Gates Carbon Belt = BOOM

[SRXSRULE]

So... I havent ran a non-oem belt in about 15 years, but with some of the rave reviews on here about this new gates carbon belt and the new axys belt costing 200 bucks I thought I would give it a try.
Cleaned new belt, cleaned clutches and did a 20 mile solo ride to give it a fair break-in. Checked the belt and clutches, no black marks, everything was working like it should.
Today was ride number 2, sled is running awesome and 3/4 the way through the day climbing in epic fresh powder it explodes without warning.

So much for the gates carbon belt. Back to the OEM belts for me. Eric

 

[Spaarky]

Something isn't right. We have used and abused those belts. No problems. Barely even show wear. Not to mention the Gates is a big performance upgrade.

 

[kanedog]

How many rides and miles have you done with the oem belt on this sled?

 

[damx]

Same with my sled and my friends.. mine gates carbon belt less then 100 miles on 2 belts..one blew up..one pulled cords lots of them. Same with my friends sled both his blew up in 30 small chunks.. I got 350 ish on the stocker still looks good..

 

[SRXSRULE]

Stock belt, 19 rides / 500 miles. Gates belt 2 rides and about 50-60 miles on it when it broke.

The belt performed great until it let go with no warning. It just snapped, only lost maybe 3" of top coges, the rest of the belt shows no wear or pulled cords. It was turning 8350 when it broke. Eric

 

[LoudHandle]

When TRS posted that these belts worked well on the PRO, he also said the belt will tell you if your clutching is off.

That would be where I would start.

I also saw posted that the belt for the AXYS is a 45C4553 not the PRO's 44C4553.

FWIW

 

[szotty]

Both our (my dads and my) sks clutches weren't aligned at all from factory like 2 18 guage washers on Mine and one 18 and one 14 guage washers on his to get em brought out and aligned then had to get float set up

 

[Jayxcr]

So... I havent ran a non-oem belt in about 15 years, but with some of the rave reviews on here about this new gates carbon belt and the new axys belt costing 200 bucks I thought I would give it a try.
Cleaned new belt, cleaned clutches and did a 20 mile solo ride to give it a fair break-in. Checked the belt and clutches, no black marks, everything was working like it should.
Today was ride number 2, sled is running awesome and 3/4 the way through the day climbing in epic fresh powder it explodes without warning.

So much for the gates carbon belt. Back to the OEM belts for me. Eric

X2. This is exactly what happened to me with the gates carbon belt, and when they go they explode into 100 pieces.

 

[mountainhorse]

SRX...I feel for ya... that sucks.

Gates will warranty the belt (even if you don't use it)

With all the people that I know running this belt successfully on turbo apps... I believe you either got a defective belt or your clutches are out of alignment.

That being said the Polaris Factory Mitsuboshi belts (the 3211115 and the closely related 3211183) seem to be more "nuke proof" than other belts out there.

The 3211115 belt was made to deal with the 900 RMK's which were belt eaters... and really no way to effectively bring the clutches into alignment on a 900-RMK... the 3211115 belts helped immensely with that issue.... so much that Polaris was sending those out to the people that were still under warranty as a "good faith" measure... so they didn't have more costly issues to pay for.

My 2¢.

.

 

[Polaris RMK M.M.R.]

I added that gates 45c whatever # (the $70 carbon belt) to my Axys at 30 miles. I've got 250 miles on it now and it pulls like a champ! I never put the Polaris belt back on. I did notice the gates belt its a tad smaller both in height and width. Tightened the clutch sheaves 1 turn and its been fine ever since.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I've also been running the gates. I have been absolutely thrilled that somebody has finally produced and marketed something that is not only affordable but seemingly bulletproof. I've got around 450 miles on one as of today that has been abused to the max making some big belt heating hill climbs in 3' of heavy fresh snow in 35 degree weather with no rpm fade at all, almost forgot to mention performance improvement is very noticeable, proven by side by side drags and powderclimbs. Now some of you have made me paranoid.

 

[JJ_0909]

Same exact result for me today (boom). Something is certainly up with my clutching. I'm boosted but engagement is very harsh. I've cleaned belts/clutching, all clutching parts are new (helix, springs, weights). Any ideas? Maybe mine is an alignment issue too?

 

[SRXSRULE]

More info:

Gates belt 44C4553 (45C not available at this time) ,
Spec size 1.437 x 46.750
Act size 1.450 x 46.625
Durometer tested at 94-95

Axys 3211183
Spec size 1.46 x 46.77
Act size 1.43 x 46.81
Durometer tested at 90

My used 3211183 belt with 500 miles on it was 1.410 x 46.875 so its only lost
.020" of width and stretched about .065"

So the gates belt I had was wider and shorter then spec and the OEM belt was narrower and longer then spec, which is not a good thing.

Riding in same conditions today with the same clutching I couldnt pull the RPM I was pulling with the Gates belt. The Gates belt worked great but it looks like others have blown them up the same way. Eric

 

[JJ_0909]

Side note - where do I warranty the belt?! Can't find a contact form!

 

[Indy_500]

Same exact result for me today (boom). Something is certainly up with my clutching. I'm boosted but engagement is very harsh. I've cleaned belts/clutching, all clutching parts are new (helix, springs, weights). Any ideas? Maybe mine is an alignment issue too?

My engagement is slightly harsh also. Haven't measured or looked into it but I suspect belt to sheave clearance. Seemed to get less harsh as I got some miles on mine. Have 400 miles on my Axys Pro 155x2.6 with the original Poo belt with no other issues. Have adjusted belt deflection twice, no rpm loss whatsoever.

 

[snow4shover]

Gates Belt

Make sure you are running the correct Gates Belt. The number for Polaris 2016 RMKs - 45C4553
2015 - Earlier Pros - 44C4553

There is a different width on the Gates belts between the 2015 and 2016. This is to address the center to center distance changes from what i was told.

MAJOR NOTE ABOUT GATES BELTS: These need to be broken in and absolutely need to be done otherwise this will effect belt life. There is no need to wash them like other belts. They are water jetted and no molding release agents needed.

 

[SRXSRULE]

update: 3 rides on the new 45c belt that is designed for the axys. One break in ride, with getting the belt fully up to operating temp and nothing more then 1/2 throttle. Removed belt for complete cool down.

Today I hammered on it for 5 hours in deep powder. Worked flawless all day long, pulled great rpm all day and never faded. Plus it didnt explode! lets hope it keeps up like this. Eric

 

[LoudHandle]

Question for the experts: If running a PRO with the clutch sheaves trued by Indy Dan (or the copy cats), should I be running the 44 or the 45? If I should be running the 45's, I have about a dozen brand new in sleeve 44's for sale for what I paid for them.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Someone should make a belt that comes broken in. I'd pay extra just to be able to put it on and pin it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[TRS]

Question for the experts: If running a PRO with the clutch sheaves trued by Indy Dan (or the copy cats), should I be running the 44 or the 45? If I should be running the 45's, I have about a dozen brand new in sleeve 44's for sale for what I paid for them.

Use the 45, we ran a 44 on one of Dan's and the wear pattern/witness marks only cover half of each belt side angle.

Edit:
Had one in our group blow a Gates carbon after 2 days of riding. Checked alignment, .110" out. All is well now.