QD belt failure... 150 miles

[bobback]

We all know there have been issues with the qd belt...but how many failures have there been? And how many failures have there been due to user error?

I'm talking nationwide; not just a handful of people from the forum.

And let's face reality; Scott is correct in stating you hear more of the negatives vs the positives. And while you all may think Scott and I are riding buddies (I have never met Scott nor correspond with him); I also agree with him that the belts don't fail at alarming rates. If anyone disagrees, please point out the percentage of failures nationwide; and include how many have failed due to improper break in; or due to not getting the updates done in a timely matter.

I'm not saying all failures are due to user error; but there is more to it. And again, yes there have been failures not due to user error.

So instead of everyone talking smack, let's hear some nationwide stats.

And no, I don't work for Polaris.

Glad to hear, ouraysledder that your belt was replaced under warranty...Polaris did the right thing.

 

[OuraySledder]

Yes, and I had an EPIC deep snow ride yesterday where the properly broken in '13 QD belt peformed admirably, as far as I know anyway.

The ONLY source for failure rates is going to be Polaris and there is NO WAY they are sharing that information with consumers.

This is a major drive component on the sled. If it fails, you have no brakes. Your forward progress will stop as well, so I hope your sleds are well insured because the results could be catastrophic. If drive chains had failed as much as belts, and it was the norm for the industry, well then fine, I withdraw my "alarming" comment.

Fact is, this system has failed people repeatedly. It is a FAIL from day one with a 100 miles of break in required on a mountain sled. Do you know how difficult it is to find enough trail to run 100 miles around here? The system as a whole is a great idea with horrendous execution. The fact enough belts are failing to warrant expensive fixes, free belts from the manufacturer and multiple threads on failures simply pushes my opinion of the situation right into "alarming", especially considering the potential consequences of a failure at an inopportune time.

Call it what you like, it is a serious problem. Blaming it on consumers who spent $10k plus on new snowmobiles is absurd. It should be bulletproof from day one, or simply not offered.

Since I am ranting anyway... I bought a new car this summer, cost about double what a new sled costs. It included 8 times the amount of raw material, 3200lbs vs 400 lbs. It easily has ten times the number of parts required to build it. It is clearly a FAR more complex machine. Yet after nearly 12k miles of use so far, not a single problem. I don't have to baby it around or worry about it breaking. Just seems like a pretty pathetic effort by sled makers. Light, powerful and reliable just shouldn't be this hard.

 

[snowmobiler]

having 1 strip on a hillclimb would be alarming.but i never seen it happen and dont know anybody that owns one.LOL

 

[TheHardWay]

If you are so worried about belt failure, the solution is simple, jump ship to another brand, or replace the QD system with an aftermarket one.

I think I am going to start posting how my '13 QD belt worked just fine and DID NOT fail after each and every ride from now on. It will offset each of the "MY / A FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF FRIEND'S BROTHER IN LAW'S COUSIN'S QUICK DRIVE BELT FAILED" post...

 

[OuraySledder]

If you are so worried about belt failure, the solution is simple, jump ship to another brand, or replace the QD system with an aftermarket one.

I think I am going to start posting how my '13 QD belt worked just fine and DID NOT fail after each and every ride from now on. It will offset each of the "MY / A FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF FRIEND'S BROTHER IN LAW'S COUSIN'S QUICK DRIVE BELT FAILED" post...

Yeah, you are probably right... I should have to spend an additional $800-1000 to fix the problem on a new $11,000 snowmobile. How is that acceptable?


I just posted how mine worked flawlessly yesterday, awesome ride, awesome sled.


No, Actually there is plenty of photographic evidence of failures...

 

[TheHardWay]

Come to think of it, the solution is easier than an aftermarket drive system or another sled, and a lot cheaper too. Carry a spare QD belt with you. Drive belts (the one between the clutches) fail all the time, but its not a constant topic. What happens? You have a spare, you put it on, and go about your day. It's a snowmobile. Things break. It can happen at 5 mile or 5000 miles and is part of the game we are all playing.

 

[geo]

Yes, and I had an EPIC deep snow ride yesterday where the properly broken in '13 QD belt peformed admirably, as far as I know anyway.

The ONLY source for failure rates is going to be Polaris and there is NO WAY they are sharing that information with consumers.

This is a major drive component on the sled. If it fails, you have no brakes. Your forward progress will stop as well, so I hope your sleds are well insured because the results could be catastrophic. If drive chains had failed as much as belts, and it was the norm for the industry, well then fine, I withdraw my "alarming" comment.

Fact is, this system has failed people repeatedly. It is a FAIL from day one with a 100 miles of break in required on a mountain sled. Do you know how difficult it is to find enough trail to run 100 miles around here? The system as a whole is a great idea with horrendous execution. The fact enough belts are failing to warrant expensive fixes, free belts from the manufacturer and multiple threads on failures simply pushes my opinion of the situation right into "alarming", especially considering the potential consequences of a failure at an inopportune time.

Call it what you like, it is a serious problem. Blaming it on consumers who spent $10k plus on new snowmobiles is absurd. It should be bulletproof from day one, or simply not offered.

Since I am ranting anyway... I bought a new car this summer, cost about double what a new sled costs. It included 8 times the amount of raw material, 3200lbs vs 400 lbs. It easily has ten times the number of parts required to build it. It is clearly a FAR more complex machine. Yet after nearly 12k miles of use so far, not a single problem. I don't have to baby it around or worry about it breaking. Just seems like a pretty pathetic effort by sled makers. Light, powerful and reliable just shouldn't be this hard.

LOL. Is this your first sled? Are you really comparing it to a car purchase lol? The most "bullet proof" sled ever doesn't compare to the worst car ever lol. And a lb for lb comparison lol, Poo Pro is your worst pick with that as a priority.

I got a better deal for you if bulletproof is your need. Buy a Honda lawnmower. No really. Way cheaper. I have one that is 28 yrs old and I stopped changing the oil 8 yrs ago just to see if it would blow up or not. It's still pull and go, dang it.

Really though bud, you broke a belt on a '13 Pro. Shocking, not, but kudos to you cause I couldn't in 1700 miles but I didn't really try so don't start beating your chest.

I have to ask though with all that you have read about the s**tty Pro belt drive, why did YOU decide to put down your cash on one. Did you feel lucky that day? Some body twist your arm? Are you going to teach Polaris a lesson? Or is this really your first sled.
If it is your first sled I hate to tell you this, you didn't buy a bullet proof sled lol. Get ready for your motor to blow up and your primary to snap off and your tunnel to bend and your a-arms to unglue. Go read some stuff on that. You really made a bad purchase from what you read on the net.
See if you can lawyer to get your money back.

Dang why do you want to make me feel so stupid? Pisses me off. My reality is the same as Scott`s. Never personally touched a broken Poo belt and I like that reality.
It`s just as real as yours.

 

[OuraySledder]

LOL. Is this your first sled? Are you really comparing it to a car purchase lol? The most "bullet proof" sled ever doesn't compare to the worst car ever lol. And a lb for lb comparison lol, Poo Pro is your worst pick with that as a priority.

Why shouldn't there be a comparison made? Just looking at the cost for what you get. Why is it sooo hard for sled makers?

Really though bud, you broke a belt on a '13 Pro. Shocking, not, but kudos to you cause I couldn't in 1700 miles but I didn't really try so don't start beating your chest.

Yes, I did, and somebody is trying to tell me it is my fault, which is BS. Not your "bud" BTW.

I have to ask though with all that you have read about the s**tty Pro belt drive, why did YOU decide to put down your cash on one. Did you feel lucky that day? Some body twist your arm? Are you going to teach Polaris a lesson? Or is this really your first sled.
If it is your first sled I hate to tell you this, you didn't buy a bullet proof sled lol. Get ready for your motor to blow up and your primary to snap off and your tunnel to bend and your a-arms to unglue. Go read some stuff on that. You really made a bad purchase from what you read on the net.
See if you can lawyer to get your money back.

Dang why do you want to make me feel so stupid? Pisses me off. My reality is the same as Scott`s. Never personally touched a broken Poo belt and I like that reality.
It`s just as real as yours.

This is a loooong way from being my first sled. I bought a Pro because it rides better than the rest. Is it wrong for me to expect a little quality engineering on a $11k toy? I guess so.

The difference is, unlike Scott, I am not running around trying to say it isn't a problem. I know all about the other problems. If you had read my posts I acknowledge that but instead... insults... like I am a newbie. Blow me "bud".

 

[rmscustom]

Lets take your new car and make it put out 180hp per liter and then drive it around full throttle under full load most of the time and we'll see how it holds up.

Your comparing apples to oranges... It's like comparing how many trouble free miles I could get on a Goldwing vs a CR250.

 

[revyg]

This cracks me up, you buy the first year of anything? Not me, Iphone 1, not as good as 5s, it was bold being first to go belt drive, year two? Better already. I would like to see if any of these aftermarket companies sold as many as Polaris did how many failures there would be? They all have issues, pick the one you like, buy it and ride it. 700 miles on my 14, broke it in same as motor, or do you guys not break in a brand new motor? Haha. I live in Revelstoke and see ALL brands being towed and choppered out you really think Polaris is the only one? Crawl out from behind your keyboard and ride man, it is fun.

Finally, what is up with your lower pully, does not look good.

 

[Scott]

Why shouldn't there be a comparison made? Just looking at the cost for what you get. Why is it sooo hard for sled makers?




Yes, I did, and somebody is trying to tell me it is my fault, which is BS. Not your "bud" BTW.





This is a loooong way from being my first sled. I bought a Pro because it rides better than the rest. Is it wrong for me to expect a little quality engineering on a $11k toy? I guess so.

The difference is, unlike Scott, I am not running around trying to say it isn't a problem. I know all about the other problems. If you had read my posts I acknowledge that but instead... insults... like I am a newbie. Blow me "bud".

No, what I was trying to get across was I haven't seen any belts break with the people I ride with.

Never said they don't fail. In fact, I said I've seen many threads with pictures of failed belts.

Please carefully read my posts in this thread again.

 

[geo]

Why shouldn't there be a comparison made? Just looking at the cost for what you get. Why is it sooo hard for sled makers?




Yes, I did, and somebody is trying to tell me it is my fault, which is BS. Not your "bud" BTW.





This is a loooong way from being my first sled. I bought a Pro because it rides better than the rest. Is it wrong for me to expect a little quality engineering on a $11k toy? I guess so.

The difference is, unlike Scott, I am not running around trying to say it isn't a problem. I know all about the other problems. If you had read my posts I acknowledge that but instead... insults... like I am a newbie. Blow me "bud".

LOL Been thinking on how to respond but stuck on the "blow me" part. Wish I was there so I could respond properly.

Good luck for he rest of the season.

 

[Teth-Air]

Well the reality is this:

The 13 QD belt will fail, it is a matter of time and conditions. If you trail ride you may go 2000+ kms before the failure. If you ride harder and ever get airborne and land on the power it will happen much sooner. I expect most failures happened in Spring set up conditions like when mine failed. An yes the 14 is better but the problem will be reduced but not eliminated. These too will all fail if you run them too long or run them too hard. The dealer told me it must be changed every 2000 kms when I picked up my new 2014 sled. The problem is that there just are not enough teeth in contact with the top pulley so when the belt stretches slightly or when braking hard or accelerating hard, the teeth can strip off. The aftermarket kits address these problems and in addition allow for the needed gear reduction. People must realize that the aftermarket kits will save money down the road while giving confidence to go hard now.

 

[AndrettiDog]

I agree with Teth-Air. I've posted this in other threads. I don't fault Polaris for going to a belt drive. They just don't have it right yet. I'm hoping future sleds will use a different belt with a tensioner. The real tragedy here is that my Polaris dealer wants $199 for the belt. They offer me a discount because they are good to the customer (but it is still too much). I have since ordered the TKI belt drive from Tom. I already have an extra belt that cost me $80. I can almost buy three of them for the price of one Polaris belt. What a joke.

If I didn't have a turbo this year, I would have bought the '14 belt and maybe added the Fire n Ice tensioner. But I'm afraid the turbo will just chew up those belts.

 

[bobback]

I'm not reading this thread anymore...makes me want to sell my Pro and go back to my 2011 Cat that trenched big time; which drove me up the wall. Maybe I should get out of sledding all together, and just run errands with my wife on the weekend.

At least I'm saving money by not riding this year much yet due to the sh*ty snow. Guess will save that money for repairs on the pro.

And I don't see anything wrong with that lower pulley, looks like just a little bit of frost is all.

 

[Indy_500]

My riding buddy is about to roll over 1000 miles on his original QD belt on his 13. He replaced the driveshaft with a steel one from day 1.

 

[blindman]

Maybe I should get out of sledding all together, and just run errands with my wife on

I'm not reading this thread anymore...makes me want to sell my Pro and go back to my 2011 Cat that trenched big time; which drove me up the wall. Maybe I should get out of sledding all together, and just run errands with my wife on the weekend.

At least I'm saving money by not riding this year much yet due to the sh*ty snow. Guess will save that money for repairs on the pro.

And I don't see anything wrong with that lower pulley, looks like just a little bit of frost is all.

lmao

one less freerider tracking up the fresh.

 

[sledneck_03]

I just towed a dead sled with my 14 from lulu to the sled in parking lot and ran a full tank with over hood snow. And then flew from the parking lot to cooke wide open. Belts styling.

 

[FCR112]

I just towed a dead sled with my 14 from lulu to the sled in parking lot and ran a full tank with over hood snow. And then flew from the parking lot to cooke wide open. Belts styling.

That's awesome.
Question, Can you touch your top pulley after shutting it down without burning your finger? My 14 gets hot too hot....can't be good. I suspect my bearing is spinning on the jackshaft, going to shim it like a few others have suggested and see if it helps turn down the heat.

 

[sledneck_03]

That's awesome.

Question, Can you touch your top pulley after shutting it down without burning your finger? My 14 gets hot too hot....can't be good. I suspect my bearing is spinning on the jackshaft, going to shim it like a few others have suggested and see if it helps turn down the heat.

Not sure how hot it was after that. I know it instantly melts ice like you drop it on a wood stove normally. Im sure it was f'n hot.