The news 7-24-02 Harold from HRD called me back after getting my clutch with the failed cover, he still does not know why the cover failed and has to contact the factory to see what they say, he admitted that the casting quality was not that good but assured me that the porosity I see is not a problem, he blamed the clutch wear on sand getting between the belt but I feel the clutch not shifting out all the way is the majority of the problem since I have less than 30 hrs use on this new clutch and it has more wear than my first Power Bloc clutch I bought almost 7 years ago and ran for 3 seasons does. He agreed to send me a ALT cover and weight blocks to replace the curved cover at my request, I have had 2 new complete new style clutches with the curved covers and both of the clutches would not shift out all the way, both covers failed (cracking) and the clutch facings both wore out rapidly I still think the not shifting out all the way played a huge part in the rapid wear of the clutch surfaces, I will be asking more detailed questions and inspecting other users clutch faces for wear during future rides so I can see how others clutches are wearing. I after what I have went through with the curved cover clutches I can no longer recommend people using them I have seen 3 covers fail and 3 clutches that are not shifting out all the way, I would suggest that if your cover fails you request a ATL (old style cover) as a replacement until Power Bloc fixes their new design. When I get time I will be taking my stock clutch to a Polaris dealer and see if he can match up a Power Bloc clutch that will work on a Pilot if we can get a match I will be trying one of them when my clutch needs replacing. I do know at this point that after removing my old ALT cover Power Bloc from the wife's Pilot and installing it on my Pilot that it now shifts out further than the new style cover using the same driven clutch and belt so Harold's theory on the driven clutch or belt length being the problem has been eliminated, I STILL SAY it is the new design that is the problem! I have spent countless hours playing with both new style clutches trying to get them to shift out all the way, have taken my driven clutch apart 3 different times looking for something that was worn or binding, installed the driven clutch off the wife's Pilot then took it apart for inspection, tried a Polaris belt that is shorter, so short in fact that it needed 3 washers removed to correct bring the engagement rpm back to what I normally run. just wanted to make sure that possibly the Honda belts may have been a bad batch and were too long was creating the problem even though they measured exactly 41"The only gains I made in my quest for a clutch that would shift out all the way was when I installed a old used FL350 Power Block ALT cover and weight blocks, that cover did allow the clutch to shift out a additional 1/4" but still a good 1/4" from shifting out all the way, so I know the new style cover is part of the problem. Harold and I also talked about me getting a faster upshift and driven spring modifications that I had done, and like ATVR had told me in the past about heating the spring I will be doing further testing in the future with my modification and heating the driven spring to remove some of the spring tension.
I can definitely say I am no longer happy with the new style Power Bloc clutches both performance (not shifting out all the way) and durability (cracking covers and premature clutch facing wear), these new clutches are not as good as the old style clutches by any means the diminished quality of the castings is obvious to anybody when you put a new clutch next to a older Power Bloc, not EXACTLY what I expected to get when shelling out nearly 550.00 for new clutches in almost 3 years! I also found out from Harold that these clutches do not come with a warranty and are sold as is but am glad to see he is standing behind his cover failures, I suspect it will take declining clutch sales before the factory will correct their casting and material quality problems. I strongly suggest you check to see if your clutch is not shifting out all the way, if it is not I would call Harold and inquire about the problem, I also would keep a real close eye on the outer cover trust me will will crack sooner or later. More later after I get my clutch back from HRD.
I have my clutch back, Harold sent me back a modified and used cover, used blocks and a new washer to go under the head of the bolt.This is a ALT cover that had the "D" washer removed and a large home made washer fabricated then welded to the outer cover this adds strength to the cover, the 3 weight blocks and cover are used but not very much they show very little signs of wear.
If you look at the washer below you can see it is cupped and not flat should make a good lock washer, I will be installing this clutch on my wifes Pilot to see if it will now shift out all the way, the wifes clutch was installed on my Pilot and like when installed on the wifes machine is shifting out all the way See here
8-09-02 _________________________________________________________________________ 8-10-02 Ok I got my clutch back from HRD with the ALT cover as requested and installed it on the wife's Pilot, took it for a short test ride if you look at the green and red arrows they are pointing to where the new wear line is starting to develop, the clutch is now shifting out 1/4" more without the curved cover using a used belt, with a new belt I am sure it will be with in 1/4" - 3/8" of the edge of the clutch like it should be.
I now know without a doubt the curve cover is what was preventing my 2 curve cover (HRD design) clutches from shifting out like they should. I will make a new mark and take more pictures when I get a chance to put more hours on the wife's Pilot. More about the Power Bloc clutches here