Doing pre season Maintenance

[Budweiser]

Yamaha peeps - I'm doing the maintenance on a friends 2017 L-TX. Need some advice on how to set up sled. The rider will be a 60+ year old, 200 lb man. He rides fast, but will slow down when it gets rough. He has been hard core Yamaha for over 30 years but after riding my 1200 he has had 3 ski-doos. Sorry, but you have to admit they ride nice! I have over a 100 miles on the Sidewinder and feel it rides rougher than my 2012 1200 but I was still hugely impressed by it. NOTHING has been done to it suspension wise since he got it from the dealer. Any advice on making it ride more plush? To me it feels sprung too hard so my first thing will be to lower the spring pressure. But I wanted to get your advice first.

Any other advice on what to do to it? Sled has about 1300 miles on it. Already blew a belt which he is not happy about. Do you recommend the 8DN belt? I'll check out the turbo and exhaust bolts and change the engine oil and chaincase oil.

Thanks and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions!

 

[fatchance]

LE or SE? I can't speak for the SE, but if it is the LE with the QS3R shocks there should be no problem getting a plush ride.

 

[Budweiser]

Not sure. Its a 137 and has the piggyback shocks.

And I agree. I didn't think it rode "bad" right from the dealer. Just not very plush. And tough to start making changes when we were in Canada on a saddlebag trip and the skid is loaded with snow!

 

[fatchance]

The QS3R's have a 3 position clicker dial on the reserve chamber. Even at 200lbs position #1 will be stiff enough to soak up some good size bumps. That's a good place to start. There is a plethora of adjustment to be had on these skids and it seems that they all came from the dealers set up to X-cross race! Most all complaints were about lack of transfer and heavy steering, both indicative of a stiff skid.

 

[stevewithOCD]

The ski's will make a difference on these set-ups. I have Curves with Slim Jims. I weigh 170 pounds, but carry 40 pounds of stuff with me so that puts me at 210 pounds. 137" LTX-LE

MY SET-UP

1. front skid straps dropped down to last hole
2. ALL 3 adjuster knobs on QSR shocks set to 1
3. front shocks' bottom adjusters (rebound) set all the way loose (ccw) then back in 1 or 2
4. rear shock rebound set all the way tight (cw) then back out 1 or 2
5. transfer blocks removed or at lowest possible
6. front shock spring tightened a bit (this adjustment is for ski pressure & will be the most subjective to what you want to accomplish)
-lighten for softer ride, but may make steering harder

-My 270 pound friend likes this set-up on my sled with rear adjusters set on 2
-I ride hard & have a hard time hooking up because i sit far forward so some of these adjustments reflect that
-my steering is light , but very precise in corners

P.S. 1: MY sled was TERRIBLE at first & i was VERY discouraged, but once i got it in the "pocket", my DOO friends were very impressed
P.S. 2: my Arctic Cat friend with EXACT chassis has almost the exact opposite set-up & he swears by his
P.S. 3: thanks to all TY members especially SJ that turned me around on my thinking

 

[Budweiser]

Thanks for the tips! I'll give them a shot.

 

[XP123]

Mine rides great and not harsh at all. I have the Qs3 shocks all set on one.