M7 terms of engagement

[TIM7]

I have a 2005 M7. The primary clutch hits real hard at engagement. I know about the excessive belt to sheave clearance of the Cats but have not seen any feedback about affects on the actual clutch performance with the Thunder products ABC kit.

If I re-shimmed my spider to a more normal spec (as I would like to do) and put on a new belt that would close up the gap for smooth engagement and also would cause the belt to ride up higher on the primary and potentially increase top speed (though that is not a major concern of mine) but I am a little concerned about damaging the spider:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]To get spider off you need to heat with oxy acetylene to get heat rapid and hot to break loctite as they are loctited on from factory. Once heated then you need to use a grunt tool that is about 2 1/2 feet long from Cat to spin spider off as it is threated on. Do not heat with propane as not rapid and hot enough it will just damage clutch/bushings from over heating to long. (from another post)[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If I bought the $120 abc bolt with the collar, I could run the old belts and adjust the sheave in to close the gap so performance should probably be the same after engagement and reduce the slamming of the belt, but what about the weight to roller gap increase?[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When I bought the sled the belt was sticking up out of the secondary (like it's supposed to) and now it is just below the top edge. I am considering getting a wider than stock gates high performance belt that is 1.469 compared to the stock 1.439 so that would close up the gap by .030 plus the almost .040 of the worn belt for a total of .070 which would leave .030 gap..........so I don't know, what do you guys think?[/FONT]

 

[ND]

Put a new factory width belt in and check clearance first would be my first action. My 06 m7 is at .030" on the primary with a new belt, I was at .080" by the end of last season and it definitely had a bang on engagement.
If you do the abc adjuster there won't be any gap from weight to roller, the weights just move freely. You may change the angle of the weight to roller though, which can have a big effect on clamp load and shift characteristics. I don't think you collapse the spider in enough to really matter though.

 

[mikew5945]

You need to get some spacers for the secondary and stay up on that adjustment. That is your belt deflection adjustment.
The ABC is great and does what it is advertised to do. It adjusts the gap period. It will help stop the bang that your engagement is doing. You can shim the spider but that works for a new belt only. When the belt gets used there is no adjustment.
You need to keep up on both adjustments to get the M7 to perform at its best. Adjusting both clutches is like putting on a new belt.
Do a search. You may find a used ABC for $60.00

 

[TIM7]

Thanks for your responses.
My Gates G-force belt came today. It measures 1.469 wide compared to the stock cat belt which is 1.439. After installation my belt to sheave clearance is still .035! That's why I wanted to shim the spider. It was .100 with the old used belt. With a new OEM Cat belt my clearance would be .055 which is way to much imo and I am sure I would still have a harsh engagement. Will update with any performance issues if we ever get any snow! We often ride past a snotel recording station at 10,900 ft. and the snow level is down to 34" there. Should have at least 60" this time of year. Hitting stumps left and right on the last trip.

 

[Griff]

If you have been through your clutches to replace worn parts and have fresh springs...I say set the deflection and run it.

 

[Desperado]

adjusting clutch clearance

Invest in the ABC adjuster. I did and have been very happy with the results. My clutch since new slammed upon engagement no matter how I adjusted the secondary. I've even found I can run a little stiffer primary spring if I wanted to so my rpms are up and still have a smooth engaugement. By the time you send the clutch to racinstation for rebuild and shimming you are into it much more than the ABC. Once my clutch goes bad is when I plan on sending it in until then ABC is the way for me.

 

[elkhunt]

X2 It was worth the $$

Invest in the ABC adjuster. I did and have been very happy with the results. My clutch since new slammed upon engagement no matter how I adjusted the secondary. I've even found I can run a little stiffer primary spring if I wanted to so my rpms are up and still have a smooth engaugement. By the time you send the clutch to racinstation for rebuild and shimming you are into it much more than the ABC. Once my clutch goes bad is when I plan on sending it in until then ABC is the way for me.