XP1K 2 AND 4 SEAT BLOWN BELT ISSUES.

[Bajaxp]

Just took a brand new XP1000 (zero miles) down to Baja to pre-run my section for the 1000. The 300 mile section I ran had the nastiest silt beds on the planet. On particular place down south next to the coast had 50 miles of never ending silt. Silt probably has twice or 3X the resistance of sand.

How many belts did we blow. Ummm that would be zero.

Then we raced our XP900-4 race car that has stock engine, clutches and belt for 900 miles and wait for it...wait for it, did the entire race on the belt we started the race with.

I think the issue lays with the driver not understanding how a CVT works. Things you can and can not do. For example you should never load on a trailer in high range. Any and all sustained driving below 15 mph should be in low range. Too much traction is hard on belts...eg huge paddles and lots of weight. It you are climbing a huge sand hill and you are really slowing down and the wheels are not spinning then you are burning your belt. The engineers call this 'powering out.'. If you keep your UTV from rolling backward on a hill by using a little throttle instead of the brake then you are 'hour- glassing' your belt and it is only a matter of time before it fails. Wash new belts in warm soapy water, rinse and dry completely. Run at 60% or less for 40 miles to break it in before hammering it. Get as much air into the clutch boxes as possible. I haven't tried the Yosumura carbon fiber CVT air scoops but they look like they would work great.

BTW this applies to all brands that run a CVT. Certainly CVT's are not perfect, but if take the time to understand how they work and drive and prep accordingly you will DRAMATICALLY improve your belt life. I hope this helps in some way.

 

[warlock]

I remember when the CVT's came out on the SCORE/MORE desert buggies with the Eco Tech Chevy's they had a similar problem. What did they do to correct it? Anyone know?

Sure Do, They went back to Transmissions. LOL

 

[dkiewicz]

Sure Do, They went back to Transmissions. LOL

Ha! Ha! Ha!! That there is funny. Well I guess that'll be like ......
ZERO help!

 

[dkiewicz]

I personally have never had a belt problem that wasn't driver induced. I have never blown one and have loaded mine to the hilt!

Well maybe not me, but my son is DEFINITELY hard on it and it's never let go. I went to a Dalton clutch and stock belt on my 2010-S LE. The only time I ever had a problem was hour glassing it because I wanted to get up a rock face out at Deep Creek. That was pure machismo speaking and totally my fault. I have 3000 mi on this thing and it's seen everything from desert to sand to mountains to rocks and it's held together fine.

I know that the increase in HP plays a big part in this, but I'm also inclined to agree it's how you drive it. Loading it up at the wrong time is no bueno! Anything will drop a belt if you do what you shouldn't.

So on that note, when are they going to put transmissions in these? LOL!!!!

 

[warlock]

Some guys told me the other day that the Belts they Intially started using were 2mm different and the Belt # now is back to the Original 900 belt. I dont know if thats true or not but hopefully that is correct and the Belt problem should get better. This Weekend out at Glamis with all of this rain will sure give the Belts a good work out when everyone riding around will churn the sand into a real fluffy heavy loam and I know that guys that over Paddle the car are gonna be hard on belts and be wondering why there car feels slow.

 

[_KONG_]

Just got back from glamis and had 3 new xp1k's running on the wet sand. 2 2 seaters and 1 4 seater. The 4 seater had the exact same paddle and wheel combo as one of the 2 seaters and blew a belt. He made sure to break in the belt properly before he really pushed it and busted one on slight incline. He bought a new belt from the vendors and it was labeled for both the xp1000 and xp900.

It comes down to knowing how to drive to make a belt last. You need to know when to get off the throttle. Especially with extra traction and loaded down with 4 people

 

[JoeyD23]

I will be heading to Glamis with my XP1000 for the 4th time...... ON THE SAME BELT! lol

 

[_KONG_]

I will be heading to Glamis with my XP1000 for the 4th time...... ON THE SAME BELT! lol

That just means you know how to drive in the sand. It has nothing to do with choosing one brand of paddle over another. High temp+high torque=blown belt. Bashing around in your fully loaded rzr without ever lifting your foot will certainly make you very experienced at changing belts

 

[warlock]

Knowing how to drive in the Sand is a big deal with the Belts for sure and the right combination of paddles also helps in making the Engine and Belt not work as Hard to push the car through the Sand. And With the sand all wet now and soon to be all churned up you will not want a lot of paddles to dig in and load the motor and Belt down trying to struggle in Heavy wet sand.

 

[warlock]

I will be heading to Glamis with my XP1000 for the 4th time...... ON THE SAME BELT! lol

How many miles on yours now?

 

[Markflexes]

I am inclined to believe that CVT belt failures are more a product of driver/driving style than machine or belt induced. That is my experience in a stock XP 900 that has over 2100 hard Glamis miles on it. But, there is no doubt a fair few variables at play.

I am still on the stock Polaris belt and have been waiting for it to go. Each trip I check it and each trip I leave it cause it looks great. Not that I do not carry a few spares/tools just in case the day comes that I shred one. Do as Baja XP and others say and prepare the belt properly in soap and water then allow it to break in for 40 - 50 miles. I think the Polaris belts are good but I have also heard that the Gates carbon fibers endure well and come with a warrantee at about 1/2 the cost.

I think having sensitivity to what you are doing and the temps outside does matter. And, as many have mentioned already, the tire and wheel combo does matter. Spinning mass in the sand is a big deal when it comes to power, beating your buddy up the China Wall or keeping your belt in one piece.

I have always run the STU comp cut Blaster on a Douglas Red Label wheel (pretty light overall package) and feel they give me the advantage over other heavier or more paddled combinations I commonly see used on a SxS.

I will be interested to see what those searching for answers from Polaris, et. al on the XP1k belt issues find out.

 

[Heybeerman]

I know the very first XP1000 I saw had the same part# belt as the 900.

I think BajaXP is right on the money. I had 2140 miles on the stock belt that came on my RZR900. I did not break it in. I never washed it or inspected it. I just ran it. The only reason I changed it, is I used that unit to break in belts for my team prior to the Baja 1000. Figured I'd spoil my baby and treat her to a new belt instead of putting that old one back on. If you think I treated it easy your wrong! I would like to think I was in the top 25% for putting that 900 through hell. Its all about having a feel for what your RZR is doing, and reacting to its needs.

I also have personally put 1200+ hard miles on a over loaded RZR1000. In the heat of summer with almost no issues. I did get it to slip 2-3 times but it piled on a ton of miles after that.

As much as I like to have my fun, you just have to have some common sense and lift your foot, every now and then.

 

[BiggJim]

Just took a brand new XP1000 (zero miles) down to Baja to pre-run my section for the 1000. The 300 mile section I ran had the nastiest silt beds on the planet. On particular place down south next to the coast had 50 miles of never ending silt. Silt probably has twice or 3X the resistance of sand.

How many belts did we blow. Ummm that would be zero.

Then we raced our XP900-4 race car that has stock engine, clutches and belt for 900 miles and wait for it...wait for it, did the entire race on the belt we started the race with.

I think the issue lays with the driver not understanding how a CVT works. Things you can and can not do. For example you should never load on a trailer in high range. Any and all sustained driving below 15 mph should be in low range. Too much traction is hard on belts...eg huge paddles and lots of weight. It you are climbing a huge sand hill and you are really slowing down and the wheels are not spinning then you are burning your belt. The engineers call this 'powering out.'. If you keep your UTV from rolling backward on a hill by using a little throttle instead of the brake then you are 'hour- glassing' your belt and it is only a matter of time before it fails. Wash new belts in warm soapy water, rinse and dry completely. Run at 60% or less for 40 miles to break it in before hammering it. Get as much air into the clutch boxes as possible. I haven't tried the Yosumura carbon fiber CVT air scoops but they look like they would work great.

BTW this applies to all brands that run a CVT. Certainly CVT's are not perfect, but if take the time to understand how they work and drive and prep accordingly you will DRAMATICALLY improve your belt life. I hope this helps in some way.

MP...I am not discounting what you are saying....but we have only broke 1 belt EVER on our race car....we've never broke one in or washed one before use. However we do put a new one on for every 3rd race......hell I seen clutch temps in the 250 degree range for extended periods this year at vegas 2 reno and didnt break one.....I think alot of it is Driver.....but then again our driver drives like Miss Daisy

 

[warlock]

I will be heading to Glamis with my XP1000 for the 4th time...... ON THE SAME BELT! lol

Hey Joey how many miles do you have on your car now.

 

[Bajaxp]

MP...I am not discounting what you are saying....but we have only broke 1 belt EVER on our race car....we've never broke one in or washed one before use. However we do put a new one on for every 3rd race......hell I seen clutch temps in the 250 degree range for extended periods this year at vegas 2 reno and didnt break one.....I think alot of it is Driver.....but then again our driver drives like Miss Daisy

....

 

[JoeyD23]

How many miles on yours now?

Not sure. I will have to look when I load it up tomorrow. My guess is 300 +/- . All hard, HARD dune miles. But like everyone here is saying. I can sense when my belt is getting hot and needs a break. I usually back down off the throttle and cruise or stop and let the car cool down. Your nose is your friend. Smell hot rubber, it's time to take a break.

 

[BiggJim]

....

HAHA!!! Edited ehhh??? BTW great job on running the 1k on 1 belt. I dont know where your guys belt temp were, but for the most part ours were very low....we actually discussed trying to go farther than we did before a belt change

 

[BiggJim]

Hey MP...Ill trade you some good broke in Belts for some new ones I SWEAR they only got ran at 40%...Hell 2 of them only have 74 miles on them

 

[Bajaxp]

Hey MP...Ill trade you some good broke in Belts for some new ones I SWEAR they only got ran at 40%...Hell 2 of them only have 74 miles on them

I can't tell if you are saying I am full of chit or not. But I do know what works and what doesn't, both from experience and from the engineers. There is a lot of mis-information out there regarding clutching and belts. I was just trying to help some people improve the life of their belts. Eg...brand new belts have a release compound on them, that the manufacturer uses to get them off of the drum that they are made on. It is slick stuff and should be washed off. Also a broken in belt is more flexible and is much happier than a stiff new one. If you want to run brand new stiff belts with lube on them...be my guest! BTW our belt temps were high at the beginning of the season and are now very low.

 

[BiggJim]

I can't tell if you are saying I am full of chit or not. But I do know what works and what doesn't, both from experience and from the engineers. There is a lot of mis-information out there regarding clutching and belts. I was just trying to help some people improve the life of their belts. Eg...brand new belts have a release compound on them, that the manufacturer uses to get them off of the drum that they are made on. It is slick stuff and should be washed off. Also a broken in belt is more flexible and is much happier than a stiff new one. If you want to run brand new stiff belts with lube on them...be my guest! BTW our belt temps were high at the beginning of the season and are now very low.

Matt....Im just messing with you dude. Ive read alot about break ins and such and if possible it is probably the best thing that can be done. We seem to always be on such a short rope that we dont have time to break in a belt....so I guess what Im saying is we have had some really good luck. We have always had a brand new belt on the car at the starting line and of course we are only planning to go 300 miles or less on said belt...Either way I think the belts are pretty darn solid and if your breaking them prematurely you have a deeper problem. I know we found a major problem in another racers system that had been plaguing him for some time....since we fixed his Car his belt Gremlin has gone away.

And when it comes to recreation....it seems as most people feel more is better...IE..a 4 seater...loaded to the gills with passangers, big paddles, heavy cages, with sterios, and every other piece of Jewelry you can add to it...of course they are going to break shit......and then how often is the liquid courage involved....all that compounded = a mess of broken belts and everything else.