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'13 XC450i Clutchbelt let go.....,

9K views 81 replies 10 participants last post by  Canuck_Avalanche 
#1 ·
XC450i. 2013. Has 800km on it. Bought bike used with 750kms on it. First real trip with it; hit some mud, some water. Took everything fine.

Coming out while driving about 50km/hr on a dirt road I accelerated some more and all the sudden I felt slipping and then pop. After that it sounded like marbles in a can for a few seconds then nothing. Tried to move forward; reverse nothing.

Got towed back and after the bike shimmied around on the trailer for a bit I saw a bunch of small pieces of belt laying in the trailer.

I am new to quads. Is 800kms all I should expect from a belt? Should I be prepared to replace other parts or is the belt turning to shrapnel normal?

Super busy work week coming so won't be able to get into it until next week.

Thanks all!
 
#2 ·
No that is not normal.
 
#3 ·
Probably got some water in the belt intake and didn't realize it. the intake on those are known to be prone to let water in easy. Pull the clutch cover and clean it out real good, should be able to see if water was the culprit and put in a new factory belt
 
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#4 ·
Thanks for the replies. I did go through some deep water; at least once it ran over the fenders when I first went in. The bike never sputtered like it had injested water so I didn't think much of it. It ran fine throughout; it wasn't until I drove the gravel roads the following day. When it did let go the clutch housing was hot as sh!t but never felt it before that.....
 
#5 ·
Make sure your belt intake clamp is tight. On one of our 500's we found the clamp was not tight from factory. But i think we also may have a crack some ware. since yesterday we were going through some water and a butty went by fast and threw a wave up on top of the machine and flooded the belt housing. Going to silicone up all the seams when i look for a leak.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I was checking these belts out at a local Oreilly Auto Parts. I don't think they will last just like the other aftermarket belts. The reason why I believe this is due to how stiff the belt actually is. They aren't pliable what so ever like the oem Mitsubishi made belts are. These belts are hard like plastic and if they're not somewhat flexible I think it would just break.
What manufacturer does your original 450 belt say on it? Curious to know wither Arctic Cat is using Mitsubishi belts on the Kymco set ups or not.

If you check out this link and read VFORCEJOHN'S post it should help you make you belt decision. Supposedly this guy gets belts from manufacturers like Gates to test and the Carbon Fiber belts don't fare very well just like the others.

http://www.can-amforum.com/forums/can-am-brp/43669-gates-kevlar-belt-vs-gates-carbon-fiber.html
 
#12 · (Edited)
When you get your new belt on, check your shift rpm. My son had a 450 XC that was going through belts in no time flat. His clutch cover would also get so hot you couldn't lay your hand on it. Turned out that the secondary spring pre-load was set way too tight from the factory. It was supposed to shift out at 6800 rpm and his was more like 7600 rpm. We took it apart, backed the secondary spring off to get to a 6800 rpm shift, and it's never bothered since. If you do a search for 450 XC threads, or else look through my old posts, I wrote one up on it.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I can't say that it was a recall type situation, but I can tell you that his was off by a mile. Shout out to the folks at EPI, they were the ones that helped me diagnose the problem.

My son's 450 hits the rev limiter at 53 mph, which if my conversion is correct would be about 90 kph. If your engine is over-revving the limiter will shut it off much sooner. Sounds to me like you might have the same secondary problem.

We found that the OEM belt worked a lot better than aftermarket belt we tried - Carlisle maybe? The OEM belt worked better, and that's what is on it now.

PS: I would use blue Loctite, not red. You might want to take it apart again some day.
 
#14 ·
Sorry another Question.... I need red loctite for the nut on the moveable face; but the shop manual says to replace the gasket on the clutch cover. Is this a required step? Looking at my clutch case it APPEARS to have some red sealant and not a gasket but I haven't opened it up.

Read promising reviews on the XTX belt; for 105 all in at Royal Distributing I'll give one a go. If it doesn't last 1 year apparently Dayco will replace it?
 
#20 · (Edited)
Seeing companies seem to give him products to try and report back on I would view his opinion as a good one. If you search Gates Carbon belts you'll find a lot of bad reviews mostly ones where the belt didn't last one ride shredding into pieces just like the others. Lol.
Are the Gates CF belts worth a try? Sure but just not on my machines. There's too good of a chance of destruction and I don't need to be buying any clutch parts for my 02 500. Spent plenty of money getting my atv to where it is now due to the PO and his lack of respect for this atv. Please report back if anybody does run this belt to let us know. I will most likely stick with oem belts because they have never done me wrong.
 
#22 ·
Pretty sure i did report that my buddy is running them on his can am 1000 and loves them ;) Just like anything you can find as many good reviews as bad. Iv read a lot of good reviews on them and will be switching both my machines over to them when i need to change them out. If they can hold up to a 1000 then a 500 will be no question.
 
#21 ·
It's funny that a kawi clutch guru is testing belts on can ams
 
#23 ·
ok; UPDATE:

Got the clutch cover off to assess.... The belt is shredded. The cord is wrapped around the clutches and ill need to pull them both to sort out the mess.

Now; when i spin the primary clutch i can hear rattling. put some light in there and all the rollers are moving around in there loose. My sled doesn't do this..... is the clutch damaged or can they be reset? Special tools required?

Thanks again
 
#26 ·
I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but it sounds like you have the same problem my son had with his. If you pull the cover off your drive clutch I'll bet you find that the plastic sleeves over the clutch weights are melted. For your sake I hope I'm wrong, because those weights aren't cheap.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Pulled the clutches today. The weights and rollers looked ok in the primary. Just pulled the top plate and put the rollers back in their gooves.

Now. The secondary had the cord wrapped in between the spring collar and the rear sheave. A bunch of it. I managed to wrestle a piece or two out but had to admit defeat and take the clutch into the dealer to have them separate them to pull it out. I don't have the tool to take the clutch apart. Is it cheap? Dealer wasn't very useful in looking it up. Left the clutch there; hopefully it is ready tomorrow but not holding my breath.

Also noticed that 2 different holes for the spring are marked with marker. I boughtt the bike used with 700kms on it. I was under the impression all was stock except tires are 25s....
 
#28 ·
Glad to hear that your drive clutch is OK. Sounds like the driven has been worked on if the holes have been marked. They might have tightened the spring to work better with the bigger tires. Let's hope your dealer gets it back together right.
 
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