Install the app
How to install the app on iOS

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

  • Don't miss out on all the fun! Register on our forums to post and have added features! Membership levels include a FREE membership tier.

TS belt. $320 ?

I just warm up the bike in neutral for 5-8 mins, whatever it may take. Shut if off, put the bike in gear, and crank it back up. Breaks the clutch plates loose and no driveline shock.
Carried that practice over from the Harley lol.
 
There is another situation where one can inadvertently stress a belt; On a cold start, your clutch plates are often stuck together and don't free up until they are warmed up and/or broke free. It takes a lot of force to break them free when stone cold. Meaning, you pull the bike out of the trailer, start it, and within a minute, go to click it into gear so you can pull it around to a different spot along side the truck. You pull in the clutch, shift it into gear and clunk; the bike dies because pulling in the clutch didn't release the stuck clutch plates so shifting it into first acts like you didn't even have the clutch lever pulled in. That abrupt driveline shock is very hard on the entire driveline, but especially belts. Some make/model bike clutches stick more than others and oil used is a contributing factor. I had an issue on a previous snowbike build and realized I needed to really let that bike warm up (10 - 15minutes) before that first shift so the clutch plates would release. My latest build is less prone to it, but still, I no longer move the bike to a more convenient spot nor do that first shift into gear until after it warms up 10 minutes or so (depends on ambient temperature that day).
Completely 1000% false and over analyzing, at idle or even 2k rpm the bike makes 2HP tops. When riding i red line clutch drop the bike all day long at 50HP shock loading the belts. including landing drops and over stumps...It's your alignment or tension. Warming up the bike to reduce clutch sticking shock loading had 0 to do with it. Think about the belt shock load when you hit a stump burried under the snow. I am no trying to be mean or say anything but just help you out, good on you for warming the bike up that's critical for not seizing a piston but in terms of belt. It's a fly in the universe. Also just to clarify you may be torching a belt due to a cold stiff belt not due to the clutch sticking. The belt needs to warm up to gain strength, polymers strength reduction at cold temperatures is massive. Belts fail due to hammering on the gas with a cold belt not clutch plates.
 
Good point on the belt being cold making it particularly vulnerable in stuck-clutch-plate situation. I amended my comment to add the word "cold" to "That abrupt driveline shock is very hard on the entire driveline including a cold belt".

I agree that any and all snappy/abrupt increase in load is hard on belts and the examples you gave are good ones. (Though I'm really interested to hear in what terrain and riding style has you sitting still, redlining the bike, and dumping the clutch all day long).
I submit that hitting stumps, some clutch-dumps when getting unstuck, and occasionally not correctly timing the landing of jumps/drops to be "throttle off" are all contributing belt stressors, but those occur as part of a days riding. Shocking a cold belt and drivetrain, due to a stuck clutch plate is avoidable, so...avoid it. Ha. No reason to abuse it, even a bit, when it's easy to avoid.

Belts are very strong when under heavy load, but are not good at very abruptly going from slack to taught, particularly when cold as you mention. Abrupt loading events can snap belts, or can cumulatively stress them to the point they fail later, with much less force than their load strength indicates. Think of how hard it is to break a piece of monofilament fishing line when you slowly tension it vs giving it slack and then abruptly yanking it, which easily snaps it with a fraction of the "lb test' strength simply by decreasing the duration of the loading event. Spreading the loading event out over a few extra fractions of a second makes a huge difference, too. Dumping the clutch on a warmed up bike with warm oil and warm clutch plates seems immediate to us, but the amount of time the loading event takes place is not easily perceived.

It would be interesting to test and see data on how long the shock event/ belt loading takes in different situations; dumping the clutch on a warmed up bike when getting unstuck, clicking cold bike into gear with stuck clutch plates, hitting a stump/rock that abruptly slows track speed, landing jumps while still on the throttle into powder, same on-throttle landing onto high-traction snow, same landing but off-throttle, etc. And also testing shock strength vs load strength for both cold belts and warmed up belts. And if belt and drivetrain position makes a difference in the load event duration (meaning, the position of the belt/pulleys/sprocket/chain/drivers etc. after rolling a snowbike backwards out of a trailer vs after the bike had been driven forward first and then stopping which positions the tensions differently and would impact the load event).

Not going to have access to such data anytime soon, so can't come to a conclusion, but the point is, the duration of the loading event is a huge factor with belts and it would be interesting to see the impact of that as I suspect that matters even more than the work involved.

Anyway, I wasn't saying that stuck clutch plates were going to constantly snap peoples belts; only that it was an unnecessary, additional (read: cumulative) stress on the transmission and belt so avoid doing it. (y)
 
Last edited:
After beating quick drive belts to death on my boost?

Assuming they use the same belt construction…….

I don’t think a Snowbike has any worries…….
I was thinking the same thing?? full power landing jumps on a 155 3in track and 180 hp? I feel like thst shock exceeds what a bike can put down☠️

Make sure your cover is good and sealed. All the QD belts I've seen fail on sleds are because ice chunks or spare parts wedge between the gear and belt and snap it.

In well over 10k miles of QD equipped polaris sleds I'd have 0 worry about belts on a bike no more worries then a chain.

I've seen more snowbike chaincase chains fail just due to guys trying to skip another ride before lube ans they hit critical mass and basically just fall apart due to hot and dry.
 
belts break when they are too tight, or the jackshaft angle is off from the drive axel angle. TKI has a good video on youtube for shaft alignment that was way off on my 22 Riot 3 from the factory. TKI spare belts are 80 bucks and it's almost the same as the TS one. I've had two flawless seasons on my TKI belt drive and first belt. Deflection is spec and checked every 3 rides after break in (check every ride). Set the jackshaft in parallel with the drive shaft using a straight edge.

Follow this guide, TKI or QBT:
 
Premium Features



Back
Top