Duraclutch for Ranger 900 XP

[Chris]

My 2015 Ranger 900 XP is a belt eater. There's not two ways about it. There's no way to justify or make it sound better. My Ranger 900 XP eats belts. I have 1,100 miles, and it has taken me four belts to make that mileage. At $165 a belt, you can understand my concern.


I purchased the well respected Dirty Dawg Performance (DDP) clutch kit for my Ranger early in the game. That clutch kit helped smooth out the jerky slow speed operation of the stock clutch. It also added engine braking. The DDP clutch made my Ranger more sporty feeling. But it still didn't get rid of the belt problems. The stock clutch would smoke belts and then the belt would eventually fail. The DDP never made a situation where the Ranger would sit there and smoke the belt, rather the DDP would explode a belt rater unexpectedly. I will say right now that the DDP clutch felt the best of all of them, including the Duraclutch. The problem was that the DDP wasn't reliable for me.


This is one of the belt failures with the DDP clutch. The belt exploded and damaged the clutch cover:



Finally, the bearing in my primary failed. The bearing seized up and damaged the center shaft of the clutch. The cost to repair approached the cost of a new OEM primary, and the belt life was still poor. Here is a pic of the primary bearing seized up.





Enter the Duraclutch.



At $1,200 this is the most expensive clutch for the Polaris Ranger 900. It comes with a brand new primary, new secondary, and a new belt. The belt supplied with this kit is Polaris Part Number 3211172, or a drive belt for a Polaris RZR 900, whereas the Ranger 900 uses belt with Polaris Part number 3211149. The Duraclutch is a whole different kind of clutch than the OEM Polaris clutch.


The Duraclutch makes use of a centrifugal clutch and sprague "one way bearing." Similar to the Yamaha and newer Kawasaki CVTs, the Duraclutch converts the Polaris grab-and-go CVT design to the constant tension style. While the Yamaha and Kawasaki use a large single oil bathed centrifugal clutch, the Duraclutch uses dual dry centrifugal clutches within the primary drive clutch. Pictured below is one of the two centrifugal clutches:



I had to replace my CVT covers (again) because they were damaged by belt shrapnel. Polaris uses flimsy CVT covers that are notorious for leaking water unless the owner spends time sealing them up. They leak water from the back side where the inner cover bolts to the engine, and they leak from the outer cover because the stock seal is just a thin piece of foam. I purchased some upgraded gaskets for both covers from a small company in Texas called Outsiders Mud Crew. They have a hand in some of the mud pit racing and sell gaskets that truly seal the CVT without having to silicone everything. The silicone works but is a pain to deal with when you have to replace belts all the time!



The Duraclutch changes the feel of the Ranger 900. Take off and slow speed operation is very similar to a Rhino, Viking, or Teryx. Power delivery is buttery smooth and far more tame. Dare I say, the power delivery is a bit boring. Don't get me wrong, my Ranger 900 is very healthy with the ECU tuned for about 85HP at the crank. The delivery is changed so that when you nail it from a dig, the clutch engages instantly and solid; tires spin. It just doesn't have that aggressive feel of the Polaris style CVT where the sheave snaps against the drive belt and takes off spinning tires (and slipping the belt until everything catches up).


The Duraclutch makes the Ranger feel lower geared. Like the Yamaha or Kawasaki, High Range is flexible and usable for a variety of terrain. Whereas with the old Polaris style CVT, if you you rode in High Range and got into challenging terrain the engine wouldn't bog. It would start slipping the belt. If you weren't perceptive, you would never realize you were punishing the belt. With the Duraclutch the belt is tightly engaged and the centrifugal clutches are locked up. In challenging terrain the engine will lug and you'll know it is time to shift into Low Range.


My Ranger 900 is snorkeled, and I can notice that the CVT exhaust vent emits cooler air with the Duraclutch.



Time will tell how the Duraclutch holds up in my Ranger. With 30 miles on this new clutch, it is far too early to make any real statements about reliability. I will definitely follow up as I rack up more miles.

[rodneygt]

Good thread as usual Chris. I will have to look and see if they make this for can am. The main thing I miss about my rhino is how it engaged when you push the accelerator.

[Timmi]

Polaris and Duraclutch...

I'll pray for you, Chris!

[Chris]

Good thread as usual Chris. I will have to look and see if they make this for can am. The main thing I miss about my rhino is how it engaged when you push the accelerator.

I don't think the Duraclutch is available for the Can Am at this time. You are right about the Rhino. I took for granted many things about my Rhino that I didn't realize until it was gone. The reliability of the drivetrain was number one. I never worried about a blown belt or a trashed front differential or a transmission that self-installs its own skylight!

Polaris and Duraclutch...
I'll pray for you, Chris!

I certainly need it. I don't understand why, but for some reason I'm still in love with this Ranger. One of these days, the proverbial scales will fall from my eyes and I'll see just how terribly expensive this PoPo is to own and maintain. But for now, the rose colored glasses still sit perched on my nose.

[Shawnh]

Good post and hate to hear you have had all of these issues. Keep us posted for sure.

[Snorider]

I remember when we were talking about the this one and the DDP. Since I was looking at kits for my 900, and the duraclutch had me pretty sold. I know you had concerns about adjustments and stuff for bigger tires. did they make it more adjustable or is it supposed to be engineered to withstand your new 30's?

[scottwv]

You're gonna run out of locals to marry for your play money !!

[alc]

I installed a duraclutch in my 2016 Ranger 900xp after only 50 miles of riding. I knew if I was going to keep this thing I was going to have to do something about the low speed jerky engagement. If you drive a ranger hard all the time, the stock clutch is okay. But if your wife or kids want to putt around it can't take slow easy takeoffs. Sounds backwards doesn't it. The duraclutch is night and day difference. I love it. The guy at duraclutch was an engineer at Polaris so he knows this is the clutch the rangers should have had all along. If you have a ranger, get a duraclutch.

[rodneygt]

. . . If you drive a ranger hard all the time, the stock clutch is okay. But if your wife or kids want to putt around it can't take slow easy takeoffs. Sounds backwards doesn't it. . . .

Yep. That's pretty much the same with a can-am commander. If you want to putt around, use low so the belt engages quickly. If you want to use high range, get on the throttle quickly. Now often I will use high even if I'm wanting to cruise around at 10mph or so and still have all of my power on tap, but I get on the throttle quick - the wife and kids don't get that, so their rule is in the previous two sentences. When I got my commander, I put a maverick belt in it. So far I have 5-600 miles on it with no problems.

How long do the friction clutches last on the duratech?

Arctic cat had used a wet clutch similar to yamaha but it didn't last so long as they went to higher hp/torque engines, so IIRC they're back to a grab and go system now.

[Chris]

I remember when we were talking about the this one and the DDP. Since I was looking at kits for my 900, and the duraclutch had me pretty sold. I know you had concerns about adjustments and stuff for bigger tires. did they make it more adjustable or is it supposed to be engineered to withstand your new 30's?

The Duraclutch uses flyweights similar to many other Polaris primary clutches. Since my Ranger 900 has the ECU flashed for RZR like power and throttle response, I ordered the Duraclutch Ranger 900 L2 "High Altitude" weights, which are the exact same weights they use for the RZR 900. It raises the shiftout RPM to better suit my engine and tire combination.

You're gonna run out of locals to marry for your play money !!

We don't exactly get overtime pay as clergy, but that wedding honorarium money sure comes in handy! LoL!!!

I installed a duraclutch in my 2016 Ranger 900xp after only 50 miles of riding. I knew if I was going to keep this thing I was going to have to do something about the low speed jerky engagement. If you drive a ranger hard all the time, the stock clutch is okay. But if your wife or kids want to putt around it can't take slow easy takeoffs. Sounds backwards doesn't it. The duraclutch is night and day difference. I love it. The guy at duraclutch was an engineer at Polaris so he knows this is the clutch the rangers should have had all along. If you have a ranger, get a duraclutch.

You nailed it. The stock clutch is pretty decent if you get in and run fast and accelerate like mad every time you turn the key. But especially in a Ranger where you want to go slow: backing up to trailers, checking fence, easing into off camber ruts, and technical riding, then the stock clutch is going to be slipping a lot. Don't get me wrong; I like to go fast but there's a time and place for those things. The Duraclutch reimagines the CVT with a different philosophy - use centrifugal clutch shoes and a drum for clutching action and not a belt!

Yep. That's pretty much the same with a can-am commander. If you want to putt around, use low so the belt engages quickly. If you want to use high range, get on the throttle quickly. Now often I will use high even if I'm wanting to cruise around at 10mph or so and still have all of my power on tap, but I get on the throttle quick - the wife and kids don't get that, so their rule is in the previous two sentences. When I got my commander, I put a maverick belt in it. So far I have 5-600 miles on it with no problems.

How long do the friction clutches last on the duratech?

Arctic cat had used a wet clutch similar to yamaha but it didn't last so long as they went to higher hp/torque engines, so IIRC they're back to a grab and go system now.

The Duraclutch has been on the market for close to three years as far as I can tell. I have not found much to suggest anything other than long life of the friction material.

A lot of the stuff on the web about the Duraclutch is associated with Todd at Hunterworks because he is about the only Duraclutch vendor other than the manufacturer themselves. Todd says that he's never had one wear out but I don't believe that. Todd says a lot of things that I don't necessarily believe or should be taken with a grain of salt. As good as the Yamaha and Kawasaki CVTs are with their oil bathed centrifugal clutches, even they wear out and we all know it.

I've done a lot of research on this Duraclutch. I almost bought this clutch when I bought my DDP clutch. The only negative reviews stem from the engine braking, which is very strong. That I can confirm. I have not read anything [yet] to suggest even moderate friction material life of the centrifugal clutch. It all suggests excellent durability.

Time will tell.