Thanks for this write up, it'll be very useful in the future.
How many clutches have you gone through so far and what's the average lifespan? I know it depends on how you drive, just curious.
Thanks
It was a bunch, don’t remember exact number anymore, I think 6-7 including an aftermarket set. But then I was in several other times to switch even set into the odds so we’d at least have 1st and reverse to keep riding. Didn’t let the clutch issues keep the family grounded much. That was 1 machine out of 3 we had.
I think there were multiple problems on that machine. One I found was the intake boot wasn’t tight from assembly and allowed dirt to be ingested which eventually took the engine out but I think the dirty oil played a factor in the clutches. Also we’ve found out not all machines engage the same. Some shift hard and some a little soft, you want it to engage hard.
Our previous machine to that one never missed a beat even being extremely hard on it, but the machine with clutch issues always shifted soft. My current Pioneer is in between them both.
Now longevity will depend on the machine, driver awareness and intended use.
The update has allowed for much greater slippage before a problem. We beat the hell out of the machine and pull crap 3 times heavier then it’s designed purpose and I’m not worried. But as a few of us have learned you want it hook up fast so if doing anything out of norm you stab the throttle or can manually shift if worried. Keep RPM’s up a little and watch heavy mud with large aggressive tires, try to keep wheels spinning if that makes sense. It really is pretty bulletproof now though. A friend of mine is at 30,000 with 20% of that on tracks and he abuses it, it’s hard to say but doing the same stuff with same driver I believe DCT will outlive belts (even the good ones) by a long shot. Pretty damn sure no belted machine would have held up that long for what he’s done. Just remember like a belt there has to be some slippage but you have a lot more room for error with the Honda clutches.
