2022 Sidewinder ltx eps - getting rid of push

[Richard Hodgins]

Little update: I put my pilot 6.9s on and it doesnt push near as bad as the stryke skis did. Not perfect, but it's much better. Running Woody's 8 inch Ace carbides.
I will try the 5.7R next to see how they compare. To me, the Stryke ski is like a cat ski: its better than a tuner, but still not great. I would always swap out the cat skis for pilots ever since 2012 with the procross chassis.
Once again, the extra hole for limiter also helped quite a bit and didnt make my ride worse, contrary to what has been said here. One of the other things I will also mention is that I'm still not sold on the new spindle from 2020-and up. I got back on my 2019 and found it lifted skis less in the corners with all other things considered. I actually changed my 2019 over to the tall spindles and did the rails too at one point, rode it for 500kms and didnt like it, so put everything back to stock again.
It also makes you wonder why the racers went back to the old spindle as well....I think they feel more planted and handle better, being a little bit lower overall. It would just seem weird to do this to a 2022, to put the old style spindle back on....

 

[WinderFab]

Little update: I put my pilot 6.9s on and it doesnt push near as bad as the stryke skis did. Not perfect, but it's much better. Running Woody's 8 inch Ace carbides.
I will try the 5.7R next to see how they compare. To me, the Stryke ski is like a cat ski: its better than a tuner, but still not great. I would always swap out the cat skis for pilots ever since 2012 with the procross chassis.
Once again, the extra hole for limiter also helped quite a bit and didnt make my ride worse, contrary to what has been said here. One of the other things I will also mention is that I'm still not sold on the new spindle from 2020-and up. I got back on my 2019 and found it lifted skis less in the corners with all other things considered. I actually changed my 2019 over to the tall spindles and did the rails too at one point, rode it for 500kms and didnt like it, so put everything back to stock again.
It also makes you wonder why the racers went back to the old spindle as well....I think they feel more planted and handle better, being a little bit lower overall. It would just seem weird to do this to a 2022, to put the old style spindle back on....

Good to hear you got it going in the right direction.. are you getting ski lift even with the 6.9 ?

 

[Richard Hodgins]

Good to hear you got it going in the right direction.. are you getting ski lift even with the 6.9 ?

A little ski lift at times, nothing crazy. But its not as good as my 2019 setup for some reason.

 

[stgdz]

Little update: I put my pilot 6.9s on and it doesnt push near as bad as the stryke skis did. Not perfect, but it's much better. Running Woody's 8 inch Ace carbides.
I will try the 5.7R next to see how they compare. To me, the Stryke ski is like a cat ski: its better than a tuner, but still not great. I would always swap out the cat skis for pilots ever since 2012 with the procross chassis.
Once again, the extra hole for limiter also helped quite a bit and didnt make my ride worse, contrary to what has been said here. One of the other things I will also mention is that I'm still not sold on the new spindle from 2020-and up. I got back on my 2019 and found it lifted skis less in the corners with all other things considered. I actually changed my 2019 over to the tall spindles and did the rails too at one point, rode it for 500kms and didnt like it, so put everything back to stock again.
It also makes you wonder why the racers went back to the old spindle as well....I think they feel more planted and handle better, being a little bit lower overall. It would just seem weird to do this to a 2022, to put the old style spindle back on....

Old spindle works better on 129. New spindle is better with 137.

 

[KnappAttack]

Old spindle works better on 129. New spindle is better with 137.

They can tell you that all they want, but I haven seen that. Short spindles allow for lower center of gravity I don't care how its presented. Get the a-arm angles the same and the shorter spindle sits the sled closer to the ground.

 

[Phatboyc]

What hole is your limiter strap?

Whatever comes stock? Didn't touch it. I have as much weight possible in front with front springs and center at a couple of turns that's it.

In some rare occasion if the trails is very hard pack in the morning freshly groom but not cold enough. The snowtrackers digs deep but not the keel so it can dart. But doesn't last long and is very rare. Not enough for me to remove weight on the skis. Love ridding like on rails.

 

[stgdz]

They can tell you that all they want, but I haven seen that. Short spindles allow for lower center of gravity I don't care how its presented. Get the a-arm angles the same and the shorter spindle sits the sled closer to the ground.

That came from herfdahl (sp) but he is the xc racer so his opinion may be different that the rest of us.





Has anyone run triple points and curve skis? I'm leaning towards that next year as my cat with shapers carbides are probably due for a new set.

 

[Clintww]

I have the curves with slim jims and the leading edge piece. seems to push a bit in loose stuff like trying to ride the right side of the trail on a left corner. Other than that excellent. Nice lift in deep stuff. Ski pressure shock adjustment on mine made a huge difference in bite and steering. Never felt a single dart set either way. Maybe i'm stating the obvious.

 

[DennyTuna]

Has anyone run triple points and curve skis?

I have been running this combo for 6 seasons now. I'm using the 8" triple points. Just make sure you shim the back with their shim kit, it will come with your purchase of the skags. I'm set up different than most, A-arms are level (lowered vs stock), limiters sucked up past factory holes. Using a trac link limiter strap to suck up the front of the skid. Zero preload on the center shock spring. Both of my sleds Viper 129 and winder 137 just rail. I have little to no darting, it just doesn't stay in others tracks, holds its own line even when slowing for stop signs. My current set is in its 3rd season of use and they still look pretty good.

 

[Richard Hodgins]

Another update:
Have now tried two other combinations besides the original Stryke ski. Tried the 5.7R Pilot and 6.9 Pilot, both of which worked really well on my 2019. Both of these setups on my 2022 still pushed unfortunately although they are a little better than stock ski.

I am actually going to give up on this sled all together and go back to my 2019 Cat 9000. I strongly believe, at least for my riding style, the older spindles worked better, have less push with similar ski setup and lifted skis less. I have had ski lift on my 2022 which I never had on my 2019. I should mention that I also tried different shock and spring setups too, I went for a full SRX spring setup with lowered springs front and rear and also the stock spring setup. Also had QS3Rs on it too at one point. No matter how much I tuned the suspension or changed skis, the push and ski lift remained.
I dont think this is related to the EPS, its the new spindle/rails.

So I will be selling the 2022 and going back to my 2019. Will try the Knapp setup this time around (trackers on 5.7R with BOP arms) to see if I can get the steering lightness back on the 2019.

I COULD have made my 2022 like my 2019 by going back to the old spindles and rails, but it just seemed like too much work. I should also add that I didn't like the shorter seat compared to my mountain seat on '19 and also disliked the Yamaha clutching compared to my old cat (this is also personal preference).
The only thing I will miss on the 22 is the Power Steering, but I do feel I can get close to it on the older sled.

AS for original topic I see Stain is going to Command skis and that may be the ticket for avoiding push on an EPS sled!

 

[KnappAttack]

Did you try the Aggressive Trackers on the 5.7R skis? Or even shapers on the Doo skis? Either of these carbides will turn.

 

[WinderFab]

Did you try the Aggressive Trackers on the 5.7R skis? Or even shapers on the Doo skis? Either of these carbides will turn.

I know you run the aggressive ST on the pilot R ski, have you also tried the shapers on the R skis ? Any feedback how they worked out would be appreciated.

 

[KnappAttack]

I know you run the aggressive ST on the pilot R ski, have you also tried the shapers on the R skis ? Any feedback how they worked out would be appreciated.

Shapers are also very aggressive, however steer very hard and dart on sleds without EPS. I'm guessing you could run a longer carbide in the EPS machine without feeling too heavy. I haven't even tried my EPS machine out yet, and may not get a chance to this season.

I like the single shapers ability to go where pointed, but hate the heavy steering and darting on a non EPS sled. I will certainly give them a try next year on the EPS sled to see how they perform on there, but if they don't work nice, I would go right back to the Aggressive Trackers.

 

[Richard Hodgins]

Did you try the Aggressive Trackers on the 5.7R skis? Or even shapers on the Doo skis? Either of these carbides will turn.

I didn’t try this setup on the EPS SLED, although I’m sure it would work. Main thing about the 2022 I didn’t like was the tall spindles and higher center of gravity even with the SRX lowered springs. It just feels too high, lifts inside ski and doesn’t bite as hard in the corners and is the reason I am going back to the 2019.

 

[twyztid]

I have a set of Woody's Slim Jim carbides that I will sell very cheap if anyone wants to try them on Pilot 5.7 or 6.9 skis. I can't remember right now if they are 6" or 8". I tried them for a short ride (less than 25 miles) on the Pilot 5.7 skis I have on our 06 Apex GT (spare sled). I didn't really like them on that sled but they might work well on the Sidewinder and would definitely cut deeper into the snow than Shaper bars. PM me if interested.