Anyone familiar with the Kawasaki Mule 610?

[mustangwagz]

Sup guys/gals. ok, here's whats been on my brain...i got a 2011 mule 610 4x4 (KAF400ABF) Its got a 400cc motor in it...and its basically a lawn tractor style motor, horizontal shaft, just like the 6wheelers do. the drive and driven clutch's are kinda diff... mainly the driven..its actually got rollers in it..like a scooter does. but anyhow, if any of yinz have ever ridden in a mule, you'll knwo first hand their the slowest of the sidexside family. I'd like to change this. The motor's are governed by the trans, but that can be bypassed (trust me...i did it. lol) but still not much faster. maybe just a whisker or so..but this driven clutch setup has me thinking....the attex i used to own had a different "Driven" setup..with no flippin rollers. it was a torqe converter, not a variated style like scooters have... SO now...i been stewing over this whole ordeal...i'm thinkin i can modify this thing to work the way i want it to. i THINK i can stuff a Torq converter Driven clutch in there, but i need to tear it apart and measure some stuff. like Overall OD and stuff. Not sure WHY the driven clutch has rollers in it? but i'm thinking this can be removed and replaced with something diffrent.

All in all, my main goal over all this is to break the rules of the mule and get it to go faster..ive read ALOT about them via other forums that say it cannot be done. as some of you may know.. "cant" is a word i dont get along with. lol In the end i may end up having the trans case come un glued, but i mean cmon....cant say i didnt try. lol

[spookum]

If it has "rollers" in the drive clutch that is just a diffrent clutch desighn. Do you have pictures? Are you saying it is belt drive, but not like a "shifting" CVT clutch? Maybe get a pair of clutches from a snow mobile?

[mustangwagz]

If it has "rollers" in the drive clutch that is just a diffrent clutch desighn. Do you have pictures? Are you saying it is belt drive, but not like a "shifting" CVT clutch? Maybe get a pair of clutches from a snow mobile?

its belt drivin, but uses a different style secondary clutch that uses rollers and ramps. ill have to tear into and see what i got to work with, or what i can replace it with. lol something makes me think that a 6 wheeler style secondary is gonna get me more speed outta it. which could be a good thing. ill have to see what i can find.

[coosaridgerider]

Call airdam clutches,They may be able to answer your question better.

[maicolover]

Yes, Changing Clutch isn't going to give you more speed. Roller clutch is better than old ramp and guide style's. To get more speed you would need different gearing in the transmission! And no one makes any gearing that i know of. You might be able to find a smaller driven converter which would increase speed. But it would affect power and hill climbing abilities. We have put taller tires on them to increase speed some. 610's and other Mules weren't designed for speed! They're work machines. Teryx side by side was designed for speed and play!

[mustangwagz]

Yes, Changing Clutch isn't going to give you more speed. Roller clutch is better than old ramp and guide style's. To get more speed you would need different gearing in the transmission! And no one makes any gearing that i know of. You might be able to find a smaller driven converter which would increase speed. But it would affect power and hill climbing abilities. We have put taller tires on them to increase speed some. 610's and other Mules weren't designed for speed! They're work machines. Teryx side by side was designed for speed and play!

yah ive had mine a year now, and i done A LOT of research and i know your right, but i'm just trying to think outside the box now that my warranty is up. lol

[coosaridgerider]

I'm not that familiar with the mule but don't it have a straight axle rear end.If so could you change the rear end gears or have one made?

[LarryW]

What about the drive clutch diameter? Is it something around 4.5" or 7". If its smaller you could swap that out. Then you might have a chance of the belt going into the driven to much so you might have to swap that out too. If I remember right I gained something around 8mph when I swapped mine drive clutch out on my 208tt. It was designed for the larger one though.

[MaxRules]

The best way to upgrade a Mule is to trade it in for a Polaris Ranger. The Mule is an 'ok' vehicle for just slow farm work, but when you start talking speed, power, and suspension, the Ranger has them all beat. Making the Mule faster won't help if it doens't have the suspension and handling to allow the speed (just like a Max). The Ranger 800 HD with power steering is the ultimate in making work seem like fun. Huge independant suspension and more speed and power than you can use. I just bought a 2011 Polaris Rzr 800 and the suspension is just unreal. You can fly down a trail at 40mph and you don't even feel bumps and ditches. 63mph top speed stock... if that isn't enough just get the Rzr 900 to go 80mph. One heck of a fun machine.

RzrPhoto.jpg

[mudbug3]

I read a recent magazine shoot out between the Canam 1000 Commander, Artic Cat 1000 Wildcat ,and the Polaris Razor 900. The Polaris 900 got the best over all reveiws. The Polaris Razor 900XP would be my choice in a side by side.

[mustangwagz]

Larry, once i tear it apart that my idea really. see if i can reduce driven diameter. Now as for the drive clutch, i did find a guy here in PA who's making his own Drive clutch spring that increases torque by ALOT according to the customers of his i talked with. This spring, and the smaller driven may adjust enough for a little more speed.

As for purchasing another machine...well...just aint in my budget right now. lol so untill then, i have to piss with the pecker i have. the mule does great for working, was just simply looking to get a little more speed for when we go down the road with the neighbors N such. However, if i cannot, then no big deal.

i did consider trading it in...untill stealer-ship told me what they would give me for it.. its a year old, has 100 hours on it, and they estimated that its value dropped 3k within that time..Oh, by the way...that 3k price drop was WITH ALLLLLL the stuff i bought for it. The add-ons you ask?.. 60" Eagle Hi-lift plow (freaking awesome too btw) Soft cab, FUll windshield, OEM Kawasaki Cab heater, Hi Intensity Back Up LED light, Bed Side extensions, 2" Thunderhawk Lift kit, 3500 LB Winch, 4 new Super Swamper Vampire Tires. (Not the ASX like yinz run on aatvs) and the Hitch system for rear of it. Also, i have a swisher dump bucket that i modified to fit the plow mount which works great. ...so...even after ALLLLLL that stuff, and the base price of the mule, they said they'd give me 5k for it.. so needless to say, i wont be trading it in. lol Instead if it comes down to it, ill list it on CL or Ebay with all the add ons listed and hopefully sell it. but, thats last resort.

[coosaridgerider]

I rode in one of those 900 razors.I think my finger print are still in the o sh..t handle.We jumped a terrace in his yard and the tires where 5' off the ground and the landing was as smooth as glass.I think it red line around 10g.Awesome machine.

I read a recent magazine shoot out between the Canam 1000 Commander, Artic Cat 1000 Wildcat ,and the Polaris Razor 900. The Polaris 900 got the best over all reveiws. The Polaris Razor 900XP would be my choice in a side by side.