NE one snap a belt yet?

Vortex1114 · 2009-09-24 08:07:03

Just curious, has anyone snapped a drive belt in their RZR yet? whether it be bone stock or modded. Wondering how much abuse these can take. Also a bit concerned since I ride in very remote areas often 50-75 miles into the Maine wilderness. If this thing breaks I'd kinda be screwed as there is no cell service or human being for miles. I always tell someone where I am going but often i don't really know either, just love to explore.

RANGERDALEXP · 2009-09-24 10:16:40

Just curious, has anyone snapped a drive belt in their RZR yet? whether it be bone stock or modded. Wondering how much abuse these can take. Also a bit concerned since I ride in very remote areas often 50-75 miles into the Maine wilderness. If this thing breaks I'd kinda be screwed as there is no cell service or human being for miles. I always tell someone where I am going but often i don't really know either, just love to explore.

I changed my first belt at 150 hrs and keep it as a spare in the storage box. I made up a kit that composes of a can of tire sealer and a small 12v pump and a plug kit for the tires and with that kit i included the tools to change the belt if needed. On the Polaris XP i can do a belt in under 15 minutes in the garage and out in no mans land it would take me less then a half hour. I never broke a belt but i have heard of belts breaking due to running them past there service life and or clutch alignment issues. They can handle lots of HP and are rather tuff.

Badley · 2009-09-24 13:14:46

I carry a spare belt and tools also. Have not changed my RZR S belt yet (500 miles). Just changed the Rhino belt at 1400/miles. New belt was 1/8 wider, works great. I hear that Polaris are harder on belts.

RANGERDALEXP · 2009-09-24 13:31:32

I carry a spare belt and tools also. Have not changed my RZR S belt yet (500 miles). Just changed the Rhino belt at 1400/miles. New belt was 1/8 wider, works great. I hear that Polaris are harder on belts.

They are harder on them when running the stock clutching but if you get a good kit it fixes allot of the stock setups shortcomings. I have not done a rhino belt but when i talked to my friend that has one and asked him why he did not carry an extra belt he told me that it is almost impossible to do in the field and was real hard to get to. Is that true from your experience...

Badley · 2009-09-24 14:59:20

It is not super easy replacing Rhino belt, but very doable in the field. Just need the right socket (2 extensions) and a wrench. A lot of bolts, different lengths - same bolts can be used to compress the clutch. It is easier to remove the plastic under drivers seat, but not necessary. I have a (added) panel under the drivers seat (to enclose for storage) I had to remove. When I replaced mine I roughed up the sheave with 80 grit emery cloth (recomendation of some racing co. on line). I love the clutch on the Rhino, it is back to new behavior. You don't notice it engage and it will creep very slow. Engine braking (smoothly) all the way to a stop. My RZR engages rough and I can't get it to crawl like the Rhino. I have to assume the engaging action of the clutch is what is so hard on them. When you are crawling slow, it is constantly in and out - have to 2 foot it (brake and accelorator) to keep it engaged. Love the RZR but I wish you could breed :shock: the two for a perfect machine! Will the kits you are talking about fix this issue?

RANGERDALEXP · 2009-09-24 15:57:24

The kit from dirty dawg is supposed to make a major night and day difference and eliminate most of or all the problems you are talking about. They are the most expensive but said to be worth every penny. I did a few on a some friends Razors and Rangers about a year or so ago and they were very impressed with them. Mine has the one from EpI and it made mine allot better and I now put more power to the ground and it was really noticeable in the sand washes and i don't smell the belt as nearly much anymore when pulling the trailer like the one you see on my post and i pull it loaded up hills and down hills loaded like you see it. I am going to talk to Dale over there at Dirty Dawg if the money starts flowing again and still do the upgrade because his kit is supposed to be twice as good as the one I am Running now from EPI. I always said that this should always be the first modification on a Polaris because the factory stock setup has its major issues. You should call him up and do one before your moab trip but make sure you give him all your information so he can tune it in for you and your uses :idea: .

Badley · 2009-09-25 12:15:33

Thanks Dale, checking out their site now...

Titan · 2009-09-25 19:35:03

Polaris RZR may be hard on belts but I got you all beat. My old 93 900cc Thunder Cat snowmachine can chew up 5 kevlar belts and blow them to pieces in a day. Clutches are all in line and everything is in good working order its all in the power. :shock:

Vortex1114 · 2009-09-28 12:02:38

So how long would it take to change a belt on the RZR in the field? I don't think it goes over belt changing in the manual, correct? Just looks like a royal pain in the a$$ even in the garage. :shock: I'm glad to hear that these belts are so tough. Never really had a belt/clutch drive machine B4 so I was a bit skeptical about buying the RZR, but so far very happy.

RANGERDALEXP · 2009-09-28 13:24:46

So how long would it take to change a belt on the RZR in the field? I don't think it goes over belt changing in the manual, correct? Just looks like a royal pain in the a$$ even in the garage. :shock: I'm glad to hear that these belts are so tough. Never really had a belt/clutch drive machine B4 so I was a bit skeptical about buying the RZR, but so far very happy.

It is not as easy as the ranger xp but it can be done in under an hour. Blow out the sheves with air and make sure that you use a scotch brite to take the shine off the sheves and wipe them down with brake cleaner before installing the new belt. If you want you can remove the clutch limiter and get 3 to 6 mph as well....

Vortex1114 · 2009-09-30 08:59:35

If you want you can remove the clutch limiter and get 3 to 6 mph as well....

Would you run the risk of throwing a belt if you did that?

RANGERDALEXP · 2009-09-30 09:41:43

No because it is one of the modifications that they do to the RZR-s to get more top end out of it and they have removed it on the 2010 standard RZR.

Vortex1114 · 2009-10-01 08:44:53

No because it is one of the modifications that they do to the RZR-s to get more top end out of it and they have removed it on the 2010 standard RZR.

I did some quick searching for removing the clutch spacer. Found that a bunch of people were snapping belts shortly after they removed the spacer. Others were arguing that the belts may have already been stresses/broken in incorrectly. However a different guy said that it was the first mod he did when he got his RZR with 0hrs and he snapped his belt shortly thereafter. Of course he may have beat the bag out of it but it leads me to be a bit skeptical of the mod. Since they removed the spacers on the new RZRs, have they changed the pulley design at all? If not I will be removing some extra parts from mine this winter Just want to know, if it saves me $80-100 it would be worth it.

RANGERDALEXP · 2009-10-01 15:56:37

Well this can get to be a very involved answer because from model to model year, and from the standard RZR to the RZR-s it is all about what they did to tune the clutch. Standard rzrs from 9/30/08 and before had the good secondary clutch system and 10/01/08 and after used the basic same cheap crappy one that is used on the Ranger Xp. The Rzr-s was never effected with this change. The difference between the standard RZR and the RZR-s primary clutch is tuning and EBS and by removing the limiter on the RZR-s models. On the 2010 models they removed the limiter and the sheaves are still about the same. there are a few part number changes but none of which would blow a belt. Like i stated earlier in the thread, belt failure is normally related to alignment problems, Broken engine or transmission mounts or a defective belt. I personally would not just take the limiter off unless i was going to do a full clutch kit and check the alignment anyways but that is me. As for every one person that has had the belt issue there are 20 that don't. There are much better belts out there like the ones from dayco that are much stronger then the stock belts. Like with all modifications there will always be a risk that a modification that is done to one machine may not work as well on a same model but a different machine. Until you try it you will never know what the outcome will be. As for doing any modifications it should only be done if you are mechanically inclined and if that is not the case i would deal with a guy like dale at dirty dawg performance and have him set it up for you.....

Vortex1114 · 2009-10-05 12:20:16

Thx Dale, like I said I may think about it this winter (My garage isn't heated so working with metal parts during winter just stinks) Sorry about all the questions but, like I said this whole belt drive thing is relatively new to me so my confidence level working on them is rather low. Might just look into a clutch kit. Would a mod like this void a warranty BTW?? I purchased a 5 year warranty on this thing and not looking to blow it. I realize that they have to prove that a failure was directly related to the aftermarket part but if I were to royally screw something up, I can just imagine the BS that would come along with trying to have it fixed under warranty. Thanks!

#1 2009-09-24 08:07:03

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#2 2009-09-24 10:16:40

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#3 2009-09-24 13:14:46

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#4 2009-09-24 13:31:32

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#5 2009-09-24 14:59:20

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#6 2009-09-24 15:57:24

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#7 2009-09-25 12:15:33

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#8 2009-09-25 19:35:03

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#9 2009-09-28 12:02:38

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#10 2009-09-28 13:24:46

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#11 2009-09-30 08:59:35

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#12 2009-09-30 09:41:43

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#13 2009-10-01 08:44:53

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#14 2009-10-01 15:56:37

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

#15 2009-10-05 12:20:16

Re: NE one snap a belt yet?

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