Polaris XPT Turbo CVT Clutch kit and power pucks install and test drive.

After pulling the primary and secondary off of the 2017 Polaris XPT Turbo the first thing I do is blow them off with compressed air to get as much dirt out of them as possible.

Next, I pulled the clutches apart to inspect and then rebuild and install the clutch kit along with the new power puck system from Starting Line Products.

The Polaris XPT has about 2500 miles on it and there was some wear on the primary slides of the clutch but not enough that I felt there was going to be a problem.

First I removed the secondary clutch spring and when the clutch was in two pieces I scotch-brite the sheave halves so it leaves a cross pattern and removes any clutch belt material on the faces. Then I installed the new secondary clutch spring and it is noticeably taller than the original Polaris spring.

Now onto the primary clutch first made sure to mark all pieces in line to make sure they all go back together with the same way it came apart to keep the balance of the clutch. Then while apart again I scotch brite the sheaves on both halves and then check all the rollers along with the aluminum slides to make sure there is not too much wear the system will not work correctly, they all looked good enough to install the updates.

Installing the new power puck system took a bit more time than I originally thought and the video they make leaves a person to question one point of the installation of the permanent pucks, after spending a little extra time with this I figured out the correct way to install the pucks along with filing down the ends of the spider assembly to be able to fit snugly in the puck area and still be able to slide up and down freely, it looks like this is the main concern while performing this installation.

After you get the pucks in place with the proper adhesive you wait a day to build the primary clutch back together, the next day the pucks were nice and tight then installing the spider assembly it eliminates the noise back and forth along with up and down, I was excited to see if it would be quiet once it is installed onto the Polaris XPT.

When performing this job you will want to make sure to have all the adhesives, Loctite, etc. ready for install.

Installing the weights and spring along with using the proper torque wrench especially when you are installing the spider- my suggestion does not guess at 290 foot-pounds it requires a very large torque wrench for proper setting.

Install the clutches back on to the UTV along with a new Polaris brand belt and then I installed the clutch cover along with all hoses and belt temperature gauge sensor.

Belt break-in time, this is very critical in the life of the drive belt including keeping the chirping bird noise from happening inside your clutches while driving, click on the link for further information about this procedure.

My favorite way to perform belt break-in is with my street legal UTV I can get the first belt break-ins done just driving around Salt Lake City so this is what I did, the first ride consisted of about 12 miles of varying speeds and some stop and goes all while keeping an eye on belt temperature because the trick is to give the belt some heat cycles without overheating the belt and then letting it completely cool down.

The next day I drove another 14 miles around the valley basically repeating the first day and now I felt like the belt had two good heat cycles and I was ready for a real test on the clutch system, I do not feel the street driving is anything like the type of driving and how the clutch feels and engages in true mountain or dune riding.

Test day came it would be up in the mountains above Strawberry Reservoir in Utah this is becoming one of my favorite trail systems to go have a great day up mountain riding.

The first thing you notice with the clutch upgrade system is it takes more RPM to engage the transmission at first I thought this was not a good thing (it was something different than I was used to) but after driving for just a little while it became apparent to me how much better this was for my trail riding it lets the RPM rev a slight bit higher so when it engages and takes off it makes for the smoothest engagement of any CVT clutch I have ever driven, Zero jerking while taking off it is wonderful.

Now one of the other things that has always been annoying to me is the amount of noise and clicking coming from the clutch area, with the new SLP power puck system it has basically eliminated all noise and clicking other than the initial engagement after you put it in reverse or out of the trailer when the clutch has to wrap up to meet the belt, once you have started your ride the noise is gone.

Conclusion of clutch kit and puck install

I was really skeptical if this clutch upgrade was going to be something that I would like and want especially since I ride so many different terrains, after my first real test run in the mountains it exceeded my expectations and makes my riding even better than expected and now I have experienced the nice quiet solid engagement with my Polaris XPT Turbo.

I am highly recommending this set up if you have a Polaris XPT turbo you won’t be disappointed.

Polaris Turbo UTV

SLP 4500+ elevation high load clutch kit

SLP Power Pucks

Installation of this system is something we can perform for you at UTV Service please visit clutch rebuilding.

Give us a call now at 801-410-0599

The next test will be at the sand dunes in Utah coming soon.

Until we ride again.