cheap 90 dollar gates belt.. Put it on and it now has over 500miles on the t3 turbo running 10lbs boost.. Not sure I would called that to shabby just yet.. What was your belt number

But looking at the picture I would first think that looks like a belt problem, maybe just a fluke thing..
 
T
Nov 29, 2007
680
92
28
Wuhan, WA
Stoped by a napa dealer last year needing a spare belt, the only one they had was the cheap 90 dollar gates belt.. Put it on and it now has over 500miles on the t3 turbo running 10lbs boost.. Not sure I would called that to shabby just yet.. What was your belt number

But looking at the picture I would first think that looks like a belt problem, maybe just a fluke thing..

I sent pictures to Gates and they responded that it was something wrong with the sled, not their belt. I have never seem a belt de-laminate like that so I was wondering if it was a belt manufacture defect, but they didn't.

Belt# 49C4266
 
J

JJ_0909

ACCOUNT CLOSED
Nov 16, 2009
1,023
1,033
113
I'm guessing you are getting belt slip, this is the cause of a lot of the heat.

Were the sheaves clean?

I've heard from a number of riders adding a tiny bit of weight to the primary (2gs) can really help mitigate a lot of the heat. Food for thought.

J
 

MTsled3

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 8, 2012
719
682
93
Belgrade, Montana
Which model of gates belt is it? Carbon corded or the regular kevlar cords? One thing about the gates belt is that you can't fold it or turn it inside out at all, and it likes to be broken in. Also i know there's a new belt for the 2018's, so gates could have updated their belt as well. I've had great luck with the gates carbon belts on my pro, going on 900 miles with the current one
 
F
Nov 27, 2007
2,495
712
113
medicine hat
Paul.. You have the extra weight for these pdrives, not sure how to install it either.. Any decent reads on doing this?

Would like to add a few grams for next ride, rpm bouncing from 78-8100rpm 7k'


Have you added any weight to the primary? If you are riding in Wa (3-7k) you likely need to add 3-4g. That will drop the heat quite a bit.
 
D

deaner

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
1,110
372
83
Creston, BC
I bought a roosterbuilt kit that comes with adjustable weights. Just wondering if this is really needed if a guy just wants to add weight, or could you just weigh some spacers and add them to the stock bolts?
 
N
Nov 26, 2007
618
503
93
Chinook Pass, Wa
I bought a roosterbuilt kit that comes with adjustable weights. Just wondering if this is really needed if a guy just wants to add weight, or could you just weigh some spacers and add them to the stock bolts?

I just went to the hardware store with my gram scale and found 3 washers of equal weight. Put those on and haven't looked back. 987 mi on the original belt. I put in 3.1 grams.
 
F
Nov 27, 2007
2,495
712
113
medicine hat
Tell me more please.. Where are you adding weight to? Need to ripe up apart soon to understand it better, redline has had a bunch of success going to the Poo clutch over pdrive and says it 4 lbs lighter over all.. That's huge
 
Premium Features