Changing Helix chages shift? WTF?

[M.M. 700]

I have been reading about clutching. Specificaly Helixs, from what I gather the steeper (higher) angles makes it shift faster.

WTF is meant by "shift"????????????????

 

[rotax]

I have been reading about clutching. Specificaly Helixs, from what I gather the steeper (higher) angles makes it shift faster.

WTF is meant by "shift"????????????????

In reality, as in, by what you feel...it feels like shifting gears in a car or bike. (but maybe not quite so subtle)
Its a power-glide transmission...sorta...

A snowmobile clutching setup is like 1st and 2nd gear.

1st gear is what you wanna be in when boondocking...or at slower speeds.
2nd gear for when you are approaching a hill climb or ripping down the trail...or w/e...for more speed.

This is where "up shift", and or "backshift" comes in.

Backshift being what happens when you let off the throttle mid-climb (for example) and slow down, and you want the clutches to go into low gear so you have extra torque....then as you gain speed, it should then 'shift out' or upshift again for additional top-end speed.

Thats a crude example..and helix does play a roll, or have an effect on such things. But clutching works together, as a WHOLE to produce this end result.
Alot of this is also determined by flyweight, weight placement / ramps, ramp angles, spring stiffness, etc etc...


Others may have a better way to explain it in detail, or its technical inner workings..

In the end there are millions of different ways to produce results...and many different results.
Alot of times its a give or take thing.
In reguards to belt grip, top end speed, bottom end 'pull'...and so on.
Thus, you have a setup that works better for "boondocking" than you do for "hill climbing", or "drag races"...
Which then comes down to personal preferences and style of riding...
Yeah, it gets confusing... lol


You can clutch a 100 hp sled to hang w/ a 140 hp sled in a drag race, depending on how different the 2 are in clutching...and, then...gearing comes into play...

Once upon a day, my 500cc sled was able to take down some triple 600s on ice in 1000'...
Setup and reaction times will make or break you in drag racing...

 

[M.M. 700]

I just never noticed/felt any shifting going on. And I am looking into mutli angle helixs for my Mountain Max.

But that makes sense thanks

 

[rotax]

I just never noticed/felt any shifting going on. And I am looking into mutli angle helixs for my Mountain Max.

But that makes sense thanks

Depending on the sled (or clutches), you will usually feel the backshift more than anything.

I like a hard backshift. When I let off the throttle, throw you over the bars, sorta feeling. For coming down a steep hill, lets the engine/drivetrain do the braking instead of the brake.
Also, probably why I like the engine braking feeling of the 4 stroke more so than others.

 

[shortstop20]

When your sled is sitting stationary the belt is all the way down in the middle of the primary clutch and sitting on the outer most part of the sheaves on the secondary. It takes more force to move the sled when it is stationary that's why the belt is sitting like it is. Now when you take off down the trail and you gain speed, the belt starts to move out in the primary(more of the belt is in contact with the sheaves), and it starts to move in on the secondary(less of the belt is in contact with the sheaves). This is how a snowmobile can gain speed at WOT even though the RPM stays the same. Because the snowmobile is in effect "shifting up" into another gear. Once something is in motion(the track moving the sled) it is easier for the motor to keep it in motion, so the clutches can shift up, allowing you to go faster and faster. Because the secondary is spinning more revolutions in relation to the primary than it was when you were only going 10 MPH. The faster you go the more revolutions your secondary will spin while your primary will still turn the same amount of RPM's. The closer the belt gets to the center of the secondary clutch, the more RPM's the secondary clutch is turning. The further out the belt is on the secondary clutch, the less RPM's the clutch is turning. The primary clutch turns the same RPM's during this time though, assuming the throttle position is constant.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cvt.htm

http://video.google.com/videosearch...sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#

http://cars.about.com/od/thingsyouneedtoknow/a/CVT.htm