ModMMax
New member
Is a titanium drive axle worth the money? I have broken 2 of the early Yamaha axles that in each instance cost me a chaincase and 4 new drive belts for the friends who dragged me out of the mountains. The one I am using now is the new Yamaha upgraded version. When I spin it between centers with a dial guage it appears to be out .005", which doesn't seem like much. Is the upgraded axle at risk of failure, making the price of TI worth it, or is the upgraded Yamaha axle not failing? How much stronger is TI vs steel? Sled is stretched to 162" and the power is way up including nitrous.
Ti axle's can break also. The updated Yamaha axle is much stronger then the earlier unit's. I would stay with the updated Yamaha axle. Are you using 2 anti-rachet driver's? Sometime's that can stress an axle under high load condition's, because there is only two contact points on the axle. One possible solution would be add driver wheels to the axle. Driver wheels have no drive teeth and would "even" out the load across the axle. Some of the earlier Yamaha's (Exciter II) used to use driver wheels. They are narrower then standard driver's and can be place at different points on the axle easier.
Also if the rear skid geometry is off, it can stress an axle. Due to the track becoming to tight when the skid is compressed.
Also if the rear skid geometry is off, it can stress an axle. Due to the track becoming to tight when the skid is compressed.
ModMMax
New member
Thanks Mtnviper,
Yes, I only have 2 contact points, extraverted drivers. While they are wider than stock, there is only 2 of them. I'm using a cat skid, with the torque sense link that is supposed to maintain constant track tension throughout the compression of the skid frame. The chaincase is rolled, making the axle more vulnerable and changing the geometry of the track path. I am using an updated stock axle but was hoping the TI was stronger. Sounds like it may not be the way to go.
Yes, I only have 2 contact points, extraverted drivers. While they are wider than stock, there is only 2 of them. I'm using a cat skid, with the torque sense link that is supposed to maintain constant track tension throughout the compression of the skid frame. The chaincase is rolled, making the axle more vulnerable and changing the geometry of the track path. I am using an updated stock axle but was hoping the TI was stronger. Sounds like it may not be the way to go.
97 700 sx's also had the blank drivers on the outside. I'd think if you lined 2 of them up where the old inside drives went it would help. Maxdlx
Boondocker-1
New member
Run introvert/extrovert drivers. All the axles ive seen break seem to be due to over tightening the track to stop racheting.
grapeape
New member
Track too tight can snap the axle, and a easy way to make the track too tight is to be slightly off on a custom skid install...
ModMMax
New member
Thanks boondocker and grapeape. You're right, intra/extraverted drivers are a big help and I'm sure my original skid frame modification ended up misaligned. My broken axle episodes have been attributed to a low quality attempt to modify the 97 skid frame, stock early axles that were famous for breaking and the change to geometry caused by the rolled chain case. Since those days I have replaced the skid frame with an AC, installed intra/extraverted drivers and relpaced the axle with the updated stock version. Over the past 2 seasons I have had no problems with the section of the driveline from the jack shaft to the snow. However, I'm rebuilding the sled and the new version will include a 30 hp nitrous kit. I'm concerned that the added power may cause the drive shaft to fail. The TI shaft marketed by MPI is supposed to be stronger but costs $400. I was wondering if anyone had an opinion as to the added strrength vs the cost. Lots of guys are running nitrous. Has anyone experienced a drive shaft failure since adding nitrous?
yamaholic22
Active member
i say just run it until you have a problem. You can't accurately decide if it is going to break or not until you just try it with the added power.
rynokron
New member
i have broken two axles as well one old style and one new style. imo they break when you hit something and tweek them. i would say keep the updated one and hope for the best.