What does it take to balance a clutch

[m33ltway]

What does it take to balance a clutch are they stactic or spun balanced ? How critical is it to have your clutch balanced. I took mine apart to shim for my new ultimax belt and forgot to mark my stationary sheave so how dumb was that? Also I had to remove the .032 shim to get the right belt to sheave clearance has any one else seen this.

 

[cubby]

Give us some more details, what sled are you working on?

 

[HECKS]

They are spun balanced. The last 2 OEM clutches I got balanced needed no adjustments..... maybe I am lucky.
Sheave alignment, been there and done that. I've had to put all washers back in to get my mark/etch to start with.
I believe markings should be within 1 inch from each other max.
You do need to have the clutch weights installed to get a proper clearance measurement, as I've made this mistake in the past.

 

[carbontj]

good question....we balance LOTS of Polaris clutches....First let me say that everyone says the sled is much smoother and the clutches have less heat in them...we spin balance them on a custom balancing machine....Most P85 clutches are around 30-60 pounds to of balance at 8000 RPM how you get them, the secondary (which most forget to balance) is further out,most are 40-80 lobs out of balance at 8000RPM....We balance both clothes and get them to UNDER 1 pound out of balance at 8000 RPM..I always ask people when they want to send me just the primary is do you just balance the front tires of your car??? With out going into LOTS of detail balanced clutches make the clutching more efficient. less belt wear, heat...bearings last longer, your hands and feet dont vibrate...clutches last much longer too...

 

[MATTELL]

good question....we balance LOTS of Polaris clutches....First let me say that everyone says the sled is much smoother and the clutches have less heat in them...we spin balance them on a custom balancing machine....Most P85 clutches are around 30-60 pounds to of balance at 8000 RPM how you get them, the secondary (which most forget to balance) is further out,most are 40-80 lobs out of balance at 8000RPM....We balance both clothes and get them to UNDER 1 pound out of balance at 8000 RPM..I always ask people when they want to send me just the primary is do you just balance the front tires of your car??? With out going into LOTS of detail balanced clutches make the clutching more efficient. less belt wear, heat...bearings last longer, your hands and feet dont vibrate...clutches last much longer too...

Can you balance the new Cat clutches?

 

[carbontj]

Can you balance the new Cat clutches?

Yes we do the Adapt clutch.

 

[madmax]

I do agree that balancing both is very beneficial. I had Patrick’s do mine on my 9R last year. I would think the best argument for not doing the secondary is cost (if your on a budget) and the secondary will never hit 8,000 rpm on a mountain sled. To do that you’d have to be full shift out, 1:1. The only place you might hit that is on the trails. I’d be more worried about throwing lugs at 1:1 ratio speeds. 90% of your off trail mountain riding your going to be 20-60% of full shift, secondary maybe hitting 3,000-6,000 rpm. That being said, the full Patrick’s balancing and lightening of both clutches is well worth it. I have a spare p-85 and secondary I had balanced/ligthened on my 23’ 9R that I’ll transfer to my 24’ 9R for next year. Put the stock clutches back on the 23’ to sell it.

 

[MATTELL]

Yes we do the Adapt clutch.

Thank you! The secondary too?

 

[Nooby]

I highly recommend Indy Specialties for your clutch balancing needs.
And any other upgrades you may be considering.

They will contact you for all your riding information, sled, track, your weight, total weight your sled will carry, altitude, your preferred riding style and so on.

I have had great success with them on both my naturally aspirated and turbo sleds.

 

[KhaosRipcord]

good question....we balance LOTS of Polaris clutches....First let me say that everyone says the sled is much smoother and the clutches have less heat in them...we spin balance them on a custom balancing machine....Most P85 clutches are around 30-60 pounds to of balance at 8000 RPM how you get them, the secondary (which most forget to balance) is further out,most are 40-80 lobs out of balance at 8000RPM....We balance both clothes and get them to UNDER 1 pound out of balance at 8000 RPM..I always ask people when they want to send me just the primary is do you just balance the front tires of your car??? With out going into LOTS of detail balanced clutches make the clutching more efficient. less belt wear, heat...bearings last longer, your hands and feet dont vibrate...clutches last much longer too...

Question. Once clutches are balanced is there ever a reason to need to rebalanced them again? If so what are those reasons?

 

[carbontj]

Thank you! The secondary too?

we can do the TEAM BOSS. POS...we can only balance not lighten...

 

[carbontj]

Question. Once clutches are balanced is there ever a reason to need to rebalanced them again? If so what are those reasons?

if you change your belt shim you rotate your spider when changes the sheave locations...we try and get people to send there belt or give me the belt # and we can shim it before balancing....

 

[KhaosRipcord]

if you change your belt shim you rotate your spider when changes the sheave locations...we try and get people to send there belt or give me the belt # and we can shim it before balancing....

I thought when shimming you simply reindex the spider? So long as the index marks are within 1 inch on the sheeves it's OK since the spider has very little effect on balance. That is what book said and TRS told me anyway. Are you saying it's not that simple?

 

[carbontj]

I thought when shimming you simply reindex the spider? So long as the index marks are within 1 inch on the sheeves it's OK since the spider has very little effect on balance. That is what book said and TRS told me anyway. Are you saying it's not that simple?

Yes it can be done that way, BUT it will not be as close as we get them on our balancer. we get them under 1 pound...moving and reshimming the spider effects the balance...hard to say how much unless we rebalance it after and attach our Dyno sheet...My guess it would, be if with in 1" as you say, around 15-20 lbs out of balance. with in industry standards....we get them as perfect as possible. kind of like changing your tire and leaving the wheel weights on, will it be close????

 

[KhaosRipcord]

Yes it can be done that way, BUT it will not be as close as we get them on our balancer. we get them under 1 pound...moving and reshimming the spider effects the balance...hard to say how much unless we rebalance it after and attach our Dyno sheet...My guess it would, be if with in 1" as you say, around 15-20 lbs out of balance. with in industry standards....we get them as perfect as possible. kind of like changing your tire and leaving the wheel weights on, will it be close????

Awesome thanks! May be giving you a call.

 

[Blancheeron]

I do agree that balancing both is very beneficial. I had Patrick’s do mine on my 9R last year. I would think the best argument for not doing the secondary is cost (if your on a budget) and the secondary will never hit 8,000 rpm on a mountain sled. To do that you’d have to be full shift out, 1:1. The only place you might hit that is on the trails. I’d be more worried about throwing lugs at 1:1 ratio speeds. 90% of your off trail mountain riding your going to be 20-60% of full shift, secondary maybe hitting 3,000-6,000 rpm. That being said, the full Patrick’s balancing and lightening of both clutches is well worth it. I have a spare p-85 and secondary I had balanced/ligthened on my 23’ 9R that I’ll transfer to my 24’ 9R for next year. Put the stock clutches back on the 23’ to sell it.

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