apex_man
Newbie
I have a 2007 RTX and want to know how people are setting them up. I am interested in front shock pressure as well as limiter stap settings and transfer rod settings. I am finding that I cannot slide it around corners the front wants to lift and the skis dont stay planted. Can theese sleds be setup to corner better? I am open to suggestions? Help?
number1kyster
TY 4 Stroke God
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2004
- Messages
- 2,187
- Reaction score
- 884
- Points
- 1,483
- Location
- Vermont
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2018 SW RTX SE
I have my limiter straps in the stock position, 13mm sway bar and floats at 65 pounds. Clicker turned all the way up and blocks on hard.
apex_man
Newbie
What is the stock position?
number1kyster
TY 4 Stroke God
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2004
- Messages
- 2,187
- Reaction score
- 884
- Points
- 1,483
- Location
- Vermont
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2018 SW RTX SE
not sure i just know ive never touched it.
nate007
Lifetime Member
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2006
- Messages
- 2,770
- Reaction score
- 60
- Points
- 1,333
- Location
- Iowa City, Iowa
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 1. '06 Apex -twin screw
2. '04 Redline Revolt 800
3. '09 Nytro XTX - twin screw
If you don't do alot of jumping, and your trails aren't too bad, try letting enough pressure out of the shocks to make the A-arms level, or just above level. After that, shorten your limiter strap one hole. You will notice a huge difference in how well it corners, and it won't cost anything! If you don't like it, you can put it back.
I have a Gt, and have done this with my coil overs, and I love it. I ride ditches alot, and have never bottomed out, and I'm #240 with gear! It still pushes a bit, adn I need to have Pioneer re-valve my shocks, but it did help alot, and it looks better!
If you still have issues withe the front coming up, you'll have to play with the transfer settings to get it where you like it. Everybody is different, but if you keep too much pressure on the skis, you'l have issues with steering effort and/or pushing in the corners. Pioneer makes larger sway bars as well.
I have a Gt, and have done this with my coil overs, and I love it. I ride ditches alot, and have never bottomed out, and I'm #240 with gear! It still pushes a bit, adn I need to have Pioneer re-valve my shocks, but it did help alot, and it looks better!
If you still have issues withe the front coming up, you'll have to play with the transfer settings to get it where you like it. Everybody is different, but if you keep too much pressure on the skis, you'l have issues with steering effort and/or pushing in the corners. Pioneer makes larger sway bars as well.
ahicks
TY 4 Stroke Master
Sorting mine out for the first time out this past weekend too. Some quick thoughts in no particular order.
Not really too sure what's going on in front just yet, but I do know that the inside ski is hiking up there pretty good on occasion. Other times we're getting through in pretty good fashion. Similar speeds/conditions, haven't figured out the difference yet. First rider forward sled with associated new riding style requirments may be an issue?
Front shocks set exactly as Nate suggests above - which is also the way my Polaris experince tells me to go. Keeps the front end soft to allow the sway bar to do it's thing. Set at 55lbs, acts much stiffer.
As far as front end lift, not getting into that at all. Have the transfer set up about 1/2" from full transfer. The reason it's there though is not to keep the front end down on my sled. It's to keep the track from racheting....?? Another new experience for me.
Too much front end (opposite from pushing), dialing that out a little at a time by increasing front skid spring preload.
Earlier work done to establish proper ride height with my oversize butt on it has payed off - have been dialing OUT torsion spring preload. Never bottomed the sled out one time in the 150 miles we rode - though conditions never did get real bad.
Sled shows incredible potential. I couldn't be happier with it at this point. Willing to take whatever time is necessary to get it dialed in to my riding style/area. -Al
Not really too sure what's going on in front just yet, but I do know that the inside ski is hiking up there pretty good on occasion. Other times we're getting through in pretty good fashion. Similar speeds/conditions, haven't figured out the difference yet. First rider forward sled with associated new riding style requirments may be an issue?
Front shocks set exactly as Nate suggests above - which is also the way my Polaris experince tells me to go. Keeps the front end soft to allow the sway bar to do it's thing. Set at 55lbs, acts much stiffer.
As far as front end lift, not getting into that at all. Have the transfer set up about 1/2" from full transfer. The reason it's there though is not to keep the front end down on my sled. It's to keep the track from racheting....?? Another new experience for me.
Too much front end (opposite from pushing), dialing that out a little at a time by increasing front skid spring preload.
Earlier work done to establish proper ride height with my oversize butt on it has payed off - have been dialing OUT torsion spring preload. Never bottomed the sled out one time in the 150 miles we rode - though conditions never did get real bad.
Sled shows incredible potential. I couldn't be happier with it at this point. Willing to take whatever time is necessary to get it dialed in to my riding style/area. -Al
69redmach1
Extreme
I've done a lot of tuning on mine and get the best results with the fronts at 65 psi, the front straps pulled up 1 hole and the rods turned up to the 2nd line.
apex_man
Newbie
My strap is on the last hole to being the loosest.
Mikecam
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Front psi 37 yes you read right 37 psi. I'm 240 and have hit the biggest bumps I could find and never bottomed out anything. The lower PSI will almost eliminate the inside ski lift. Limiter Strap up one hole from stock. Transfer Rod set at 2 lines. Put sled on stand and back off the rear skids front shock till she almost is loose and turn back 2 turns and leave her there. Back cam set to max (I'm 240). I've tried every combination in between and this is where I like it. Handles the bigger bumps good and the little studders better. Just a guess but I thought in the beginning I wasn't going to have enough ride height for my weight but backing off the front PSI keeps the front shocks from pushing the rear down. My thoughts anyway. Try anything and everything and keep what works for you. I also tried 100 psi in the front and realized going up was the wrong way. RockerDan pointed me in the right direction for the lower psi for the inside ski lift and I feel it helped every aspect of the sled.
Yamaha Man
Expert
Mikecam, nice set up. I'll have to try it.
It seems to me tho that the rear sus. front shock would bottom out, if you were to loosen it that much! Especially since I have mine 2/3 of the way tightened and the suspension seems to bottom real easily. (175 lbs. / aggressive rider) I'm in no means argueing with you, I'm just saying....
Yamaha Man
It seems to me tho that the rear sus. front shock would bottom out, if you were to loosen it that much! Especially since I have mine 2/3 of the way tightened and the suspension seems to bottom real easily. (175 lbs. / aggressive rider) I'm in no means argueing with you, I'm just saying....
Yamaha Man
Mikecam
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I thought that too Yamaha Man. I'm 240 lbs so when I first got the sled I cranked up the front shock on the skid
all the way to the end of the threads. It rode terrible. Studder bumps felt like they were 3 feet tall. At that point I thought I had made a mistake going with the RTX and the torsion spring rear skid. I started reading on here and learned a little about skid coupling. I'm no expert but by backing off the front shock on the rear skid it allowed the skid to couple sooner. By coupling sooner it gets the torsion spring working sooner and helps hold up the entire rear skid. I'm no expert and what I am saying could be all wrong but it seems to work for me. I spent a whole day (over 6 hours) on the same 1/8 mile stretch of bitched out trail and tried everything under the sun. I did turn up the compression on the rear shock to help in the bottoming out and you can certainly get it too high. I kept playing with mine till I would only bottom out on the biggest bumps. I've hit some nasty looking trails and it worked like I thought it would and coming from what I had from the beginning it is much better. I did make and install my own bump stops and that seems to help as well. Lowing the psi in the front shocks made a big difference too. It felt like when I had 60psi in the front it would push the back of the sled down. Running 37 psi or 250 KPA which is what I use (Metric Canadian lol ) keeps the front level with the back and working together. Again I don't know if anything I'm saying is right but it is how I feel the sled under me. Try some and let me know what you think.
all the way to the end of the threads. It rode terrible. Studder bumps felt like they were 3 feet tall. At that point I thought I had made a mistake going with the RTX and the torsion spring rear skid. I started reading on here and learned a little about skid coupling. I'm no expert but by backing off the front shock on the rear skid it allowed the skid to couple sooner. By coupling sooner it gets the torsion spring working sooner and helps hold up the entire rear skid. I'm no expert and what I am saying could be all wrong but it seems to work for me. I spent a whole day (over 6 hours) on the same 1/8 mile stretch of bitched out trail and tried everything under the sun. I did turn up the compression on the rear shock to help in the bottoming out and you can certainly get it too high. I kept playing with mine till I would only bottom out on the biggest bumps. I've hit some nasty looking trails and it worked like I thought it would and coming from what I had from the beginning it is much better. I did make and install my own bump stops and that seems to help as well. Lowing the psi in the front shocks made a big difference too. It felt like when I had 60psi in the front it would push the back of the sled down. Running 37 psi or 250 KPA which is what I use (Metric Canadian lol ) keeps the front level with the back and working together. Again I don't know if anything I'm saying is right but it is how I feel the sled under me. Try some and let me know what you think.
69redmach1
Extreme
I have no luck with the front shock pressures that low. The sled will pitch back and forth and become too twitchy at extreme high speeds. Also my front end will bottom horribly at that psi. I weigh 185lbs. I'm also running my front skid spring a little looser. I think everyone that is willing to put time into these adjustments will get the sled to handle. I've tried every combination as well and you get a feel for what the sled does with each adjustment. Also the stock carbides contribute a lot to the stock twitchy handling.
Mikecam
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I run 8" bergstrom triple points. Pretty much ran them since I received the sled. Good point !
ahicks
TY 4 Stroke Master
OK, just tossing ideas out. If a front end is too twitchy, it's likely got too much weight on it. Maybe more front skid spring tension could help move some of that excess weight back onto the front of the skid where it could be dealt with easier? Understood, different skis, shims, etc. are other options - only considering setup options
If the front couples to the rear, and you add the front and rear spring rates together to compress the suspension any further, you get something that rides like a roller skate. That's something you ony want happening on the biggest bumps maybe? Something to consider regarding this is the fact that Doo's latest suspensions have done away with forward coupling all together, use rear only. Not saying that's right or wrong - it just brings up something to consider.
If you find that you've added a lot of front skid spring preload to start getting the front end right (using the above theory) you may find you can back off on the torsion spring settings without increasing the sag (much to my surprise!) allowing a softer ride! Just me.
If the front couples to the rear, and you add the front and rear spring rates together to compress the suspension any further, you get something that rides like a roller skate. That's something you ony want happening on the biggest bumps maybe? Something to consider regarding this is the fact that Doo's latest suspensions have done away with forward coupling all together, use rear only. Not saying that's right or wrong - it just brings up something to consider.
If you find that you've added a lot of front skid spring preload to start getting the front end right (using the above theory) you may find you can back off on the torsion spring settings without increasing the sag (much to my surprise!) allowing a softer ride! Just me.
Yamaha Man
Expert
This is all so mine boggling, lol.
Mikecam, sounds like he swears by his setup (35PSI...1 hole tighter on the limiter strap...front skid spring loose). I'm going to tug hill Saturday now, so I'll have to try it out. I'm hoping to play around with it on the trail, to get it just right.
I'm just still a lil skeptical about loosening my front skid shock...but its worth a try!
ALSO: for the front skid shock...to loosen the bottom nut on the shock, what do you guys use? I don't think Yamaha gives you anything to loosen it with, but last night I borrowed my friends REV shock wrench.
Thanks,
Yamaha Man
Mikecam, sounds like he swears by his setup (35PSI...1 hole tighter on the limiter strap...front skid spring loose). I'm going to tug hill Saturday now, so I'll have to try it out. I'm hoping to play around with it on the trail, to get it just right.
I'm just still a lil skeptical about loosening my front skid shock...but its worth a try!
ALSO: for the front skid shock...to loosen the bottom nut on the shock, what do you guys use? I don't think Yamaha gives you anything to loosen it with, but last night I borrowed my friends REV shock wrench.
Thanks,
Yamaha Man
