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Fried my clutch after 2 hrs of riding on a brand new bike.

E
Dec 14, 2020
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4
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If I were you I would start with replacing the friction plates. Those are cooked now. Clean up your steels and put stiffer springs in or add washers if stiffer springs are not available.
Now that I think about it, washers would give the springs more preload and make it an easier clutch pull. I remember that being a trick on betas.
 
E
Dec 14, 2020
48
4
8
You should be able to roll the kit around without a ton of effort.. 2 to 3 fingers when hanging in the middle of the rails.. I keep mine as loose as possible without ratcheting.. everything is straight tunnel wise and bearings are good? My clutches last 2 to 3 times as long as dirt on a snowbike... I get at least 100 hours... now the question is were the plates toast when you got the bike and he just changed the oil.

Sent from my SM-F916U1 using Tapatalk
Bike is new so everything should be good. What do you mean about fingers and hanging on middle of rail? I'm new to this lol.

Anyone using rotella t6 diesel engine oil 5w40? It's cheap and I was told it's decent oil for this application.

And I'll never know what the plates looked like before hand...got oem kit in the mail though.
 
E
Dec 14, 2020
48
4
8
So was your clutch cable tight and then you loosened it? If so by then the damage was probably done. Just put in a new clutch and make sure the cable stays loose. If you aren't riding at sea level there is no way the engine is magically making more power than the factory springs can handle and even with friction modifiers it's hard to get them to slip at high altitude because there is way less power than the clutch was engineered to handle.
You know what after looking at manual I'm not sure, but don't think I had the required 7+mm of play in the clutch lever. Tore it apart and greased and will ensure next time it's perfect. Note to self: never assume anything is setup correctly, even if new!
 

wwillf01

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Aug 12, 2012
2,790
616
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Heber Ut
As said set the clutch to spec you will be good... on my highly modified yz250 2 stroke we get 100s of hours out of the clutch. I hang the track in the air then take the measurement of the space between the track and the hyfax. I find measuring on the fly taking 2 to 3 fingers on your hand stacked vertically should fit in between the hyfax and the track ... close to 4 inches.. with our snow the looser you can leave the track without ratcheting the more hp you are freeing up.

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P
Dec 18, 2017
24
14
3
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Is it possible that the clutch was missadjusted so that it never disengage properly? Or that snow and ice buil up at the lever causing the same problem?

Or what oil did you use?
You need to have an oil that is spec jaso ma2 for use whit a wet clutch. Reading the. Specsheet on that rotella t6 diesel engine oil 5w40 it says jaso ma2 so it should be good.
 
E
Dec 14, 2020
48
4
8
Is it possible that the clutch was missadjusted so that it never disengage properly? Or that snow and ice buil up at the lever causing the same problem?

Or what oil did you use?
You need to have an oil that is spec jaso ma2 for use whit a wet clutch. Reading the. Specsheet on that rotella t6 diesel engine oil 5w40 it says jaso ma2 so it should be good.
No idea what oil was in the bike when I bought it used but it was new oil (bike only had 5 hours on it). Got rotella to use now.

I'm thinking it was a combo of misadjusted clutch and my track, plus not having the blanket down far enough to allow more airflow to the engine.

So funny thing I found out today. My engine chain is adjusted properly (1/2 to 5/8 slack). I am using a 13tooth front sprocket, which is what is recommended I THINK from the fitment charts on timbersled website. The reason I'm not sure on the 13 tooth is because I am on a raw 120 kit, and the fitment charts only list mountain horse, ARO, and Riot. But on those tables it says 13 tooth, so I'm assuming the Raw is one of those setups, not sure.

Now the kicker is my engine chain rubs pretty hard on the track. There's absolutely no gap. I'll attach a pic to show. My only options as I see them is either A: get a 14 tooth front sprocket (not recommended from fitment charts, if they're right) or B: take a link out of the chain. What the heck do I do?

WRT track tension it looks like it's on the right side, see pic.

Thanks for all your help everyone I'll figure this out, it was too much fun not to!PXL_20210103_224244624.jpgPXL_20210103_224353372.jpgPXL_20210103_224447094.jpg
 

wwillf01

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Aug 12, 2012
2,790
616
113
44
Heber Ut
Honestly I would run the track looser than that... I think their spec is too tight... that being said that would not have burned up your clutch.

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E
Dec 14, 2020
48
4
8
Honestly I would run the track looser than that... I think their spec is too tight... that being said that would not have burned up your clutch.

Sent from my SM-F916U1 using Tapatalk
Yes sir I loosened it up a bit and gave myself another half inch of space. Still have the issue with the chain rubbing on the track though. I think if I take 2 links out the chain will not reach, so I'm wondering if either I did something wrong or if I need a 14 tooth front sprocket vs the 13 that's on there? No idea right now. That's currently my biggest concern, I'll def make sure the clutch is 100% before next ride. I also cut a hole for the clutch in my engine blanket.
 
D
Apr 25, 2019
68
37
18
WA
I'm running a raw lengthened to 129 with cmx track. Chain rubbed all last year with no issues. I'm thinking of notching the track just to reduce drag since I am off tomorrow.
 

steve250f@hotmail.com

Member
Premium Member
Mar 20, 2008
85
20
8
Fort mcmurray ab
No idea what oil was in the bike when I bought it used but it was new oil (bike only had 5 hours on it). Got rotella to use now.

I'm thinking it was a combo of misadjusted clutch and my track, plus not having the blanket down far enough to allow more airflow to the engine.

So funny thing I found out today. My engine chain is adjusted properly (1/2 to 5/8 slack). I am using a 13tooth front sprocket, which is what is recommended I THINK from the fitment charts on timbersled website. The reason I'm not sure on the 13 tooth is because I am on a raw 120 kit, and the fitment charts only list mountain horse, ARO, and Riot. But on those tables it says 13 tooth, so I'm assuming the Raw is one of those setups, not sure.

Now the kicker is my engine chain rubs pretty hard on the track. There's absolutely no gap. I'll attach a pic to show. My only options as I see them is either A: get a 14 tooth front sprocket (not recommended from fitment charts, if they're right) or B: take a link out of the chain. What the heck do I do?

WRT track tension it looks like it's on the right side, see pic.

Thanks for all your help everyone I'll figure this out, it was too much fun not to!View attachment 364703View attachment 364704View attachment 364705
 
S
Jan 20, 2009
262
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28
They make a optional slider to take more slack up at the mount. Put on the thicker slider and it will take up more slack on the chain and the adjuster will not be as close to the track. Ran into this on my bike. 13 tooth is correct.
 
E
Dec 14, 2020
48
4
8
They make a optional slider to take more slack up at the mount. Put on the thicker slider and it will take up more slack on the chain and the adjuster will not be as close to the track. Ran into this on my bike. 13 tooth is correct.
Installed it yesterday. Slightly annoyed that it cost me 50$ w shipping to fix a brand new track kit that should have had that part in the first place, but I digress.

Gonna take the bike out soon to test it. Could anything else cause a slipping clutch not related to the clutch lever (I have plenty of slack in it). Also, I put in an AGM battery that basically sucks in cold weather (good for a few button pushes before it gets too weak), so any batteries that work well in extreme cold in particular?

Also I gotta figure out something with my ramp as loading it is a huge pain. I'm on a revarc and the bike keeps getting stuck where the ramp touches the ground.

Im hoping soon I have these issues figured out.
 
E
Dec 14, 2020
48
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Welp, another fried clutch! THIS time, clutch was adjusted perfect for freeplay, I got the chain guide so it doesn't hit the track, running rotella T6 (it's on sale at AutoZone, figured I'd try it), and the bike has a new (5 previous rides) OEM clutch.

After ripping around in a large field 3/4 to WOT, I started to smell something weird but figured it was coolant or something. Bike temps were under 200 all day averaging 175-185. After 28 miles of riding I noticed I didn't have any freeplay in my lever. I've been paranoid about freeplay, just didn't notice it till I came to a stop. I had freeplay all day before I hit those fields on the way back.

I THINK that the clutch slips under a heavy load (3/4 to WOT) and I don't notice it until it's too late. I installed new steels, frictions and springs. I have a backup tusk friction kit I'll install today and check spring and steel spec to see what's up.

This sport is fun as hell but man it's getting expensive. I'm thinking about running a hinson clutch kit if they truly are more bombproof. Just can't believe oem isn't enough. Thoughts?
 
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