Broken EPI belt ... rolled it three times over

Wife is getting real comfortable driving the RZR on its lid ... this is her second time over ... not her fault though. We burned up an EPI belt already with only about 3 dune trips and probably 150 miles on it ... all dunes. I do have to mention there might have been a couple factors in it doing so quick:

1. Was running 27in 8 paddles which is way too much ... had 25in 7 paddles for this last trip.
2. Wife got the RZR stuck pretty good, had it it in HI, put it in AWD, and tried gunning it to get out for a couple seconds ... belt smoked big enough to create a big cloud of smoke but she did not see it due to high winds before I stopped her.

She heard a noise coming from the clutch area as we made our last mile or so to China Wall. I was going to swap the belt out as had the spare but it was over 90 degrees, no shade, and knew I did not really have the proper tool to get the clutch cover off (just pliers). So, tried taking the smaller stuff back to camp but ended up hitting a huge bowl. She made it 90% of the way through the bowl, the belt snapped, rear end slid out, and it went over three times to rest at the bottom of the bowl. Had a passenger and both of them were just fine but eat a ton of sand. JaggedX cage did its job and no damage to RZR except my lighted whips and belt tore small hole through CVT cover. Did the belt change ... pliers sucked so will add the proper tool ... burned the sheyat out of my hands as that clutch fas so f'n hot for the whole hour we were out there. EPI belt was totally decintigrated ... largest piece was about 2in long.

So, carry a spare belt with proper tools for clutch, and change your belt the first sign of smoke or noises suggesting it might be coming apart. Duughh ... right ....

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Honda RC51 1000cc v-twin RZR by BKF. I actually have to DRIVE it !!! JaggedX custom cage, Twisted Stitch seats, XMF +6in long travel, Makin Trax progressive springs, Odyssey battery, Power Commander, Fullerton Sand Sports 26in STU Sand Blaster #1 comps rear and 27in smoothies front.

Hey looks like same story as my wife, but she did this on our Ranger, did not stop at all till I got off my RZR and when to her driver side and turn off the Ranger ;-)

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Frank
Thousand Palms , CA
RZR #23
07 700XP
08 800RZR

Any pics of how the cage and plastics held up? I have been wondering how much damage would be caused if rolled with an aftermarket cage.

There is no damage except what was mentioned and a slight 1in round frame impression in the plastic close to the A pillar of the cage at the front on the side. Key is to consider what will hit if it does roll. A front bumper that extends to the width and height of the front will protect the front plastics and front sides, rear bumper that extends out close to the width and height will protect the back and rear sides, a cage that extends to the rear will also help protect it. Offset wheels or Long travel actually helps protect it as the wheels are outside the width. I have all the above with the exception that my bumpers fall a bit short on the width and yet they still do a great deal of protection from the the plastics getting depressed too much before they start to crease, break, etc. The center section of by cage behind the seats also extends out a little in design so that thelps greatly too. My RZR is extremely heavy due to the massive cage but yet even with alot of this extra weight that should cause more damge to the plastic the design protects everything. It would have been uglier in dirts or rocks obviously.

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Honda RC51 1000cc v-twin RZR by BKF. I actually have to DRIVE it !!! JaggedX custom cage, Twisted Stitch seats, XMF +6in long travel, Makin Trax progressive springs, Odyssey battery, Power Commander, Fullerton Sand Sports 26in STU Sand Blaster #1 comps rear and 27in smoothies front.

That's great your wife and passenger are okay and the cage did it's job. My rzt has 700 dune miles on ITP dunestars and I'm still on my stock belt, I still cary a spare just in case though.

Just curious why you put the EPI belt on in the 1st place? Did you install mods to the clutch?

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Cheaper than a robot...
Smarter than a monkey...
08 Polaris RZR
07 Redline Revolt

Removed clutch spacer, EPI belt comes with engagement spacer that is suppose to help with less strain on belt from dead start, have pipe and controller for more HP, run with paddles. This is all supposed to justify a better belt in theory to reduce slippage and accelerated wear. It also did seem to be quiter than the stock belt.

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Honda RC51 1000cc v-twin RZR by BKF. I actually have to DRIVE it !!! JaggedX custom cage, Twisted Stitch seats, XMF +6in long travel, Makin Trax progressive springs, Odyssey battery, Power Commander, Fullerton Sand Sports 26in STU Sand Blaster #1 comps rear and 27in smoothies front.

I was told that the epi belt is 1/2 inch shorter maybe you should try putting the spacer back in for a while and see if it last longer. epi also told me the belt would not hold up without the spacer. we only have 1/16 of an inch to play with on the rzr clutch so i took 1/32 of an inch of my spacer and gained 3mph. after i get back from black mountain i will let everyone know if my belt broke.