How to tell if your clutching is good or not so good.

kanedog

Active VIP Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2015
Messages
3,141
Reaction score
8,615
Location
Kanedog 2015-2019, thanks for the good times S&M!
Find a good, wide open steep climb that has a fairly packed track.
Climb WFO in untouched snow beside the track and then hit the packed part and then back to the soft, untracked snow and back again.
If your sled gains crazy acceleration on the packed track but when you hit the soft, it slows down considerably, the clutching is off.
When hitting the soft stuff from packed, the clutch should backshift, rpm will hold steady and it should just keep on chewing and accelerating.
There should be just a little difference between tracked and untracked performance. The bigger the difference, the more "off" the clutching is.
When clutching is perfect, you won't be able to tell the difference.
The difference is traction. Traction is king.
I don't have a one size fits all solution as there are too many different setups but I wish I did.
 
Last edited:

SUMMIT TREE

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2012
Messages
2,098
Reaction score
8,463
Location
Bonnyville AB Canada
Good topic, im seeing this exactly with my 872 right now. Me and my cuz have 163 sleds with the 872,however were experimenting with gearing and clutching etc etc. Mine has a 3 inch x 15 wide and 7 tooth avid drivers, his is stock flex edge 2.5 inch x 16 wide. They are getting very close to being dialed in,but there are a few noticable differences. After a long pull, his clutching will easily boil any water or snow that touches them with a loud hisss, mine although hot, just casually melts the snow, then the water just sort of runs off
(his top gear is 2 teeth taller than mine)
While climbing, mine will run him down in a track, but as soon as i break out into fresh, it slows quite drasticly,although rpm seems to hold.
When we switch sleds, it is a night and day difference, his sled feels little to no difference when you pull into powder from a track.
Further testing is in order, but a ski to rock interaction has brought my sledding to a momentary halt for now.
 
Top Bottom