C River Yamaha
New member
Got an 03 viper all stock other than studs.. Im lookin to get a lil more fun out of it.. I mostly ride the river and wide open power lines.. I was told a clutch kit was the way to go but have no clue on what or where to buy.. Any help or advice would be great.. Thanks 
jgustman
New member
Big question is how mechanically inclined are you? We need to know if you plan on making a clutch kit up yourself, or just want to bolt one in. Mine was over revving to about 9000 rpm at wide open. I was told by the guru's here to pull the stock weights and drill out the outer rivet and install a 4.5 gram rivet. It still over revved, I ended up adding two small washers (one to each side of the outer rivet) and peening the rivet so the washers are stuck tight to the weights, changed out the stock red secondary spring for a green at 60 degrees wrap. It now hits 8500 and revs a bit higher near full shift out. I'm very happy compared to stock. BTW, I weigh around 230 lbs. in full gear... Total cost was around $40. Or you could go buy a custom clutch kit from Hartman Inc., I did once for a over revving 600 Sx-R and was happy, as he asks the necessary questions, like rider weight, typical riding style, snow conditions, altitude. He hit the setup I wanted on the first try. Others may know more, pioneer performance was recommended as well.
journeyman
Active member
jgustman said:
I would go down this road first if it is over revving. That is what I tried and actually had the heaviest bolt I could get in the end hole. It still over revved so that is why I went elsewhere with the Heavy Hitters. The first plan is much cheaper if it works for you. You will spend around $280 on HH's but you have way more adjustment with no darn rivets to drill out. I hate doing that........Is my way any better? I am not sure to be honest. I just know it has worked very well for me with over 7000 miles on this clutch setup. I am sure the Yamaha stuff would have lasted just as long. Yamaha builds a solid clutch IMO.
decide if you want a bolt it on kit or fab a kit. we love the set-up turk gave us for 40-10 heel clickers for a viper. still hits 105mph flat out in right conditions (even with 136" track) and is snappy like heck when driving corner to corner in the trails.
C River Yamaha
New member
Im good with the tools part just never had much experiance with clutchs.. Im not sure on the build a clutch set up never had one apart.. Im about 250 with gear im lookin for a lil more snap out of the corner and a better mid if possible.. HH sound easyer but if i can do it myself for a few less bones im all for it..
pm turk and he will ask you what you want and tell you the best way to achive it. i know a rxwar stock secondary helix is close to what he usually reccomends.
Heel clickers work great in the Viper. There are also a few setups in the "TY Tech "section on the above tabs. There are quite a few Vipers listed the HC's and their clutch setups. A change in helix would also help.
tune rpm with primary,,,,, but a helix change may bring you a lot closer to target rpm,,,,,, then go back to primary............ sometimes added weight does not cut it with a current setup.......
jgustman
New member
I tried the RX1 secondary helix, didn't work, still over revved. That helix was a 51/43, stock is a 47? I believe. So it will temporarily keep rpm in check and the over rev worse than the stock helix. Anyway, I also tried a Micro belmont 54/44, under revved, then over revved a bit. The only thing wrong with the stock setup is that it consistently over revs, but has a great backshift on the trails. Throw more weight at the clutch weights and you pull the rpms down to where the motor makes more power and will get better acceleration and fuel mileage, backshift suffers slightly. You can pull the clutch cover off the primary and remove the weights with the clutch still on the sled, but is a pain in the a$$. Get a clutch puller and remove it, take it apart on the bench so it's easier to pull the clutch weights, they are held on by set screws riding on a pin. With the weight out you can put each one in a vise and drill out the smaller outer rivet and install the 4.5 gram one, and probably add a small washer or two (one per side). NOTE: if you decide to use washers for extra weight, the washer hole needs to be the same size as the rivet shaft and cannot extend past the rounded edge of the weight or it will hit the roller on upshift and really screw up your clutch shift out...Be careful drilling out the rivet, use a drill bit slightly bigger than the new rivet and stop drilling when you hit the hardened metal of the weight (you only need to drill a small amount of the peened side of the rivet off before you hit the hardened metal of the weight), then use a hammer and punch to persuade the old rivet to come out. If you've never worked with pounded in rivets before, you may want a pal or machine shop to remove them for you. Now for the secondary clutch, try your red secondary spring first, after changing clutch rivets to test, it may work. My stock red spring still over revved at 70 deg. wrap (stock setting), tried 60 deg. wrap and was a little low on rpm and poor backshift. Then I bought a green spring and tried 60 deg. wrap and it's darn near perfect, keeps rpm's right about 8500 and then climbs 100-150 more on really cold days, which is good for more top end usually... Thinking back, I thought adding washers for more clutch weight behind the rivets may not have been needed and just used the red stock spring, but for whatever reason, it didn't work, it was still over revving badly. Seems the green secondary spring was just the ticket. Again, trial and error is what it takes to clutch each sled, some companies are really good at hitting the proper rpm when you buy a kit from them but aren't adjustable. I'd say if I thought just trying the rivets and spring for about $40 didn't make me happy, I'd have already gone out and bought a set of heavy hitters or heel clicker clutch kits that you can adjust. You can also buy supertip weights, but I think you have to buy the polaris style and a yamaha conversion kit to get them light enough to use on a viper. I had supertip weights on my RX-1 and loved the tuneability. Heck, even if all you do is add the heavier rivet to the clutch weights and still over revs, but less than before, you are still going to be faster than it was before you did it...Hope that all makes sense.
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C River Yamaha
New member
Thanks a ton Jgustman this makes more sence to me now i had no idea where to start or what to change.. As far as the rivets and a green spring where do i go to get them and do the differ from different clutch makes? And a 60 degree rap is there some kinda tool i need to measure this?
pete_man26
New member
your local dealer will have the rivets and springs they are all the same in the new sleds.
as for wrap no tools needed. there is 1,2,3 stamped on the sheave and 0,3,6,9 in the helix. put one side of the spring in the 3 on the sheave and put the 3 on the helix on the other side of the spring then twist so the spring winds tighter to the nearest bolts and tighten. there is your 60 degrees. i find it easer if you keep an old belt and lay on the bench and place the whole secondary on it, its a lot easier to put the helix on.
as for wrap no tools needed. there is 1,2,3 stamped on the sheave and 0,3,6,9 in the helix. put one side of the spring in the 3 on the sheave and put the 3 on the helix on the other side of the spring then twist so the spring winds tighter to the nearest bolts and tighten. there is your 60 degrees. i find it easer if you keep an old belt and lay on the bench and place the whole secondary on it, its a lot easier to put the helix on.
There are indexed holes in the secondary. 1,2,3. The helix has 0,3,6,9 .To get a "60" wrap use 3 one the secondary and 3 on the helix.
It works like this.
lets say Secondary = a Helix=b Wrap =(a+b)10
So a 70 wrap would equal a(1)+b(6)=7 then x10 to equal 70
It works like this.
lets say Secondary = a Helix=b Wrap =(a+b)10
So a 70 wrap would equal a(1)+b(6)=7 then x10 to equal 70
jgustman
New member
If you've never worked on clutches before, go to the TY Tech tab and open the snowmobile tech and start reading the technical sections on clutch tuning and helix changes, etc. Good reading, and will help you understand what the parts are that we are talking about and how to change them. It's really hard to get what we are saying if all of the lingo is new to you. For example, to get to the clutch weights, you have to remove the outer front clutch cover, held on by 6 bolts (10 mm socket used to remove I think) try to back them out equally to prevent damage to the clutch cover bushing (hole in the center) Re-install in the same manner. Polaris clutches and arctic cat primary clutches are similiar, Ski-Doo is completely different. The secondary clutches are all different in each brand, luckily yamaha is the easiest to work on with normal tools. A yamaha service/repair manual would make all of this much easier for you to understand. I kid who can turn a wrench and comprehend what he is reading could fix a yamaha by reading their manuals.