New Find For Low RPM Axys

[AdrenalineAddict]

I was curious if anyone else has had the same experimental results as I. Many have had occasional low RPM issues with the Axys 800, myself included. Many have blamed in on motor mounts, worn rings, exhaust valves and cables, out of spec TPS adjustments, but I don't know if the problem has really been pinned down. During normal riding this season I found that on occasion the RPM issue would show it's ugly head, I would go through the usual hair pulling most Axys owners would do and would find nothing. Earlier this season I would feel some slightly less than 100% positive belt grip when making long pulls (something not quite right), I would switch belts with the same result (new belt always solved the problem for a little while). One day I pulled out a scotch brite pad on the hill and deglazed my primary, the next run the problem was gone. A couple rides later the inconsistency was back, again deglazing solved the problem. I am now deglazing every other ride and my sled has been running like a champ thanks to the new ritual. I've come to the conclusion that as fast as the Axys motor spools it has a tendency put a shine on the belt surface and polish the clutch sheaves at the same time resulting in a minor slip affecting both acceleration and backshift. I am now scuffing the sheaves and belt with 200 grit emery cloth every third ride or so with fantastic results, almost too easy of a fix to be true, I've done this about a dozen times this season with the same result every time The next time you have RPM issues you may want to give deglazing a try. I know lots of folks deglaze on occasion throughout the season but I feel the quick spooling motor of the Axys results in deglazing being moved up on the general maintenance list. If anyone gives this a try, report back and let me know if this simple fix works for you.

 

[Teth-Air]

I was curious if anyone else has had the same experimental results as I. Many have had occasional low RPM issues with the Axys 800, myself included. Many have blamed in on motor mounts, worn rings, exhaust valves and cables, out of spec TPS adjustments, but I don't know if the problem has really been pinned down. During normal riding this season I found that on occasion the RPM issue would show it's ugly head, I would go through the usual hair pulling most Axys owners would do and would find nothing. Earlier this season I would feel some slightly less than 100% positive belt grip when making long pulls (something not quite right), I would switch belts with the same result (new belt always solved the problem for a little while). One day I pulled out a scotch brite pad on the hill and deglazed my primary, the next run the problem was gone. A couple rides later the inconsistency was back, again deglazing solved the problem. I am now deglazing every other ride and my sled has been running like a champ thanks to the new ritual. I've come to the conclusion that as fast as the Axys motor spools it has a tendency put a shine on the belt surface and polish the clutch sheaves at the same time resulting in a minor slip affecting both acceleration and backshift. I am now scuffing the sheaves and belt with 200 grit emery cloth every third ride or so with fantastic results, almost too easy of a fix to be true, I've done this about a dozen times this season with the same result every time The next time you have RPM issues you may want to give deglazing a try. I know lots of folks deglaze on occasion throughout the season but I feel the quick spooling motor of the Axys results in deglazing being moved up on the general maintenance list. If anyone gives this a try, report back and let me know if this simple fix works for you.

Wouldn't you want to just re-clutch to a setup that forces more belt side pressure to grip the belt better rather than remove aluminum every 2nd ride?

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

Good point, I made the effort of increasing belt squeeze early on with the stiffer black/purple and the straight 40, belt still glazed after a few rides and lost a little speed in both the powder and the hardpack. Polaris engineering pursued an increase in belt squeeze when they designed the clutching for the Axys changing the helix from a 56/42 to the straight 40 and changed the primary spring from the 140/340 to the 120/320. They stuck with the heavy heeled 10 series which also yields big pressure at engagement. I would deglaze my Pro's once every 2,000 miles, my Axys now get's it every 200-300. Every time I ride with a gaggle of guys on their Axys, there are a couple grumbling about real inconsistent RPM's. In one case we gained 500 RPM's in a chute pull and got good responsive backshift back by simply scuffing things up a bit. Polaris's initial recommended fix for this issue has been to buy a new belt, a fresh belt does seem to work for a short time, until it glazes over. I feel their recommendation should have been to keep your money in your pocket and buy some emery cloth.

 

[SRXSRULE]

This does work. On my sleds I use red scotch bright pad on it every ride or 2. Nothing crazy, and not a new pad each time so it mostly just cleaning it. Sometimes I do get a little more aggressive if it gets glazed.
Back when I drag raced sleds I would use 80 grit emery cloth on both clutches every 2-3 passes.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

There are some really strange things that happen with highly glazed belts and really smooth sheaves. I was called over to a friends trailer to give his sled a look a while back, his reverse would work. The motor was rotating backwards like it should, when we hit the gas the belt didn't have enough friction with the secondary to rotate the sheave backwards into the reverse notch, instead it just slipped in the sheaves and slammed the secondary open with his belt barking in the primary. After scratching our heads we pulled off the belt and it looked almost like a mirror. We replaced the belt, scotch brite rubbed the primary, reversed it down the ramp and took it for a ride. He mentioned he was out for a quick test ride and tune because his machine just wouldn't hold R's anymore. After a few pulls he said his machine was running just like new holding 8,100 r's as long as he dared to hold the throttle. No need for re-clutching.

 

[TRS]

There are some really strange things that happen with highly glazed belts and really smooth sheaves. I was called over to a friends trailer to give his sled a look a while back, his reverse would work. The motor was rotating backwards like it should, when we hit the gas the belt didn't have enough friction with the secondary to rotate the sheave backwards into the reverse notch, instead it just slipped in the sheaves and slammed the secondary open with his belt barking in the primary. After scratching our heads we pulled off the belt and it looked almost like a mirror. We replaced the belt, scotch brite rubbed the primary, reversed it down the ramp and took it for a ride. He mentioned he was out for a quick test ride and tune because his machine just wouldn't hold R's anymore. After a few pulls he said his machine was running just like new holding 8,100 r's as long as he dared to hold the throttle. No need for re-clutching.

Found the light purple scotch brite works better than the green.

3M Scotch-Brite 2020 Hand Scour Pad Purple 114mm x 70mm

 

[sno*jet]

I've preached this since my triple tuning days, used to toss perfectly good belts every 150 miles. and its a great point to reiterate every year to the "this sled needs some clutching" dorks. and yes, different models will need it at different intervals. my current sled (17 cat) likes 200-300 miles on primary, secondary can go until 750 miles or so but its very noticeable improvement when you wait that long. hello backshift!!

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

Good post, again so may little things that are get worn or in this case glazed over time resulting in poor performance.

And that reminds me, time for some clutch TLC for my last few spring/summer rides of the year! Need all the help I can get as 60* temps don't yield the most power to start with!

 

[Teth-Air]

Good point, I made the effort of increasing belt squeeze early on with the stiffer black/purple and the straight 40, belt still glazed after a few rides and lost a little speed in both the powder and the hardpack. Polaris engineering pursued an increase in belt squeeze when they designed the clutching for the Axys changing the helix from a 56/42 to the straight 40 and changed the primary spring from the 140/340 to the 120/320. They stuck with the heavy heeled 10 series which also yields big pressure at engagement. I would deglaze my Pro's once every 2,000 miles, my Axys now get's it every 200-300. Every time I ride with a gaggle of guys on their Axys, there are a couple grumbling about real inconsistent RPM's. In one case we gained 500 RPM's in a chute pull and got good responsive backshift back by simply scuffing things up a bit. Polaris's initial recommended fix for this issue has been to buy a new belt, a fresh belt does seem to work for a short time, until it glazes over. I feel their recommendation should have been to keep your money in your pocket and buy some emery cloth.

So if the belt is slipping in the primary at speed, I would expect the RPM's to be high and not low. Once you scuff up the sheaves and make the belt grab it should actually drop engine RPM as more energy is being transferred.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

So if the belt is slipping in the primary at speed, I would expect the RPM's to be high and not low. Once you scuff up the sheaves and make the belt grab it should actually drop engine RPM as more energy is being transferred.

Glazing and slippage is a weird situation. As someone who has most definitely experienced this same issues as described by the OP. What seems to happen is instead of clamping and grabbing the belt the glazing causes the belt to be forced higher in the primary then desired and overloading and bogging the motor down. Overall performance is just super variable, low load like trail or on the flats the sled nails rpm but when under load (especially quick spikes in load) the rpm dives and just feels like the motor is getting bogged down.

Once the sheaves are all deglazed and grippy the belt is now held in proper range resulting in WAY better throttle response and rpm consistency. Quicker backshifts etc. Overall a way more fun to ride rig.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I've found one of the biggest gains of not having any slip is a much much improved backshift sometimes to the tune of 200 to 400 rpms. I actually thought I had some major motor issues a few times this year, deglazing solved the problem each time. Give it a try the next time your having issues, you may be surprised at the result.