Thoughts/Opinions on Gates drive belts?

tkuss · Apr 22, 2014

Anybody have experience running the gates belts? Looks like the Gates 49C4266 is for the XM's and can be had for 80$ ish shipped to your door.

Im sure some will think that you might as well stick with the doo belt cause it works, but if this belt works, cost 1/2 the price, and comes with a warranty, why not give it a try? Anybody been running this belt at all with good or bad results?

http://c-tpowersports.com/2013website/product/gates_drive_belt.html

bnorth · Apr 22, 2014

1500km on the stock belt so far and my spare is skidoo too so it will be awhile before I'm in the market. Have never heard anything good about aftermarket belts on doo's but I am curious as $80 w/ warranty beats the hell out of $200+ and nothing. Buy one and let us know.

nuttyn01 · Apr 22, 2014

I have not ran that specific belt but I have ran gates Xtreme belts for over 20 years with great success. Ive ran them on low powered stock sleds to high hp triples and turbo twins with well over 200hp. The hype on these $200 belts is stupid. Im not sure what the warranty specifics are on the Gates youre looking at but the ones I use are replaced without question if an issue comes up. Sometimes you have to adjust your clutching if its much different than the belt being used previously.

milo303 · Apr 22, 2014

I'm curious if the overall length of the belt is the same as stock.. On the pro's the cat belt is used a lot but it's a tiny bit shorter so you gain a few hundred rpm

I hear Felker's has special spec belt... Might be the only thing I'll ever get from them

Deep Powder Guy · Apr 22, 2014

I would never order a belt online...You really should inspect a belt before you purchase it. Many belts regardless of brand are defective from the get go...If you have a look at the sidewall of any belt you will notice all to often the cord is already being exposed....Try to hand pick your belt

I have run Gates X belts in the past IMO the compound is to hard.

DPG

worx53 · Apr 23, 2014

Gates carbon

they work well with a properly calibrated clutch setup. They are very similar in compound to stock but do hold rpm better when "HOT".
If you blow stock belts, you will blow these. If you don't blow stock belts , you will probably have better results than the 391.
These are not the same design or compound of the Gates "Extreme" belts.

Deep Powder Guy · Apr 23, 2014

If your blowing belts due to heat I suggest looking into your clutch components before installing a new or different belt....Bottom line if your blowing belts your setup needs addressed.

DPG

milo303 · Apr 23, 2014

Deep Powder Guy said:
If your blowing belts due to heat I suggest looking into your clutch components before installing a new or different belt....Bottom line if your blowing belts your setup needs addressed.

DPG

He's not blowing belts, he doesn't even have the sled yet ( =

winter brew · Apr 23, 2014

The only negative I have seen and experienced with the newer Gates belts are if it blows. They don't tend to give much warning, like smell or pitch a string....and when they blow it is violent! They literally explode into little pieces, and if it happens at the wrong time, like under full throttle, it can cause engine damage. 2 guys I ride with lost cranks almost immediately after blowing a Gates. Coincidence? Maybe....buy not worth the risk for a small difference in price, especially when belts typically last a full season or more. JMO-

Ace Freely · Apr 24, 2014

Brew, doesn't the computer not allow an over rev?

Ace

Deep Powder Guy · Apr 24, 2014

winter brew said:
The only negative I have seen and experienced with the newer Gates belts are if it blows. They don't tend to give much warning, like smell or pitch a string....and when they blow it is violent! They literally explode into little pieces, and if it happens at the wrong time, like under full throttle, it can cause engine damage. 2 guys I ride with lost cranks almost immediately after blowing a Gates. Coincidence? Maybe....buy not worth the risk for a small difference in price, especially when belts typically last a full season or more. JMO-

Ditto....and the reason why the Gates X blows up in chunks is because it has a Kevlar compound which is to hard.

DPG

winter brew · Apr 24, 2014

Ace Freely said:
Brew, doesn't the computer not allow an over rev?

Ace

Yes and no. It prevents overrev from its own power/cuts spark. Momentum of the clutch and a sudden release of the load of the belt can still overrev. I think its more the shock than anything..?? I was also thinking of other sleds without a rev limiter as well.

TDUGGER · Apr 24, 2014

Brew,
x2 on the crank damage. I blew one in Idaho in Feb. and boom bent crank and jack shaft! Now I am putting a new SHR 880 in and running doo belts.

K45 · Apr 24, 2014

I'm running the gates belt on my TSS XM and it's working great so far.
Don't fool yourself a 391 can explode into tiny little pieces as well with no noticeable warning.

Another guy I ride with has an aerocharger on his XM and blows stock belts steady,he switched to a Carlile belt and no more issues. Even if he has clutching issues the 391 explodes - or sometimes he caught it, but the Carlile holds in there.......

backcountryislife · Apr 24, 2014

I won't run MFG belts, just because I won't be a victim to an overpriced product with no backing. If they warrantied the belts when they were faulty, or blew too fast, I'd be ok with paying more.

I've been seeing about 300-350 on doo belts, and I now have 600 on one of my gates belts. I'm pretty happy with that. I do pay real close attention to my sled, and the SECOND I hear a noise that could be my belt having an issue, I check it... I've seen too many cranks & clutches hurt from blown belts, so I'm careful.

The nice thing about gates though, you can pull a thread, and there's no need to cut it... send that thing back & get a new one for $10!!!

YAMA S · Apr 25, 2014

X2 on what backcountryislife said. When upgrading a sled we use ALL aftermarket parts from tip to tail! Why not belts? I used Ultimax belt on my 270hp yamaha & it held up better than the stock ones. $100 shipped to my door & has a warranty....I also won't be get screwed for $200 on a belt with NO warranty!!!!

turboless terry · Apr 26, 2014

YAMA S said:
X2 on what backcountryislife said. When upgrading a sled we use ALL aftermarket parts from tip to tail! Why not belts? I used Ultimax belt on my 270hp yamaha & it held up better than the stock ones. $100 shipped to my door & has a warranty....I also won't be get screwed for $200 on a belt with NO warranty!!!!

I was getting Yamaha belts for $60 and they held up fine. Only lost one in 1600 miles.

Hawkster · Apr 26, 2014

Than you get one that does this , I cut the cords and kept riding . It was ran threw the dish washer without detergent and broke in . Seems like one in three prematurely fail and I've also been wondering about the Gates carbon .

jaysonfreerider · Apr 27, 2014

Ive tried the non carbon gates on mine for a while. It is quite a difference in length...to where it has to be run down in the secondary. Even doing so, i thought the performance was about the same as stock, until it got some heat to it, then RPM was inconsistant and just put the stocker back on. Thinking about ordering a carbon one and giving that a try.

backcountryislife · Apr 28, 2014

Oh, I should mention, the gates carbon belt decreased rpm inconsistency by about 1/2 I used to have an RPM range of about 200, now it's down to 100.

Thoughts/Opinions on Gates drive belts?

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