Hi guys. I plan to use the bike mostly for hauling on bush trails and plowing. Not too much technical riding or fast ripping. I've searched for threads and there isn't a whole lot of info on whether or not clutch weights or other mods will help this usage scenario for a 450. I plan on using the OEM 54" plow and 2500 provantage. Also considering A arm plates. Stock tires for now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
2018 450 mods
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The 450's haven't been out long enough for people to really know what the mods that they are doing to them do.
I will say that the 54" blade might be a little too big. I had a 2000 400 Kodiak and put a 48" blade on it and at times found that the 48"'s was too much for it. Mostly it is the weight of the machine and you the rider where the problem comes from. Just not enough weight to push a lot of snow.
On the blade I have that setup on my 700. It sat all last winter waiting for some snow but nothing showed up. I took it off in February and didn't put it back on so I couldn't tell you how good it does. But if you are planning on using the front mounting system take a real good look at the mount. I had to do some grinding on mine to get it to fit properly.
I will say that the 54" blade might be a little too big. I had a 2000 400 Kodiak and put a 48" blade on it and at times found that the 48"'s was too much for it. Mostly it is the weight of the machine and you the rider where the problem comes from. Just not enough weight to push a lot of snow.
On the blade I have that setup on my 700. It sat all last winter waiting for some snow but nothing showed up. I took it off in February and didn't put it back on so I couldn't tell you how good it does. But if you are planning on using the front mounting system take a real good look at the mount. I had to do some grinding on mine to get it to fit properly.
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If your looking for more low end torque, easiest and cheapest way would be to add shims to your primary sheave . Many combine the shim mod with a stronger spring. This combo is simple, cheap and gives good results. Shims cost around 10$ and a stronger spring threw the Epi website is like 30$. I started out with the shims and later on upgraded my spring. Ran this set up on my 550 Grizz for a thousand miles with excellent results. Eventually I sent my primary sheave to Arnie Cooper for his fancy custom machining process, witch is the set up I presently run.
Thanks, that's a great tip. It looks like 0.75mm shims are 3.00 USD from JBS, so that's peanuts. It will cost me more to ship to Canada if I buy through JBS.
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You can also buy them threw eBay or your local Yamaha dealer.
Yamaha #90201-225A4-00 washer plate 1mm
Yamaha #90201-222F0-00 washer plate .5mm
I've read about one guy with an older 450 kodiak who managed to fit 2 mm of shim without issues. Not sure if the newer 450s can take that much.
P.S Welcome to the website from a fellow Northern Ontario Canadian .
Bought the 2018 450 last year, and did the same setup. 54" warn plow, 2500 warn winch. Works great here in Michigan, and had no problem pushing the berms back a bit when the snow kept accumulating before melting. A couple of glitches on the factory end though... The factory winch wiring was a bit short when moving the relay in the position shown in the directions. I mounted a terminal strip, and made jumper wires to overcome that problem. Also I installed an upgraded Warn pulley for the winch cable to pass through, having heard the stock one's failed quickly. The new one works, but the cable angle is wrong (cable pulls to side of pulley). Thought I'd make new brackets to hold the pulley in a better alignment before the snow fly's again. Plow mounting bracket was available, but in limited quantity. Oh by the way, this is the front mounted system. Takes about 3 minutes to mount or disconnect the plow and fairly easy, even for an old guy like me.
Thanks bud. I got the ebay kit but might get the oem too to try amd have for sure good id and od. I am going into it expecting 1.5mm max.
Thanks for the info!!!. I will have a good think and a good head scratch about the mounting setup and maybe run new wire or use barrel shrink splice or something better if I have to. I also saw the threads about the poor pulley. Good thing I know a welder. I might just get the 50" plow from amazon to be on the safe side. The mount is the only thing that looks dealer/machine specific. Maybe I can find an aftermarket source mount in Canada.
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@Laserwolf
Make sure you follow proper primary sheave installation procedures. I've read way too many horror stories of people screwing this up and then complain that their bike perform poorly (usually dropped weights) and even many situations where their Cvts were damaged from improper installations.
Nothing hard about this but a few careful steps must be taken.
Few quick points.
- Make sure you maintain tension on the cam plate when sliding the primary sheave on the shaft and collar . Otherwise the weights can fall out of their channels and you'll need to disassemble your primary sheave to reinstall them. ( Very commun mistake!)
- If your belt is still in place during this installation make sure it's loose enough as to not get "pinched" by the sheave during installation . Your supposed to install two screws in your secondary sheave to open it up and witch loosens the belt tension when disassembling the cvt.
- When the sheave is first installed verify you have full cam plate engagement on the splines.
- Make sure the thick washer is centered and over the splines before threading on the nut.
-Do not use an impact to tighten the nut! Use a torque wrench and torque it properly. Not sure about the 450s but the 700s is 100ft/lbs
I use a choked rachet strap to stop the sheave from turning, but others have made wooden holders, or special wrenches. Many ways of doing it.
-Once this is done you can gradually start removing the pusher screws from the secondary sheave while spinning the sheave. Back them off a bit at a time and spin the sheave many, many times . The belt should gradually climb all the way up the secondary and drop right down into the primary as the spring tension is reestablished on the belt.
A good idea is to count your CVT ratio before and after you serviced your CVT. ( how many turns the primary needs to do before the secondary sheave makes one turn). With proper installation of shims you will gain more initial ratio compared to stock. In my case, stock was 2.45:1 and with 1.5mm of shim it was 2.75:1. My machined sheave has a ratio of 3:1
Plenty of YouTube videos on the subject so take the time to watch a few just to get familiar with things. All Yamaha Grizzly and Kodiak Cvts have the same basic procedures so don't worry if the video you view is of a Grizzly / Kodiak 700 and not a 450.
Make sure you follow proper primary sheave installation procedures. I've read way too many horror stories of people screwing this up and then complain that their bike perform poorly (usually dropped weights) and even many situations where their Cvts were damaged from improper installations.
Nothing hard about this but a few careful steps must be taken.
Few quick points.
- Make sure you maintain tension on the cam plate when sliding the primary sheave on the shaft and collar . Otherwise the weights can fall out of their channels and you'll need to disassemble your primary sheave to reinstall them. ( Very commun mistake!)
- If your belt is still in place during this installation make sure it's loose enough as to not get "pinched" by the sheave during installation . Your supposed to install two screws in your secondary sheave to open it up and witch loosens the belt tension when disassembling the cvt.
- When the sheave is first installed verify you have full cam plate engagement on the splines.
- Make sure the thick washer is centered and over the splines before threading on the nut.
-Do not use an impact to tighten the nut! Use a torque wrench and torque it properly. Not sure about the 450s but the 700s is 100ft/lbs
I use a choked rachet strap to stop the sheave from turning, but others have made wooden holders, or special wrenches. Many ways of doing it.
-Once this is done you can gradually start removing the pusher screws from the secondary sheave while spinning the sheave. Back them off a bit at a time and spin the sheave many, many times . The belt should gradually climb all the way up the secondary and drop right down into the primary as the spring tension is reestablished on the belt.
A good idea is to count your CVT ratio before and after you serviced your CVT. ( how many turns the primary needs to do before the secondary sheave makes one turn). With proper installation of shims you will gain more initial ratio compared to stock. In my case, stock was 2.45:1 and with 1.5mm of shim it was 2.75:1. My machined sheave has a ratio of 3:1
Plenty of YouTube videos on the subject so take the time to watch a few just to get familiar with things. All Yamaha Grizzly and Kodiak Cvts have the same basic procedures so don't worry if the video you view is of a Grizzly / Kodiak 700 and not a 450.
Yes there are a few finesse points where things could get away. I like the idea of the ready rod and 2x2 sheave holders, I will see what the service manual recommends as well. It might be the excuse I need to finally get a proper rotor holder or sheave holder if it's the same ones needed for sleds. Such a simple tool but such a hassle if you don't have it.
I'll definitely do some more studying before I start wrenching. You're right, there is a silly amount of info out there nowadays, which is great, I like to study a lot to wrap my head around the work beforehand. Thanks for the tips man, that's aces.
Also thanks for the tire answer in the other thread. I saw some Kenda 592 26 9 and 12s on deep discount today, it was tempting.
In other news, the bike absolutely thrashed a new rough bush trail today behind the cabin, so that's a bonus. I definitely want to get some skid plates though. Those teeny black spruce stumps don't sound too good grinding under the footwells.
I'll share some pics soon.
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Nice pix. Good to hear your happy with your new bike.
Shims and spring? Or go deeper with the kit, what would you suggest?
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Start with shims, and maybe a spring.
Well, since sled wrenching has slowed down for the season, it's time for quad wrenching.
My question for now is: is it worth it in your opinion to get the "stick guard" skid plates or the full aluminum skid plate?
On the bush trails I frequent, I do get some rubbing on the bottom. Just curious how far it would be wise to go with skid plating or whether it's better to concentrate on other areas such as trailer or plow.
My question for now is: is it worth it in your opinion to get the "stick guard" skid plates or the full aluminum skid plate?
On the bush trails I frequent, I do get some rubbing on the bottom. Just curious how far it would be wise to go with skid plating or whether it's better to concentrate on other areas such as trailer or plow.
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I been running a full set of Ricochet for about a year now, and love em. I don’t worry about to much on the bottom side anymore.
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