Hello fellow sledders!

I have a 2003 HPO. I had a 2002 Stryker 700 which I upgraded when I bent the A-arms and they offered me a deal. The HPO (800) is eating belts. The 700 did not. I prefer the ride of the Stryker. I am going to put an Expert-X 136" in mine this year and see how it goes. I really should tinker with the M16 more, but I want the increase in acceleration. Going to be selling the M16 136" and 1.26" X 13.5" studded track if anyone is interested. I just bought a new motor as I blew the old one up with a frozen oil cable. Guess I shouldn't have taken her swimming....

I have heard you can use an RX-1 belt in the Blade - any one try this? There is a dealer here who has a Blade, the says to use an SRX belt. I know of another person who had a belt issue.

Another issue is the speedometer resetting all the time - anyone have this? Did you buy something different?

Lets try that again

I would be interested in a belt alternative.
Not just for convienence, but fast belts not so great?
I have also read about someone else's odometer resetting.
Anyone other blade owners have this happen ?
Perhaps I should log my milage after each ride this year.

They guy I talk to says the belts are no good. However, I think there is more to my problem as not everyone has a belt issue.

My guy Quint in littleton N.H. did mention clearly, the importance of "breaking in belt" .
Now, I just let it just go by, thinking not to smoke it the first time up the trailer ramp, or serious drag racing right off the bat.
Is there more to breaking in a belt, besides varying the rpm's and taking it easy, for what a few miles, 50 miles ?
I also had him do a clutch alignment, I understand is commonly forgotten, or done incorrectly.
I'm yet to ride mine but 20 feet on the lawn.
Caint wait, loved the demo I tried years ago
.

no, not as far as i'm aware of. that's how i know to do it...

New belts also have a lot of crap on them from the mold process. I first wash the belt in hot soapy water to get this junk off and rinse in hot water. You should see all the black crapp floating in the water.
Then, I wash the clutch sheaves with isopropyl alcohol, rinse with soapy water, rinse with plain water. After every ride I clean the clutch sheaves.
Before hitting the trail with a new belt, I do some small runs at 20 mph on the track stand to pre break in the belt with no weight of sled/rider.
On the trail vary the speed and keep it under 40 mph for 40 miles.

IMO, 90% of belt wear happens in first 5 minutes of each ride. I never move my sled without warming up engine AND lifting track off the ground and spinning track to loosen the track, warm up clutch and belt. This is really critical if you rode the day before and sled is now totally frozen, track stiff as a board, belt is at zero degrees, etc. I see guys warm up their engines, not spin the track, and take off in a cloud of blue belt smoke.

On the SRX belt issue, I did talk to a Blade owner who did that BUT the SRX belt is longer so you need to move the engine (slightly) to get the correct center to center distance.

Good info Minnbobber .And @$70 a belt a think I'll treat my belts better.
Gotten away with not doing much in the past, but with more cc's and a little more rolling resistence with today's suspensions,would be a good idea.
Nice sleds,thought you were selling one?

You cant use the srx belt unless you change the clutches as the p85 is for a inchseven and the srx belt is for inchthree you could shim the p85 and get the correct clearance but the full shift would be way down on the sheave. I use a fire cat STYLE clutch and modify the bolt to use a polaris style puller the cat clutch will full shift an srx belt I also have a top secret seconday system, no not the team or hsx or paragon top speed over 120 on radar.However the srx belt still last longer than a blade belt even with the wrong clutches.

Top secret, sounds intereting. Maybe some day you will share.
120+ mph :div20:
other goodies ? stock suspension ? Give up the hole shot?
800?

Sounds like I really should get off the Blade belt. But it dosen't sound easy or without creating other issues.

Lets see Other goodies?? yeah lots,Expert X gained 10mph enginetech 900 and hand built SLP single pipe remaped cdi box.bored carbs modified air intake system ,hood duct sux!!!! 14 wide 1.5 track, boss flat top seat, stock seat for sale

Jim,

Thanks for the info. Call me crazy, but if I am going to get new clutch for the SRX belt, why not get a yammi clutch?

With your secondary set to run so fast how is your acceleration? Any other mods you did?

The yam primary is about a.5inch larger dont know about your sled but it wont fit on mine. let alone the offset.

If it doesn't fit in yours, I am sure it doesn't fit in mine. Thanks for the info.

I have had belt problems with my 700 Hylander. I'm sure most of the time it's my fault. I have gone from the stock Polaris clutch to a roller Bearing clutch and still had problems. Took off the expensive secondary clutch, went back to stock.

We're still trying to put together the Blade Riders Association...BRA. Then have our first ride, Dec 27th in the Western UP, from my house in Ontonagon. If interested, e-mail me at: sschulz@jamadots.com

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