SOME THOUGHTS ON QuickDrive® BELT ISSUES
- Thread starter mountainhorse
- Start date
We have never suggested or needed a break in period with the of the shelf Gates Polychain so I don't see why the Polaris belt should need one. Our customers install and and abuse from mile one. This has been a really good thread.
yes , thats been my experience with them as well(blower motors and also drive systems on equipment), but this belt so far is a polaris exclusive(their specs), who knows, could be differnt materials construction design from the norm...if you have anyone jumping on one at mile zero, be interesting to check the belt temps after some pulls...and yes, very informative thread..
C3...
Thanks for the props.... You've put a lot of work into these yourself and it is great to have you chime in here.
I agree with you about the PolyChain on yours and other aftermarket belt drives in terms of break in.
I also believe that your system has different features (machined sprockets, tensioner to adjust for this... etc) as well as, what I feel is crucial in a fixed center high-HP power-transmission application... preload on the belt that is proper for the intended use.
I believe that with the Polaris QuickDrive, a unique design, that break in with this system would be more important that with the C3 or CMX drives.
Readers are finding that the belts are getting hot as well as the MFG instructions for break in related to the QuickDrive design...According to Gates, heat can shorten the life of these types of drive belts.
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F
The one that was replaced looks the same as the one that came off.
When I looked at this drive last year it worried me. If one of these belts fails on the side of the mountain there is a good chance your sled is going to the bottom with no way to stop it. Hopefully somebody comes out with a kit to move the brakes to the bottom shaft. This will take a lot of load off the belt as was mentioned earlier.
Even one failure in the first two weeks is too much IMO. Glad I waited before jumping on a new sled, seen this before from Polaris just look at the old 900's that I ride, over a dozen recalls. I know I am going to be watching this carefully during the year to see what happens with it. Might have to go with the assault just so I don't have to worry about this.
Even one failure in the first two weeks is too much IMO. Glad I waited before jumping on a new sled, seen this before from Polaris just look at the old 900's that I ride, over a dozen recalls. I know I am going to be watching this carefully during the year to see what happens with it. Might have to go with the assault just so I don't have to worry about this.
Chains break all the time too, it's just that it's not a new thing so no one is talking about it.
Chain would at least jam up the bottom gear and stop the track, first hand experience on that.
F
I have a feeling the main issue with this belt is not going to be breakage, but just the ripping of cogs. I think the belt is strong enough to stay together under shock load but that doesn't comfort many guys when 3 inches of cogs are missing. The belt could be made thicker IMO put some meat behind the belt cogs a bit.
Agreed, many have commented that at least you will be able to limp out with a belt shedding cogs compared to a broken chain. I disagree, the only limping out you will be able to do is downhill or at a granny pace on the trail. If the snow is deep or you have to make significant climbs to get back to a trail the belt will not get you there. Once those cogs start to shear off it will only get worse because of the slipping and grabbing under heavy load will continue to shear off more cogs until you won't be able to climb anything.
--Chains may break, but not with less than 100 miles unless very unusual circumstances. The situation with the QD system is totally different.
--Drive chains have certainly proven themselves over decades and 100's of thousands of miles. Other belt drive systems have proven themselves also.
--Polaris apparently just simply disregarded Gates recommendation against using a fixed center belt drive system in a high load/torque application. Add to that, manufacturing and tolerance issues which are critical to a fixed center drive system.
--My recommendations to Polaris as a mechanic:
-Install brake rotor on trackshaft as is now industry standard
-design/build trackshaft that can sustain most every form of riding and/or abuse per industry standard
-use Gates recommendations when designing/manufacturing QD system
-Design/build an engine that meets HP and reliability specs per industry standard(160hp --3500 plus miles before consideration of fresh top end -mtn riding)
-Continue to be innovative but not sacrificing reliability(an innovative yet unreliable machine is practically useless and even dangerous)
--Drive chains have certainly proven themselves over decades and 100's of thousands of miles. Other belt drive systems have proven themselves also.
--Polaris apparently just simply disregarded Gates recommendation against using a fixed center belt drive system in a high load/torque application. Add to that, manufacturing and tolerance issues which are critical to a fixed center drive system.
--My recommendations to Polaris as a mechanic:
-Install brake rotor on trackshaft as is now industry standard
-design/build trackshaft that can sustain most every form of riding and/or abuse per industry standard
-use Gates recommendations when designing/manufacturing QD system
-Design/build an engine that meets HP and reliability specs per industry standard(160hp --3500 plus miles before consideration of fresh top end -mtn riding)
-Continue to be innovative but not sacrificing reliability(an innovative yet unreliable machine is practically useless and even dangerous)
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These belts are so strong that I'm way more worried about my clutch belt than the driven belt .
It's friction and their gonna get warm but not near the heat a primary will reach .
I drove out with no cogs and turned the belt purple , that's how good these belts are or should be .
When every body is taking a break from wrestling those things I'm still ripping , sometimes tearing it up so the sleds have nothing to start with . I pretty much know and have to stop to let things cool , because the clutch belt is on fire .
Of course it's a completely different belt but it is belt driven .
Correct tension is a really really big deal . To the point that it should be at the top of the check list .
C3 , CMX ... those things are a work of art . Some one forgot to mention where the brake is at
Maybe I should of mentioned that I can tighten up a stripped belt to get out but it does not always work .
It's friction and their gonna get warm but not near the heat a primary will reach .
I drove out with no cogs and turned the belt purple , that's how good these belts are or should be .
When every body is taking a break from wrestling those things I'm still ripping , sometimes tearing it up so the sleds have nothing to start with . I pretty much know and have to stop to let things cool , because the clutch belt is on fire .
Of course it's a completely different belt but it is belt driven .
Correct tension is a really really big deal . To the point that it should be at the top of the check list .
C3 , CMX ... those things are a work of art . Some one forgot to mention where the brake is at
Maybe I should of mentioned that I can tighten up a stripped belt to get out but it does not always work .
Please show me all of the sled chains that broke with less than 50 miles on them. I don't recall ever hearing about this.
I'm sure this will be a great opportunity for aftermarket companies to step up with fix's so it will be good for them but if you are spending upwards of 12K on a sled it should be done right. I thought Polaris had already learned it's lesson the last time they rushed the IQ through.
There's four different times that come to mind that I've ever seen a chain break.
either from a poorly designed tensioner
the guy that for some reason doesn't think that the tensioner needs to be check
the guy that lands on an approach wide open spitting rocks all the way
(wanted to beat him senseless, but figured it was to late)
high mileage
either from a poorly designed tensioner
the guy that for some reason doesn't think that the tensioner needs to be check
the guy that lands on an approach wide open spitting rocks all the way
(wanted to beat him senseless, but figured it was to late)
high mileage
S
http://www.teddunlimited.com/
there was some issues with the belly pan coming in contact with the QD belt last spring. Teddunlimited has the guard to keep the belly pan from coming in contact with the belt.
As far as the QD belt having problems Im conviced that the break in period is 100% a must. The demo sled I had access to last spring had over 800 miles on the same belt.
Is the QD belt a Carbon or standard belt?
I broke a standard (too tight and shock loaded) on my OG CMX drive (02 RMK), replaced it with a carbon reinforced one, set tension correctly, and never looked back. Ran that belt for several seasons, and a lot of miles with no issues related to the belt.
I broke a standard (too tight and shock loaded) on my OG CMX drive (02 RMK), replaced it with a carbon reinforced one, set tension correctly, and never looked back. Ran that belt for several seasons, and a lot of miles with no issues related to the belt.
Yep. They have another problem. I'm sure there will be a certain amount of wear for the cogs to mesh with the pulleys but this does not explain the belt cogs breaking. If I had to guess, it's just a crappy belt and telling people to take it easy buys them time to find out what the real issue is.
You can't compare any of the other belt drives to this one because it has no Tensioner .
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I realize that it has no tensioner, that wasn't the question.
Is it a carbon or standard GT2 belt was the question.
Tension was much less important with s carbon belt in my experiences.
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