Polaris 2001 High-Performance Snowmobile Service Manual (PN 9916690), Page 189Get this manual
CLUTCHING MAINTENANCE
The driven clutch operates in conjunction with the drive clutchIts function is to maintain drive belt tension preventing slippage, and sense variations in load requirements necessary to maintain optimum engine torque output and load requirements from the trackOutput torque is transmitted through the chaincase jackshaft and chaincase to the front drive shaft and trackWhen the load on the driven clutch is increased and becomes greater than the torque delivered from the engine, the driven clutch becomes dominant and overrides the drive clutchThe driven clutch downshifts into ratio which will match the increased loadBecause the driven clutch can sense and shift into the proper ratio, engine RPM will remain within the specified range