Are these roller clutches by AAEN, Hot Seat, or HPD worth the money? What do they do that is different than the standard secondary? Any help from those who have purchased on would be appreciated.
Scott.

 

These clutches reduce friction and offer faster and smoother backshifting than the stock unit. Since the buttons in the secondary clutch are replaced by little wheels not much attention is needed there. The primary clutch uses a stiffer spring and fly weights that are a little bit heavier and shaped specially for extra performance. The non-roller clutch kits offer the same front clutch advantages but not the same rear clutch advantages.

[This message has been edited by Chris Picciotto (edited 08-22-1999).]

 

I am only familiar with AAEN's. If you've ever taken a secondary (driven) pulley apart you will see that the stock aluminum helix slides on plastic buttons as the tranny shifts.

With the AAEN roller the buttons are actually shaved to be flush with the sheave, and a steel cam mounted on top. A new housing with ballbearing rollers is then installed, theoritically creating a friction free cycle of up/back shifting.

Does it work? I was in the middle of a massive motor upgrade on my 400 when I installed mine, so its hard to say exactly how much performance was gained from the roller. Actually performance may not be the right word, its not a mod to increase HP, as much as it is supposed to deliver the HP to the ground quicker and smoother.

I can say that the AAEN roller was top quality and installed without any difficulty, except for putting the sheaves together, but anybody who has ever taken one apart knows what I'm talking about. I'm definatley going to get a clutch press toll before I do that again!

I thought I had heard somewhere that some high-performance sleds are comming from the factory with similar set ups.

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Jerry Goodman '99 400L, '98 TBlazer

 

I have called around, and right now Aaen is the only one that can really get you a roller when you want it, due to legal and other problems.

Jerry, I think having 2 people when taking part/putting back together the secondary is almost mandatory!

 

Got a few questions for all of you-do-it-yourself folks(I am one of them).Concerning the roller clutch.Keep in mind I haven't been into mine yet.It's a "99" SP500. But plan on doing all the maintenance,in time and when I get time(if i don't have the time then I will take it to my dealer).
Got 101 miles and about 16-18 hours on it.

1.Need low-end torque.would I benefit in this area with the roller clutch?
2.Does it effect the EBS any?
3.Does it decrease belt life?
4.If i put MuddRunners on would the clutch help any?

I pull a small disk for planting food plots for deer. This is where I need the low-end torque. And most of my riding is going up/down washed out roads(going slow).They are very dry now ,but this winter they will be bad muddy.
THANKS.....



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Harold Cowley

 

I spoke to Olav Aaen two days ago about the EBS system. He said the EBS system uses some different sized parts in thier clutch setup. This would require manufacturing a different sized clutch kit with multiple helixes like there current roller kit but only for the EBS system. He also said that the stock EBS system is almost rollerized so the gains would be small and would not justify the cost for making a separate unit for the EBS. The springs and flyweights are specialy matched to work with the cam that is installed. As far as other companies making a clutch kit for the EBS system i don't know.

I wanted to add the EBS system to my scrambler because i can't downshift and slide the assend around turns like the other bikes i ride with.

99 Scrambler 500

 

You do not need two people to adjust the rear clutch if you use a vice (not tight) to keep the outer sheive from turning.

 

I was able to do mine by myself using a flathead screwdriver to remove the inner snapring. It wasn't fun and it took probably twice as long but i got a crash course in PVT 101. There are also 15 possible rear clutch settings and if i did not decide to install the kit myself whoever did would have just set it to the middle and i would have never known about any of the other settings.

99 Scrambler 500

 

The roller clutch from Aaen offers instant backshifting, less friction, less heat, and yes, better acceleration. They transfer power to the rear wheels more efficiently. The benefits are apreciated the more hp that you have. These benefits only happen when you have it installed correctly with the correct pre-load, springs, flyweights, etc. The entire clutch is a system that can basically be programmed to your own riding style.

You can't use it with EBS, the clutches are totally different. I know since I took the stock EBS clutches off my '99 SP500 and replaced them with a standard unit along with the Aaen roller setup on the driven clutch. I've been messing with it for a while and finally have it where I happen to like it. I've been changing flyweights to get the engagement down so it's low and smooth. I don't like the factory EBS at all and I don't like the typical Aaen setup the way Olav tells you to do it on the drive clutch. The next time we have to go inside I'll change the drive spring for lower engagement and then go to a little lighter flyweight.

My 400SS has the same belt on for the entire year. Prior to the roller I had replaced them monthly. The roller has been on the 400SS for over two years now.

The only thing that happens on sleds once in a while is one of the bearing go. Polaris is putting their own version of a roller setup on their high performance sleds right from the factory. I've seen aftermarket rollers that don't perform that well and need to be tuned correctly. They usually require quite a heavy preload to replace the lost friction from the buttons.

It will make you think you have a standard tranny because of the superior backshfiting you are "always" in the correct gear. On 4-strokes the roller setup offers about 50% of the engine braking that EBS does, above 5 mph. Below 5 mph you are free wheeling as the clutch disengages the way I have mine setup right now. I would find it very difficult to own a machine without a roller clutch setup anymore. It really spoils you.

www.godigital-design.com/schultzmotorsports

 

What is the price on a roller clutch set-up? I have got the Aaen springs in my 400 Scrambler right now, but would like to go with the roller set-up, for better response. Any help would be great.

Pete Niska
99' 400 Scrambler