[Smackz]

So I make this summit climb, half way to the top I'm loosing power and I mean lottza power. Try to feather the throttle to get some rmp's back and I just make it worse. Last 5 feet to the top I got off and pushed...sled dies...okay this sux...try to restart...sled jumps forward no start...Uh Oh..that not good. So I open the hood, raise the clutch guard and what do I see?[attachment=33196ICT0051.JPG]
now look close
[attachment=33197ICT0050.JPG]
Closer
[attachment=33198ICT0052.JPG]
prolly need weights rollers and bushings, sux cuz all that adds up to some bux, had to lift the sled to start it and do a running mount to get it back to the house. Funny I even bump started it like a bike once on the way down a steep part of the decent.

 

[CORY9]

Sometimes when it gets that bad you take the spider out as well, might make more sense to replace the entire clutch if that's then case.

 

[versatileman]

That sucks, but I would be suspicious that you may have another clutch issue other than just the weights, pins, and bushings that are definitely bad now. Make sure to inspect everything real good when you have it torn down. A broken primary spring or cracked spider is more likely to cause the clutch to want to stay partially engaged.
Bad weights, etc. typically do not keep the sheaves from opening completely.

Just food for thought,

 

[Smackz]

yea I pretty much figured the weights dug into the spider, I'm actually trying to get a used 6 tower, should know sometime today. Poor Ol kitty is taken a beating this winter.
so far:

windshield
hood hinge
bumper assy.
idler whee 1
carbides
pipe

and we are not even halfway into the season here.

 

[snofrog]

yea I pretty much figured the weights dug into the spider, I'm actually trying to get a used 6 tower, should know sometime today.[/b]

dont bother with a used clutch ,just get a new one , really .jmho M

 

[ZR Rider]

That looks like the spider will be toast as well... that's a lot of angle on that weight.

 

[318]

the 9 towers from that vintage were junk, prone to exploding. Saw allot of ZR5s and 6s with 1/3rd of the clutch blown thru the belly pan or hood.

A P-85 Polaris will bolt directly on to it also.

There are some out there, but not allot of 6 towers for the older style (31mm) crank. The 6T came out in 03, but in 04 Cat grew the diamater of the crank to 33mm.

I knew Bruce at www.tracksusa.com had some 31mm 6 towers awhile back. Everything on a clutch can be replaced, but if you do you may want to look into a billet spyder while your at it.

 

[Smackz]

the 9 towers from that vintage were junk, prone to exploding. Saw allot of ZR5s and 6s with 1/3rd of the clutch blown thru the belly pan or hood.

A P-85 Polaris will bolt directly on to it also.

There are some out there, but not allot of 6 towers for the older style (31mm) crank. The 6T came out in 03, but in 04 Cat grew the diamater of the crank to 33mm.

I knew Bruce at www.tracksusa.com had some 31mm 6 towers awhile back. Everything on a clutch can be replaced, but if you do you may want to look into a billet spyder while your at it.[/b]

Great advice, I didnt know that polaris clutch would work, I'll look into that, you just gave me a lot to think about....lol...a man likes to have options ya know. SWRules

 

[318]

Both clutches (the 6T and P-85) are pretty much copies of each other, they are even built by the same vendor in MN.

 

[FreezerBurnt]

What clutch bolt would you use if say I plan on a p85 on my ZR6?

btw from the pic it seems your weights bushing worn out and the pin dug into the weight

sorta like this pic

the rest of the clutch might be still good

 

[63November]

You may not have been aware but your machine was warning you of the upcoming problem. Just remember, next time, to watch the miles and replace the bearings in the weights every so often; costs a lot less than your trouble. My experience anyway.

 

[Smackz]

What clutch bolt would you use if say I plan on a p85 on my ZR6?

btw from the pic it seems your weights bushing worn out and the pin dug into the weight

sorta like this pic

the rest of the clutch might be still good[/b]

good question will the same bolt work?

 

[318]

Well, some thought may have to go into the bolt, from what I recall the stock Cat bolt will work, but may need to be shortened by about 1/4 inch. Slap it on the taper and take a depth measurment from the bolt surface to the end of the crank and compare to stock.

Mounting a P-85 is a very common mod, and you can get one to fit any sled (many aftermarket shops modify the tapers to fit Yamaha and Doo)

 

[trx450r]

What clutch bolt would you use if say I plan on a p85 on my ZR6?

btw from the pic it seems your weights bushing worn out and the pin dug into the weight

sorta like this pic

the rest of the clutch might be still good[/b]

That is exactly what happened....

Your spider will be shot, weights more than likely too...junk the whole thing.

A little cleaning/tlc would have saved you big money and your trip... Keep that in mind in the future.

Sorry to rub your nose in it... I just get so frustrated that people think clutches will last forever and don't maintain them...

The longest my clutch has gone without a cleaning is 300 miles... Take care of your clutch and it will take care of you!

 

[Homer2002]

That is exactly what happened....

Your spider will be shot, weights more than likely too...junk the whole thing.

A little cleaning/tlc would have saved you big money and your trip... Keep that in mind in the future.

Sorry to rub your nose in it... I just get so frustrated that people think clutches will last forever and don't maintain them...

The longest my clutch has gone without a cleaning is 300 miles... Take care of your clutch and it will take care of you![/b]

I've got 12000 kms on my clutches so far and all I have replaced is the ramps (shoe) on my secondary, which I just did. Every thing else on the primary and secondary is within spec. I clean them a couple times a year. If I had to clean them every 300 miles ( works out to about 10 times a year or 2 to 3 times per trip) I would take up another sport. I agree that it is very important to keep them clean, but if you need to clean them every 300 miles there are other problems within the whole drive setup.

 

[stuffum07]

So I make this summit climb, half way to the top I'm loosing power and I mean lottza power. Try to feather the throttle to get some rmp's back and I just make it worse. Last 5 feet to the top I got off and pushed...sled dies...okay this sux...try to restart...sled jumps forward no start...Uh Oh..that not good. So I open the hood, raise the clutch guard and what do I see?[attachment=33196ICT0051.JPG]
now look close
[attachment=33197ICT0050.JPG]
Closer
[attachment=33198ICT0052.JPG]
prolly need weights rollers and bushings, sux cuz all that adds up to some bux, had to lift the sled to start it and do a running mount to get it back to the house. Funny I even bump started it like a bike once on the way down a steep part of the decent.[/b]

they make rebuild kits for these clutches you should rebuild them from about 750 to 1000 miles on the clutch, but then again i guess it depends on how much riding you get in. i do mine once a year. there is little metal shims in there on the side of each weight along with the pin. when those wear out it will make the weights start to dig into your spider because instead of the weights going up down they go up down and from side to side. you dont want the side ways play. you just want the up and down play. its cheap insurance if you change them once a year. mabey 35 dollars rather than spending about 2 something for the spider pry around 300 bucks when your alll done if you dont do this and you find out them little shims are completely wore off your pretty much f-ed unless you catch this early though. but the kit comes with the lil fiber bushings that go in the weights, the new pins and the nuts, and also the new lil metal shims that go on the side of the weights. it will definately save ya some money in the long run. that sucks that that happened to you. i had a guy i know telling me a story about that when it happened to him.

 

[318]

if you are talking about the Yamaha clutches, I would agree they are allot less maintenance. Better, more effecient design.

For some reason Cat needs to use a 300lb spring to hold back the same amount of power than Yamaha uses a 140lb spring for. it is to make up for the binding of the clutch.

I like yammy clutches, very smoothe, simple, well built and easy to tune. Clutching my RX-1 was allot of fun.

 

[Smackz]

Well we pulled the sled in the shop lastnight and went to remove the prim clutch bolt and low and behold what do I see? Nothing to put the impact on. So I grab a light, look through the pan and see the clutch bolt broken at the crank! Well ok that explains a few things but now what. upon further inspection looking in the whole I noticed I could see the crank threads past the bolt. So I get a screwdriver and stuck it in the clutch and gave it a wiggle, looked in the whole whats left of the bolt had moved. I dug out the handy ol' snapon tele magnet and pulled a 1inch chunk of the bolt that backed itself out after it had broken and was floating inside the bolt whole. Talk about lucky. I was ready to poop my trousers when I first seen the broken bolt.
Well yanked the clutch and installed a 6 tower, goin out today to ride off highway 125 to test it out. Oh and we turned a puller into a pretzel tryin to get the old clutch off cuz it was on so tight so I guess I owe the roomie a puller and a beer or two (Thanks Derek at TRAILBAZERS you rock bro)

 

[slushrider]

Had a 95 polaris indy 600. I broke 3 clutch bolt's(all in 1 night) before I found my problem the next day. Now when I broke a clutch bolt my primary came flying off,every time. Now it goes with out saying that the clutch was wasted by the next day,but my clutch look like all the pic's. I took it apart just for kick's and found the problem with mine and a bunch more for other before they fly off. The bushing in the primary cover was worn and in turn had worn the movable sheve bushing.....so as the clutch grabed it would #### the clutch and become WAY out of balance and the clutch would come flying off. I learned a VERY exepanceive lession. By the way my crank bearging's on the crank failed about 800 mile's later,I've been told and can see why a out of balance clutch at 9000rpm could put a woppin on any crank bearging. Just my 2cent's on a lesson learned,c/k your clutch offten and dont forget about the cam shoe's in seconday,helix's arn't cheap.

 

[Smackz]

well the 6 tower worked great, its off a 660 four stroke with 44's in it and just for Sh%tz and giggles we left them in. lost a lil on take off but at the mid range it was a beast and that actually worked out better as it was easier to climb on top of the powder and stay there, I was really surprised. I think I'll leave the 44's in for a while to test further. I also switched pipes to one with a lil bigger expansion chamber off a zr so that might have a little bit to do with it also, I dunno but I like the results so far.