What happened to Cat Clutches

[technofunseeker]

I have ridden Arctic Cats for over 30 years. I have seen their clutch technology change through the years but what the hell happened to the robust primary clutch technology they had. I have 4 M chassis sleds right now and the 2 '11 M8s are impossible to keep clutches on. Is there a decent aftermarket primary that will last more than 1000 to 1200 miles and not break the bank? I have a 2011 M8 right now that took a roller out after only 500 miles. Fed up in Montana!

 

[kidrman]

FTX Motorsports converts the Polaris P85 to fit the M8 and it is supposed to perform better and last much longer. I ordered one last week so can't address the claims yet. It sure doesn't come cheap. Lol

 

[knifedge]

http://fettbros.com/Clutch-Spider-Cat-HD-Metric-w-rollers-ACBSPMK.htm

http://fettbros.com/Clutch-Cover-Turbo-Flow-Cat-ACPC1.htm

http://www.thunderproducts.com/911%20Clutch%20Cover.htm

--Ive run the clutch cover on an older Polaris clutch and I never had to replace the bushing

--Even a p85 conversion, I would run the 911 clutch cover

 

[Rixster]

The clutch problems started when they went the the diamond drive and diamond drive secondary. That secondary clutch sucks, its doesn't work right and therefor over works the primary. I wish there was a after market secondary that didn't break the bank for the Diamond drive sleds.

 

[kidrman]

The P85 conversion is already 1,200 bucks once it gets to your door. The 911 cover pouts the whole thing at 1,500. Yikes!!!!

 

[m8magicandmystery]

regular cat clutch balanced with the 911 cover and your set...

Give racinstation on this forum and he will set ya up to be a happy customer..

you do a core exchange with him..

 

[diggerdown]

New clutches for 14', haven't heard many problems with them yet. The old part numbers are gone.

 

[kidrman]

I just got a new Cat clutch under warranty and it looks different.

 

[CO 2.0]

'14 clutches are junk like the rest. I've had 1 roller fail at 300 miles on my proclimb, and one clutch shear in half bending the crank at 500 miles. It seems like rollers failing and taking out a weight is 90% of my Cat clutch failures. 5 of the past 6 primaries on my '10 M8 have been roller failures... Blowing them out with compressed air after every ride and cleaning them after every ride doesn't seem to add to the longevity.

 

[Frostbite]

I may be mistaken but, I don't really recall primary clutch issues really becoming a huge problem until 2010 when the H.O. motor was released. Perhaps the primary clutches didn't react well to the taking of more than 4 lbs of harmonic eating weight off the crankshaft?

There may have been a few issues with the M1000 clutches previously due to vibration but, I think 07 through 09 M8s fared pretty well in the longevity of their primary clutches compared to the the 2010 and newer 800s.

 

[kidrman]

'14 clutches are junk like the rest. I've had 1 roller fail at 300 miles on my proclimb, and one clutch shear in half bending the crank at 500 miles. It seems like rollers failing and taking out a weight is 90% of my Cat clutch failures. 5 of the past 6 primaries on my '10 M8 have been roller failures... Blowing them out with compressed air after every ride and cleaning them after every ride doesn't seem to add to the longevity.

I'm only running the new one until my P85 lands at my door.

 

[Vern]

My m7 is on its 3rd primary and has roughly 4500 miles, buddies m7 with similar mileage is currently waiting for its third primary also. We seem to average about 2k miles per clutch, the weird part is mine cracks the spider every time and his eats a roller every time.

 

[sledtahoe]

rebuilt

The main problem seems to be parts to rebuild, and spiders breaking. I know my polaris freinds are always rebuilding to keep the performance up. Now that yamaha is envolved maybe it will get better..

 

[Rixster]

The main problem seems to be parts to rebuild, and spiders breaking. I know my polaris freinds are always rebuilding to keep the performance up. Now that yamaha is envolved maybe it will get better..

I have started using the rebuild parts from thunder products. So far so good. I really like the parts they produce. Of course once you break a spider you pretty much have 2 options, buy a clutch or buy a spider.

 

[Thunder101]

Cheep Chinese low grade cast aluminum. Cat should not have the cheapest bidder making their parts

 

[knifedge]

--Ive had Cat spiders strip and break --would recommend the billet spider from Fett Brothers along with a cover of choice.

--Whatever Racinstation recommends probably will work fine

--new weight bushings and bolts should be somewhat regular maintenance items after a heavy riding season, imo