Well I got the new and improved XTX out a little last night for a shakedown. It was 4 oclock and sun starting to set. 8" of snow is now a week old and beat up pretty bad. It was 14 deg F. It was going to be all ditch banging - not really my favorite thing to do.
The sled is now boosted to 9 and 12#'s on the switch. It now has an Ulmer clutch set up and both primary and secondaries are machined for the 8dn belt and full shift out. I replaced the Evol RC2 front shocks with the Axis coil over clickers and installed the Hygear coupler in the rear skid along with the Axis coil over clicker in the rear of the skid. I did not have time to go get race gas and only had a little over a 1/4 of a tank of leftover from last yr 93 non-oxy in the tank so I left it on low boost.
The first thing I noticed was backing it out of the trailer with me on it it ran over the mud flap which it had never done with the fox float in it. When I jump up and down on the boards the sled actually moves now. The steering effort seems to be 1/2 of what it was last year. The new boost gauge is nice and reads in tenths. It has a recall switch for high and low boost numbers which is nice cause a wot launch you cannot look at the gauges. I took it pretty easy the first cuople of miles to get the feel of the new suspension setup. Plus I am out of shape and could feel my hands cramping already. I hit a few plow berms at road approaches that have frozen solid first at about 30 mph then 40 and 50. The sled now absorbs those like candy and my wrists are not bothered at all. I did hit one at a 12' wide driveway and cleared the entire drive landing in the ditch on the other side and the suspension soaked it up.
I did get off the trail into a couple of virgin fields and pulled the trigger a few times. The nose comes up about 12" on launch now and stays there instead of climbing to the sky. I can move back on the boards and get it to wheely with a little pull on the bars, but the transfer is now under controll. The snow is loose and powdery so the hole shots were spinning the track badly and cleaning the snow down to bare dirt for about 30 yards each time, so the hookup was not so great. I hope that will get back to normal like it was last year as the snow gets better. There were some 50 yd wide ditches with deep bowl in the middle I ran them crosswise and could wheely out the top and almost turn the sled 180 deg on its tail to come back down into it again. The throttle response is very snappy and I can watch the boost gauge scroll up very quickly.
I only did about 30 miles but it was fun and the changes to the suspension are night and day. There was no runs long enough or tight and twisty to get a feel for the handling and the snow is not set so I have not got a good idea on how the handling is improved, but we shall see in another couple of weeks.
All in all it was a positive first ride - now lets get some good snow, groomed trails and some race gas so I can light the wick on this thing
The sled is now boosted to 9 and 12#'s on the switch. It now has an Ulmer clutch set up and both primary and secondaries are machined for the 8dn belt and full shift out. I replaced the Evol RC2 front shocks with the Axis coil over clickers and installed the Hygear coupler in the rear skid along with the Axis coil over clicker in the rear of the skid. I did not have time to go get race gas and only had a little over a 1/4 of a tank of leftover from last yr 93 non-oxy in the tank so I left it on low boost.
The first thing I noticed was backing it out of the trailer with me on it it ran over the mud flap which it had never done with the fox float in it. When I jump up and down on the boards the sled actually moves now. The steering effort seems to be 1/2 of what it was last year. The new boost gauge is nice and reads in tenths. It has a recall switch for high and low boost numbers which is nice cause a wot launch you cannot look at the gauges. I took it pretty easy the first cuople of miles to get the feel of the new suspension setup. Plus I am out of shape and could feel my hands cramping already. I hit a few plow berms at road approaches that have frozen solid first at about 30 mph then 40 and 50. The sled now absorbs those like candy and my wrists are not bothered at all. I did hit one at a 12' wide driveway and cleared the entire drive landing in the ditch on the other side and the suspension soaked it up.
I did get off the trail into a couple of virgin fields and pulled the trigger a few times. The nose comes up about 12" on launch now and stays there instead of climbing to the sky. I can move back on the boards and get it to wheely with a little pull on the bars, but the transfer is now under controll. The snow is loose and powdery so the hole shots were spinning the track badly and cleaning the snow down to bare dirt for about 30 yards each time, so the hookup was not so great. I hope that will get back to normal like it was last year as the snow gets better. There were some 50 yd wide ditches with deep bowl in the middle I ran them crosswise and could wheely out the top and almost turn the sled 180 deg on its tail to come back down into it again. The throttle response is very snappy and I can watch the boost gauge scroll up very quickly.
I only did about 30 miles but it was fun and the changes to the suspension are night and day. There was no runs long enough or tight and twisty to get a feel for the handling and the snow is not set so I have not got a good idea on how the handling is improved, but we shall see in another couple of weeks.
All in all it was a positive first ride - now lets get some good snow, groomed trails and some race gas so I can light the wick on this thing
dfroster
Expert
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- 2022 Arctic Cat Thundercat EPS
Must have felt awesome to get out and play some. What is the hygear coupler you mentioned? I know hygear makes a linkage system for xtx rear suspension with air shock, but???
yep that's the one but they also make an axis coilover clicker shock to fit it I'm tired of the air shocks rides great now and land gently no more trying to buck* me over the handlebars
