A buddy of mine has an old 425 Magnum with about half a million miles on it (just a guess as the odo doesn't work). It is on at least its 3rd set of tires. I say at least because they bought it used. Anyway, to the point. There was a rattling sound coming out of the side of the engine, only at idle. We suspected something with the clutch & when we took the belt cover off, 3 of the 6 little buttons on the outside of the front clutch were gone completely! They are the ones that ride on either side of the triangle-shaped piece in the center of the clutch mechinism.
My advice : if you hear a rattle - CHECK IT OUT! Had he gone much farther, he likely would have ruined the housing.

My question : Has anyone else had this happen? If so, how much use has his machine had before it happened? I am just curious as to if it is something a person has to watch, or is it more a freak thing with theirs? That particular machine has a LOT of use, plus a lot of abuse. They bought it used, cheap, and with good reason. The a-arms were bent when they got it, the rear swingarm was cracked in front where it hinges to the frame, and on and on.

 

A friend of mine had the same problem with his 97 500 this week except all his buttons were gone. It wore three of the ears a tad, I believe this is a normal occcurance that happens with time, also a child riding one can cause this to happen sooner, getting on and off the gas alot speeds this up. How about hte price of those buttons $4.50 each, ouch!!!!!

 

HPD makes a super sport button kit and they claim it is indestructable. The kit is $60 and replacement buttons for it are somewhere around $2. Its worth checking out!

EC

 

If this bike was ridden much with the buttons missing, the clutch is now trash. It only takes a short amount of time for the metal on metal to nick up the towers. Once this has occurred, the new buttons will only work for a short time. If you do intend on rebuilding this clutch, you will need a few clutch tools. This is a very simple process, and you can buy the tools cheaper than you can pay someone else to do it for you. Water on the buttons helps them to wear prematurely.

Also, replace the old buttons with the buttons that go into the rollers. This requires replacing the rollers also. These are not near as likely to fall out next time.

Greg

 

Yes, this happened to me too on my Scrambler 500. Problem is that I didn't really think much of it....actually never heard of buttons on an automatic clutch. I had just bought into the hype that Polaris clutches were indestructable. Guess what...I took it to the shop and got an estimate for $450. My clutch was totally fragged because I was riding it with no buttons at all. So I stepped it up a notch and got a Hot Seat performance clutch at the cost of $600 installed. This one has buttons too. Go figure. Something we should all keep an eye on. Now I know. Happy trails.

 

The front clutch goes for around $275. I bought mine for $235. The whole EBS set up with the belt and front and rear clutch (I forget what the rear one is called) list for $399 at Polaris. My price was around $360 if I wanted it and that included the belt. It only takes a few minutes to swap them. Whoever quoted you $450 for the front clutch was attempting to rip you off in my opinion.

Greg

 

I realise you can't simply go by "milage" here, but roughly, how often should you check these wear parts.

What is the experience of you guys who had to replcace them. Couple of thousand miles or more?

Any and all help appreciated.

 

My riding buddy bought a used 2000 TrailBlazer. It was obviously ridden pretty hard. The first thing he did was have the HPD pipe/clutch kit installed. His clutch buttons were wore down to about half their original size. They were replaced of course.

When I had my clutch kit installed, I had them install the HPD aluminum buttons, just for a little more piece of mind.

 

I just wonder how many miles my friend's Magnum had now. The odometer said 5000 miles, but it looks less 'faded' than the other plastic around it. I suspect it was broken somehow & replaced.
I was worried about mine, so I peeked into my front clutch & everything looked tight as new. I have 3600 miles and close to 300 hours on my '99.
Also, how problematic is the rear pulley? We took his apart & the buttons on it look about half worn, and the bushings where it slides are worn down to showing brass almost all the way around. I suggested replacing all this also, but he doesn't want to spend the money. I have the tools to do the rear, all he would need is the parts, though.
Are the rear buttons reversable? They look like they could be. If so I will try to talk him into at least doing that. I would like him to get the bushings, too, but he is one who wants to spend the least amount of money today, even if it costs him more downtime later. If enough people reply that we should do the bushings in the rear pulley, I think I could talk him into it, though.

 

Greg,

I am sorry, I should have been more specific. The $450 price quote was the installed with labor price. But I figured since I was going to drop that kind of cash on my quad then I might as well get something out of it for me. Here are some prices that I paid that I think you will find in line with the going rate:

Drive Clutch - $281.19
3 Drive Clutch Buttons - $3.69
Drive Belt - $34.95
Hot Seat Clutch Kit - $170.95
Clutch Cover Seal - $5.15
Total Labor -$124.80
Tax - $37.55
Grand Total - $658.28

Just subtract the Hot Seat Clutch kit and it puts you in the $450 range. Hope this helps clear the confusion.