2006 Apex Skid Vibration

[JohnDeereJoe]

I'll post a picture of the rails when I get the sliders off again later this week..... Got about 100 miles out of the new pair... Snow conditions weren't the greatest and I was trying my best to get as much snow in there as possible. Was riding down the side of a road on the trail to the gas station up in the tug hill area, stopped to check the map and when I went to move again I couldn't. Slides melted to the track clips. BAD. Just got it home and pulled the skid, slides are completely shot but luckily it didn't get down to the rails. I was running the track pretty loose, around a 1 1/4" gap with 20lbs of pressure in the middle of the track. I'm thinking snow conditions were most of it but not sold on that idea. Could the 121-129" rail extension mess with the skid angle? Just a thought. I'm definitely going to put scratchers on it and would like to switch to bigger bogeys and add the extra wheels at the front of the skid. Any part numbers for the slightly larger wheels and the dupont hyfax for an attack? Let me know if you have any other ideas.

 

[Phaze]

Your track is too tight. You should have that gap with no weight. Skip the weight method. Raise the rear and you should have at least 1.25" gap, if not more. You'll know if your track is too loose if it ratchets... You're not close to that happening...

 

[74Nitro]

Hi all, I'm having a bad sound/vibration coming from the front of my skid under any acceleration, sending a vibration through the handle bars. I think it's possibly the track clips hitting the front of the slides but looking for any other suggestions and ideas to adjust it out. I know I had the track to tight for my 150 mile ride earlier in the season so the new slides aren't great. After inspection it looks like some small holes got melted into the slides towards the front by the bend and could see material built up on the edge of the track clips so it definitely got hot. I have re-adjusted my track and played with the limiter strap to try to move the skid up and down a little but couldn't notice a change in the noise. I'm not sure how quality the slides were to begin with, they just came with the tracks USA 128 extension kit. Track is also a Ice attack. I'll attach a video of the sound. I'm questioning if I can ride it this weekend. I've read good things about the DuPont slides on here but couldn't find the part number for them. Any help is appreciated! video (only way I could get it to attach)

You're vibration under acceleration is the track ratcheting because it's way too loose.

 

[Fast Lane]

If you have low snow, run scratchers. They make a huge difference. I run Kimpex cable style and they fling tons of snow in my skid. Thats some serious slider wear!!!!!

 

[JohnDeereJoe]

You're vibration under acceleration is the track ratcheting because it's way too loose.

I had the track tension tighter when I was having the vibration. The sliders lasted 400 miles and then the vibration went away when I replaced the sliders. Burned up the replacements in 100 miles.

 

[JohnDeereJoe]

If you have low snow, run scratchers. They make a huge difference. I run Kimpex cable style and they fling tons of snow in my skid. Thats some serious slider wear!!!!!

One of my friends has an attack and he has those cable scratchers. Did you mount on the skis or skid? His were bouncing up and smacking his rails leaving some dings. I was thinking about getting the RSI Spring scratchers.

 

[Phaze]

I had the track tension tighter when I was having the vibration. The sliders lasted 400 miles and then the vibration went away when I replaced the sliders. Burned up the replacements in 100 miles.

Vibration and ratcheting are
2 different things. As the sliders wear down it creates a little extra gap to the clips, looser track, when you put new sliders on the gap is narrowed creating a tighter track. The track is way to tight. Loosen it up like I mentioned b4 and try it. What do you have to lose???
Sliders will burn up in 100 miles in extreme low snow. But they'll last alot longer than 400 in normal conditions..

 

[74Nitro]

I had the track tension tighter when I was having the vibration. The sliders lasted 400 miles and then the vibration went away when I replaced the sliders. Burned up the replacements in 100 miles.

Inch and a quarter gap at 20 lbs may not be tight enough. If the drivers are worn it won't be tight enough.
Also check the suspension front torque arm for breaks.

 

[74Nitro]

One of my friends has an attack and he has those cable scratchers. Did you mount on the skis or skid? His were bouncing up and smacking his rails leaving some dings. I was thinking about getting the RSI Spring scratchers.

I had the same problem with those cable scratchers. I tried them last year for the first time ever and they were nothing but a headache.
No matter how much loctite I used I couldn't keep them tight.

 

[Fast Lane]

 

[Fast Lane]

Zoom in and you see how these kimpex ride in the snow. Loctite red and let them dry fully in a heated garage. This was on Saturday that was a mixture of various snow conditions. They kimpex ones have been on for 3000 kms with no issues.

 

[JohnDeereJoe]

Vibration and ratcheting are
2 different things. As the sliders wear down it creates a little extra gap to the clips, looser track, when you put new sliders on the gap is narrowed creating a tighter track. The track is way to tight. Loosen it up like I mentioned b4 and try it. What do you have to lose???

I will loosen it up a little and try it again once I get some new sliders. I really don't think that's the main issue though. I was riding with my friend with the attack when they melted and his were completely fine and he had his track set to the Yamaha spec which is tighter. His sled was running hot the whole time also and mine was fine. I think If I put scratchers, bigger bogey wheels and add the smaller wheels at the front of the skid it would all help the cause but not sure if it would eliminate the problem.

 

[JohnDeereJoe]

He also didn't have the scratchers on for this ride.

 

[74Nitro]

The single bolt idler wheel blocks that came on these sleds were garbage as they move up the rail about 1/8 inch if they hit bumps, and they do.
Once that happens the sliders wear out much quicker.
In 2010 Yamaha went back to two-bolt blocks as they don't slide up the rail.
If you can get your hands on the two bolt blocks and hardware that would help.

 

[Phaze]

I will loosen it up a little and try it again once I get some new sliders. I really don't think that's the main issue though. I was riding with my friend with the attack when they melted and his were completely fine and he had his track set to the Yamaha spec which is tighter. His sled was running hot the whole time also and mine was fine. I think If I put scratchers, bigger bogey wheels and add the smaller wheels at the front of the skid it would all help the cause but not sure if it would eliminate the problem.

Sounds like you guys are running in very low snow conditions if one sled is heating up. My Apex has a cooling fan, front AND rear heat exchangers. I dont overheat where my buddies might.
All those things you mentioned will help the low snow condition. If you think about it, larger bogeys are pushing the track away from the slides creating a larger gap same as looser track, less tension on the slides.... I've been doing it this way for years on different sleds. The only issue I had was late winter on sunny days where snow didn't want to fling around. Never used scratchers, although I could have used them on occasion. If you're constantly running in low snow conditions scratchers are a must. If you loosen the track and the issue gets worse, your drivers just may be shot as someone mentioned. Then you'll need to replace the driveshaft..
Once you get this figured out buy a set of Duponts. You won't regret it..