Dragon eating belts, looking for opinions

[The_PooDragon]

So,

Dragon 800 with fancy head, programmer, SLP pipe and FIX kit, and Carl's helix.

On Thursday (at work) I smoked my belt pretty good. Rolled smoke out from the clutches but the belt held for the remainder of my day (about 20 miles in deep heavy snow, lot of throttle). That same day I smacked a buried stump and bent up my left side running board, and the sheet metal under my clutches. Nothing a hammer couldn't fix. Didn't think much of it. Sled is an 08', these things happen.

Saturday riding in the mountains, I blew my belt into 1000 pieces about 45 minutes down a groomed trail. The belt was about 25 "full day" rides old, so I am going to say about 1800 miles.

I slipped on my spare (new) and off I went, full throttle stabs and hijinks all day long. Covered about 120 miles, 3 mountain passes. Good times.

On the way home (on the same groomed trail) - I blew the new belt. But it blew slowly, shards starting coming out from the footwell, I stopped and looked at it - it had gotten VERY skinny - but I kept going and 5 minutes later it exploded.

My question is why?

- did hitting the stump misalign the engine and the driveshaft enough to shorten belt life?

- did not "seasoning" the belt cause it to blow?

- was my spare a bad belt from the factory?

I appreciate any input. Thank you in advance,

PD

 

[harrysmith500]

Check your clutches for any cracks... My primary broke in half and destroyed 1 belt, then I put on a new belt and a few minutes later it finally broke all the way and then my riding stopped. I didn't notice the crack when I put the second belt on.

 

[The_PooDragon]

Check your clutches for any cracks... My primary broke in half and destroyed 1 belt, then I put on a new belt and a few minutes later it finally broke all the way and then my riding stopped. I didn't notice the crack when I put the second belt on.

I appreciate your input, thank. I did check the clutches, all the sheaves appear to be in good condition - albeit with a little bit of rubber residue from the two blown belts.

 

[theshadowrider]

I would clean your clutch good, and check your belt alignment. You are probably due to have your clutch re-built and gone through. If you pull it off check your crank runout while you have your clutch off.

 

[The_PooDragon]

I would clean your clutch good, and check your belt alignment. You are probably due to have your clutch re-built and gone through. If you pull it off check your crank runout while you have your clutch off.

I should have mentioned in the original post that I just rebuilt the clutches (springs, weights, full cleaning, new helix) 7-8 rides ago.

The belt alignment is interesting - forgive the stupid question but is that even adjustable?

As for the crank run-out, the engine has 3000 miles on it. It probably has some bottom end wear. Good point.

 

[theshadowrider]

I should have mentioned in the original post that I just rebuilt the clutches (springs, weights, full cleaning, new helix) 7-8 rides ago.

The belt alignment is interesting - forgive the stupid question but is that even adjustable?

As for the crank run-out, the engine has 3000 miles on it. It probably has some bottom end wear. Good point.

Did you balance your clutch after rebuilding it? I think I am going to try Perk balancing this summer on my clutch when I rebuild it. I would be checking clutch alignment. Check all your motor-mounts and make sure you didn't break any of them. If the motor is torquing it can cause misalignment.

 

[theshadowrider]

Clutch Alignment

You can also take a look at this thread on clutch alignment. http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152478

And also this one. I think you may have knocked you motor/clutch alignment out.

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1951032&highlight=alignment#post1951032

 

[richracer1]

Did you balance your clutch after rebuilding it? I think I am going to try Perk balancing this summer on my clutch when I rebuild it. I would be checking clutch alignment. Check all your motor-mounts and make sure you didn't break any of them. If the motor is torquing it can cause misalignment.

I haven't heard any good things about Perk. If it were me, I'd send it to IndyDan or SLP to be balanced.

 

[The_PooDragon]

I haven't heard any good things about Perk. If it were me, I'd send it to IndyDan or SLP to be balanced.

I understand the merits of balancing - however the sled never ate belts like this before. Just trying to stop it from consuming belts, they aren't cheap!

 

[The_PooDragon]

good information here guys, thanks a bunch - exactly why I belong to Snowest!

 

[modsledr]

If you took a good enough hit, then you could have "kinked" your bulkhead and your clutches are not parallel. If they are out of parallel, your belt wont last long.

Easy to check with a long straight edge.

And as others have said, check your clutch alignment/offset.

 

[Gracefull]

I agree, check your motor mounts and look really good at the bulkhead from the bottom of the sled. If it looks a little bent, its probably thrown your alignment out.

 

[The_PooDragon]

Just wanted to than everyone for the help and advise.

The secondary was out by 1/4" apparently and needed a shim to get the clutches straight.

The shop I took it to checked my compression and tell me I'm at 100 psi on each cylinder. This seems odd - 2500 miles on the fix kit seems like insufficient mileage to warrant a new set of pistons/rings.

Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[theshadowrider]

Just wanted to than everyone for the help and advise.

The secondary was out by 1/4" apparently and needed a shim to get the clutches straight.

The shop I took it to checked my compression and tell me I'm at 100 psi on each cylinder. This seems odd - 2500 miles on the fix kit seems like insufficient mileage to warrant a new set of pistons/rings.

Thoughts? Ideas?

I wouldn't let the compression scare you. 100 psi depending on elevation and temperature is about right. If they are both at 100 I wouldn't worry about it. I am at 95 at my elevation and that was right after I put new pistons in.

 

[The_PooDragon]

I wouldn't let the compression scare you. 100 psi depending on elevation and temperature is about right. If they are both at 100 I wouldn't worry about it. I am at 95 at my elevation and that was right after I put new pistons in.

COOL. Thats what my Polaris guru ("Graceful") said, just looking for second opinions.

Sled is idling low, but spraying the engine with ether won't make it rev up. How does a guy go about increasing the idle speed a little bit?

 

[Kraven]

COOL. Thats what my Polaris guru ("Graceful") said, just looking for second opinions.

Sled is idling low, but spraying the engine with ether won't make it rev up. How does a guy go about increasing the idle speed a little bit?

DON'T mess with the "idle" screw, as it will alter the T.P.S. Setting.

If you want to re-set the T.P.S. the info is up top under "INCREASING YOUR IQ"

The VOLTAGE determines the idle speed, NOT engine RPM.

 

[milehighassassin]

Just wanted to than everyone for the help and advise.

The secondary was out by 1/4" apparently and needed a shim to get the clutches straight.

The shop I took it to checked my compression and tell me I'm at 100 psi on each cylinder. This seems odd - 2500 miles on the fix kit seems like insufficient mileage to warrant a new set of pistons/rings.

Thoughts? Ideas?

What elevation was the test done at?

 

[The_PooDragon]

Was done at 2200ft elevation

 

[Kraven]

Was done at 2200ft elevation

All gauges vary, but at only 2200' elevation, those readings sounds a little low, I.M.H.O.

 

[The_PooDragon]

Yeah, they are probably on the low side.

She just has to hold together for one more ride, then all summer to tear it down and refurbish. The local dealer said I'm the first guy here to wear out a FIX kit at 2200 miles on it.