Jetting for fall grass drags 440 Invader

[kawhead]

never been a fan of the 102s on a kaw.....for iowa ditch banging 8200 rpm seems to work a little better.....tempted to take my 81 with a couple clutches to clear lake ia for' the jack'race and run it through the radar run to see the difference

[JDmatt]

So why is the Kawasaki clutch better then a 102?  How about VS. a 108exp?

[Tory944]

  It is't the "clutch itself" but the components (weights and spring selection) that is the problem.  The 108 is a better clutch, but you still have to work with the same calibration issues.

[Tory944]

  Kawasaki did a fine job of getting their clutch calibration correct for their sleds...   Comet just gives a baseline calibration for Kawasaki snowmobiles and they were far from ideal.  It is up to YOU as a "tuner" to know where your power curve is and pick from their assortment of tuning components that will work best for your particular motor.  Good luck!

[Lloyd (ljm)]

 No can of worms here   I like the Kawasaki clutches. Just easier to find comet parts to tune with. There are lots of Liquifire guys that have the Comets figured out without using the chart from Comet.

 

I have a Polaris P-85 on a Liquifire ready for a test ride. Lots of tuning options with them.

[Tory944]

Agreed...   you just need to be patient with the calibration...   and not everyone has patience!  P85 is the way to go if you are not sticking w/the stock clutch.  You also get the wider belt on the p85 (added bonus).  I know a few guys who run the Cat jackshaft and reverse cam secondary w/the p85 primary with great results.

[kawhead]

would like to know what cat secondary/jackshaft will work

[Tory944]

Jackshaft needs to be shortened same spline.  There is nothing that is a "drop in" fit.  You will need to do some fab, but it will work.     Tory

[Checkmarks]

Matt,

The engine idle rpm has to do with the motor design.  Piston port design, Reed port design (modern Polaris), rotary port design (doo) are different designs kinda as different as 2 to 4 strokers.  Kawasaki are piston port design, no extra bologna to breakdown but at lower <3k rpm the carburetors can spit out fuel backwards.  In the end one less wrench tumbling in the dryer (whats that noise honey).

Idle jets have only to do with idle, burn that in your memory.  Example your sled will not stay idling (really)...  Hard to start.  Starts good, idles good but the second you press on the throttle the motor dies(a transitional issue).  Piston port has issue with transition off idle transition <3k.

You must have seen horsepower curves in your lifetime.  At 3k rpm how much horsepower does the motor put out?  Lets call it 10hp.  At 8k rpm the motor can spit out 70hp.  The curve ramp is steep and fast on two strokes. The clutching has a ratio that climbs to 1:1 and at a rate that should be designed to optimize the increasing Hp.  Kawaclutches do optimize.

Kawasaki clutches are very sensitive to the width of a belt.  Very sensitive to dirty clutch.  Your issues sounds very much like a bad belt.  Does it feel like "once it gets up on pipe it runs like a champ" problem.  Its the belt.  OR the clutch surface has ruts. 

Now I have spent way too much time telling you all this if your SEALs are not replaced.  This would be moot if you own a Kawasaki motor and refuse to understand this key elemental point. 

[JDmatt]

Matt,

The engine idle rpm has to do with the motor design.  Piston port design, Reed port design (modern Polaris), rotary port design (doo) are different designs kinda as different as 2 to 4 strokers.  Kawasaki are piston port design, no extra bologna to breakdown but at lower <3k rpm the carburetors can spit out fuel backwards.  In the end one less wrench tumbling in the dryer (whats that noise honey).

Idle jets have only to do with idle, burn that in your memory.  Example your sled will not stay idling (really)...  Hard to start.  Starts good, idles good but the second you press on the throttle the motor dies(a transitional issue).  Piston port has issue with transition off idle transition <3k.

You must have seen horsepower curves in your lifetime.  At 3k rpm how much horsepower does the motor put out?  Lets call it 10hp.  At 8k rpm the motor can spit out 70hp.  The curve ramp is steep and fast on two strokes. The clutching has a ratio that climbs to 1:1 and at a rate that should be designed to optimize the increasing Hp.  Kawaclutches do optimize.

Kawasaki clutches are very sensitive to the width of a belt.  Very sensitive to dirty clutch.  Your issues sounds very much like a bad belt.  Does it feel like "once it gets up on pipe it runs like a champ" problem.  Its the belt.  OR the clutch surface has ruts. 

Now I have spent way too much time telling you all this if your SEALs are not replaced.  This would be moot if you own a Kawasaki motor and refuse to understand this key elemental point.

This is a fresh rebuild with seals/gaskets/rings and rebuilt carbs.  All those bases covered.  New belt too.  I did not do anything to the clutches yet.  Last winter they were working fine so I didn't think much of it.  Maybe I should try putting the old belt back on just for the heck of it. 

[Checkmarks]

Good you can hear where to look for your problem.  Engine in square? Correct center to center distance (is it 12 in? I would have to look it up).  Wrong deflection is like having the wrong belt and it wont work.

Clean cutches (inside important).  Plastic ramp slides (in secondary) good?

Since you took out the motor watch it is bolted in square.  Use the shims to make it happen.  When you are out the belt does not have full contact on the sheaves. 

[kawhead]

needs a little clutch work and or  a loose belt,easy fix.

[JDmatt]

Think I may have found where I messed up.  There was only 1 secondary offset shim in there, and the offset was way off.  Of course I can't find any of those shims even though I've parted out two Kawasakis.  So I'm in need of some if anyone has any.

I cleaned and inspected both clutches.  Everything looks pretty good.  The drive has a yellow spring and C weights I believe. 

[Checkmarks]

On those shims can you cut a piece of pipe and use that as the shim?  A shim is a shim nothing balanced or anything fancy.

[JDmatt]

Got the shims off ebay.  Next race is next Saturday if weather permits.  It was supposed to be today but it's pouring rain.