New to this whole "Clutching" gig....help!

[longgold]

Is there a thread I should read or can anyone point me in the direction of any "Clutching 101" information?

Embarrassed to say that I have been buying and riding Polaris sleds for 12yrs now and have NO IDEA what the heck is going on in that dept...right to the point of no idea where or what the weights look like or are located...embarrassing as I said, but no time like the present to educate myself.

Ok, ok….to the point where if you asked me to point out the primary I’d use common sense and presume it’s the one attached to the crank (thus pointing at the smaller of the two)…yeah I know, pretty friggin lame.

I have just purchased (and am yet to install) a new Team Tied (bought on a whim)...they were kind enough to talk me through the purchase and asked me my weight, location and riding elevation (250lbs plus gear, west coastal mountain range [Whistler], 3500 - 7000ft)...oh yeah, also bought a spring compression tool…

I’m not mechanically illiterate…and I do know how to wrench my cars and quads (to a degree)…but I have always relied on my local store to keep me up to speed on the latest clutching options for our riding…but would like to start doing so modifying to better suit me and my riding conditions

I hear a lot about Carl's clutching mod’s (apparently machining the angle of the secondary[?] to the same angle as the belt walls [?])...

But how should I know when a certain clutch set-up is or isn’t working for me? RPM dropping or abrupt RPM variance? When do I know to up my weights???

Was a Team Tied a good idea?

I know this is asking a heck of a lot...but there are a bunch of pretty friendly individuals on this site and I'm sure someone can give me a little guidance. I mean, I just read a post on clutching and I may as well have been reading Polish.

I realize this is stepping away from the PRO thread, and will erase thread if pointed in the right direction, but it is for my '11 155 RMK Assault that I have the 5.1 on as opposed to the stock Assault track

LG

 

[Skidooer]

Dale Cuttler for Cuttlers Performance in Utah has a good book and Aaen Olagh(both spelled wrong) has a book. Buy them.

 

[ndC7M8]

Aaen's book is great. I've got it. Turned my brain to mush

but seriously, if you wanna know about clutching, its a great way to start. And of course, SnoWest! Try doing a search in the forum that applies to your sled.

Aaen's book on Amazon.com>>>> http://www.amazon.com/Olav-Aaens-clutch-tuning-handbook/dp/B0006R954Y

 

[Skidooer]

Aaen's book is great. I've got it. Turned my brain to mush

but seriously, if you wanna know about clutching, its a great way to start. And of course, SnoWest! Try doing a search in the forum that applies to your sled.

Aaen's book on Amazon.com>>>> http://www.amazon.com/Olav-Aaens-clutch-tuning-handbook/dp/B0006R954Y

Snowest has a lot of good info but also a lot of junk info. surely many on Snowest will want to sell you their "special" clutch. Just learn the concepts of clutching though these books and you will be better off.

 

[Murph]

^^^^^^X3 Olav Aaen book.

Buy it. Read it. Read it again. Read once more.... Then start working on your clutching.

One thing to remember. Clutching is individual. One setup does not necessarily fit all. AND if you have limited riding days, you may not want to waste them wrenching on the sled in the snow (your riding buddies won't appreciate it either)

It is a good thing to have a handle on, but remember, with all the different parameters, there are about 10,000 wrong clutch setups and a dozen that will be in the ballpark.