Axys primary lifespan?

[Wheel House Motorsports]

Curious what kind of life people are seeing before they are needing to rebuild their primaries on there Axys RMK?

I just rolled 850 miles on my 2018 155 2.6" and have been experiencing perpetually worse RPM fade issues since 600 miles. Weight bushings were worn(digging into sheave) and roller bushings are almost worn completely out of clutch. Brought into dealer since this seems like crazy fast for these to be falling apart and have them warranty them. Dealer is saying this is "wear item" and I am responsible for it. So I was just curious if I am experiencing average lifespan on these or if something seems wrong because this is about the last straw with riding PI junk. sub 1000 miles before needing a complete clutch overhaul seems insane.

 

[goforbroke]

Never had to replace a primary. clutch parts would last 2000 miles. Seems to me I am hearing of more people having to do replace lately. Did they change materials? Axys harder on the clutch?

 

[Teth-Air]

I have a friend who is wearing out a primary every 5 rides. Not just one machine either so it is not something on the machine that can be blamed.

He has geared down and has the blow-hole. Nothing can survive his punishment. He rides a lot and in deep snow. His clutch temps are around 200F and the Doo's are around 300 F for reference. I still say the bushings must be melting from not letting them cool or his clutching, which is near stock, must not be adequate to stop belt slip.

 

[damx]

My buddy gets 600-800 miles and the rollers are fuc%ed. But gets warranty on a new clutch every time.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

I have a friend who is wearing out a primary every 5 rides. Not just one machine either so it is not something on the machine that can be blamed.

He has geared down and has the blow-hole. Nothing can survive his punishment. He rides a lot and in deep snow. His clutch temps are around 200F and the Doo's are around 300 F for reference. I still say the bushings must be melting from not letting them cool or his clutching, which is near stock, must not be adequate to stop belt slip.

Is his name jonny? lol

I like to ride hard and im not much interested in sitting around waiting for my clutches to cool. I just know guys on cats who ride even more abusively then I do and they can barely get them hot enough to melt snow.

It does seems like the bushings get absolutely roasted and fall apart. So bad OEM calibration generates insane heat and roasts bushings...

The Axys does seem harder on primaries, lighter crank means more vibration which is not going to help them live longer.

 

[skydog77777]

I know burandt recommends replacing weight bushings every 500 miles to prevent roller wear. Also blowing out the clutches with compressed air helps keep them clean. U would be surprised how much bet dust can collect after one ride.

 

[icr]

500-1000 miles. Usually just replace the whole clutch rather than rebuild, sometimes you can find take offs cheap from a dealer. Patrick custom carbon had balanced new primaries for $400 earlier in the year, hard to beat.

 

[aksledjunkie]

I got 1250miles before I sent it out to Indy for a full service. They had to replace the roller bushings they said.


Must not have been too far gone since my RPM's were fine still but possibly not long before I was going to start experiencing issues.

 

[TRS]

Weight bushings every 300 miles.
Watch roller washers, I replaced 3 in 3 days. The new ones for 18 look to be a different material. I’ve replaced them with the old version when they are gone.
First clutch went at 400 miles. Roller ate into the spider. Warranty took care of it.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I used to get about 1,600 miles out of the primary's on my Pro but I only get 800 miles out of my Axys. I don't know why they are harder on components, might have something to do with how quick the motor spools up.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

I used to get about 1,600 miles out of the primary's on my Pro but I only get 800 miles out of my Axys. I don't know why they are harder on components, might have something to do with how quick the motor spools up.

Seems like the lightweight crank causes worse vibes and more rapid component destruction.


I just got a new primary under warranty, mine apparently had a crack in one of the sheaves along with a stuck roller and all roller bushings being shot.

 

[diamonddave]

Absolutely we are seeing one of the negative effects of the lightweight crank.

I would go with an E-start and get the ring gear on the clutch.

BRP did this with the TRA-7 after learning the difference a ring gear can do for premature clutch wear. It will be interesting to see if PI wakes up on this. I'm not holding my breath.

A couple of warranty claims, many more denied, bad press, and lots of cash generated from sales of clutch parts........versus cost of adding ring gears to ALL 800 CFI's????

I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Sage Crusher]

1900 miles on my personal Axys 2016 163 w/ ES
Only issue I have ever had is weight bushings-( lightning) but again the faces are cleaned every ride- and clutch blown out, cause I usually am in there anyway.
Does the ES have a variable?- I dunno- but I am pretty finicky on clutching-especially watching spider concerns
I do have one roller getting a bit out and all were replaced tonight.

 

[Teth-Air]

Haha, yes, Johnny. I hope Polaris hires him for product testing. We would all benefit if they could satisfy his durability requirements.

Is his name jonny? lol

I like to ride hard and im not much interested in sitting around waiting for my clutches to cool. I just know guys on cats who ride even more abusively then I do and they can barely get them hot enough to melt snow.

It does seems like the bushings get absolutely roasted and fall apart. So bad OEM calibration generates insane heat and roasts bushings...

The Axys does seem harder on primaries, lighter crank means more vibration which is not going to help them live longer.

 

[jhurkot]

2000 miles on clutch number 6 right now. 4 rebuilds and 2 complete replacements.


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[AndrettiDog]

As standard practice I buy a new primary spring every year. It's not much and very easy to install. I check my bushings every 10 rides or so. I can't believe some of the miles I'm hearing here. I'm at 1700 on my '16 and no issues. I have had to adjust belt deflection as the belt wears and I make sure I clean the clutch on the sled about every 3-4 rides.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

As standard practice I buy a new primary spring every year. It's not much and very easy to install. I check my bushings every 10 rides or so. I can't believe some of the miles I'm hearing here. I'm at 1700 on my '16 and no issues. I have had to adjust belt deflection as the belt wears and I make sure I clean the clutch on the sled about every 3-4 rides.

New spring every year? I do every 3-400 miles. Weight bushings on the same sort of intervals. Blow/clean clutches every ride/every other if i dont get into the heated shop. on Belt #5 or 6... i cant remember. 850 miles on my current sled.

If you get the clutches boiling hot (really easy with the OEM calibration) the bushings just seem to melt out of the things. Obviously better calibration is king for reducing heat and prolonging life. but the bushings are also super cheesy and cause everything to turn to junk pretty fast.

I am going to grab one of the Indy specialties heavy duty covers. More strength/less flex along with some increased mass for more of a flywheel affect (like electric start models) Hoping this helps get even more clutch component life.

 

[snoballssnoglory]

6 belts in 850 miles is not the norm. I’d say you’ve got something else going on. Either that or you just don’t ever let the clutches have a break. (Not a bad thing btw if you can afford it)
Sounds like you are taking care of your stuff in between rides which leads me to believe your just really hard on it!!! Lol



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[Killer Time Racing]

Absolutely we are seeing one of the negative effects of the lightweight crank.

I would go with an E-start and get the ring gear on the clutch.

BRP did this with the TRA-7 after learning the difference a ring gear can do for premature clutch wear. It will be interesting to see if PI wakes up on this. I'm not holding my breath.

A couple of warranty claims, many more denied, bad press, and lots of cash generated from sales of clutch parts........versus cost of adding ring gears to ALL 800 CFI's????

I'm not holding my breath.

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 !

 

[RMK-King]

I didn't realize primary issues were such a problem on these sleds.. I have 850 miles on mine and have only blown 1 belt, everything still looks good and pulls 8300rpm.

I do agree that the clutches get very hot, there is room for improvement from the factory there.