Question about Bravo 3 conical clutches

jimmwaller

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 30, 2013
Messages
273
I just have kind of a basic question about the conical clutches and shift system in a bravo 3.

First question, are the gears basically "engaged" or "not engaged"? Like for example, in some clutch systems, you can be "partially engaged" and it's bad to run partially engaged because things will wear, etc. I had to undo my shift cables the other day and now that I've put them back, I'm wondering if my travel is the same and I'm worried that if they're off a little, I might somehow "partially engage" my drive and ruin something. But it goes into gear, so I'm hoping that these drives are either "engaged" or "not engaged" so that I know that if I'm in forward, I'm not "partially engaged" or anything where it would be bad to drive it.

The second question is whether there's an upper RPM range where I should feel comfortable shifting. Like I'm wondering, my idle is set a little high because it's still freezing where I am for some reason and it has trouble starting with or even sometimes maintaining a low RPM idle (esp. early mornings), so I'm wondering if it's bad to shift when the engine is past a certain RPM or whether I can generally keep the idle at almost any RPM and still shift without ruining anything, if that makes sense.

Appreciate any knowledge you all can drop here! I don't really understand these shift systems at all. Thank you
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
43,061
Bravo's are either engaged or not, there isn't a partial

I would keep it under 800 rpm
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,425
How the cone clutch works
both f and r have the mating recess in the gears.there is a spiral shaft that the cone clutch rides on, the instant is connects with the gear and has resistance the spiral shaft drives it into the gear causing complete engagement. what actually goes bad are the thin grooves in the cone itself.
 

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jimmwaller

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 30, 2013
Messages
273
ah okay, that's cool. So basically total engagement from the moment it touches, that's good to hear. So if my gears are engaging, they're solidly engaged. Good to know. Thanks!
 
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