22" of Snow and Monoshock Performance

[RX-1 Liter]

Chautauqua Cty in WNY finally got a blast with 22" the last 24hrs. The trails don't open until the 17th so I was restricted to my dad's property (50 acres). We put on 30 miles with our 05 and 03 RX-1s. All I can say is WOW! The Monoshock is the best riding suspension that I have ever rode! There is absolutely no comparison between the 03 and 05. There was a cornfield that simulated a rough stutter bump trail and the mono just glided right through while you felt every bump with the 03. I weigh 225 w/out gear and only bottomed out once with the compression set on full soft and the spring set in the middle. The weight transfer makes the mono a riot to ride. Although, you will really have to tune it out for all out twisty trail riding. One thing that I will be changing is adding an aftermarket Maxximum Perf. quick nut adjuster control rod so you don't have to get out the wrenches to change the weight transfer. This monoshock is going to be the standard that all suspensions will be measured by. THANK YOU YAMAHA! FINALLY!

 

[Mighty]

THANK YOU YAMAHA! FINALLY!

The more I read the more it kinda pisses me off. You can't tell me this skid wasn't in the works back when the piece of $hit pro-action was installed in 03 and then again in 04

 

[4Fighter]

The more I read the more it kinda pisses me off. You can't tell me this skid wasn't in the works back when the piece of $hit pro-action was installed in 03 and then again in 04

Careful Mighty, you're starting to sound like someone else I know. LOL

 

[Mighty]

The more I read the more it kinda pisses me off. You can't tell me this skid wasn't in the works back when the piece of $hit pro-action was installed in 03 and then again in 04

Careful Mighty, you're starting to sound like someone else I know. LOL

I hear ya. Fortunately my Warrior rides really nice so I guess I don't really have any bitches because I really-really like the added skid length

 

[4Fighter]

I hear ya. Fortunately my Warrior rides really nice so I guess I don't really have any bitches because I really-really like the added skid length

Like I said, I REALLY wanted a Warrior but I WILL NOT use the Pro-Action skid. I'm hoping to eventually do a 121" EDGE skid extended to 136"

 

[Boston RX1]

RX-1, I for one am very happy for you. I hope Yamaha gets it right this year. I look forward to hearing many more stories about this skid. You mentioned that it is the best suspension you have ever ridden. Have you ridden something other than Yamaha? Just curious.

 

[RX-1 Liter]

I agree Mighty. If it were a subtle difference it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But, I am blown away by how nice it rides. One of my riding buddies has an 04 Warrior and it is definitely better than my 03 Rx-1, but the Mono blows that away as well. IMO, everyone that rides a monshock that has a pre 05 RX will be planning to upgrade in 06.

 

[Scooby]

The diehard M10 guys in our group can't beleive how well the mono glides over the bumps. The say when they follow the mono it seems to float and they are bouncing around.

 

[RX-1 Liter]

RX-1, I for one am very happy for you. I hope Yamaha gets it right this year. I look forward to hearing many more stories about this skid. You mentioned that it is the best suspension you have ever ridden. Have you ridden something other than Yamaha? Just curious.

Very good question to qulify my riding experience.

"Sleds rode other than Yam": 04 REV 600 SDI - 150 miles, 04 600 XC w/ M-10 - 75 miles, 05 T660 ST - 50 miles, 00 600 XC w/ xtra 12 - 200 miles, 03 F7 - 10 miles, 02 MXZ 700 - 50 miles.

The REV is a very close 2nd in overall ride, but this is due to rider position. The POO with the M-10 was nice but not as nice as the MONO.

 

[ReX]

I don't know if it's the best I've ridden, but it is very good at soaking up the bumps. It is my favorite trail cruising suspension so far.

Where it leaves me wanting a little more is for aggressive riding through bigger bumps and a little air. It is very easy to bottom out, even with the spring cranked up to #6. The shock adjustment only seems to affect low speed damping, so cranking it up makes the ride rough on the little bumps, but it still bottoms out hard on the bigger stuff. Landing from about 1-2' of air it will bottom out hard (I'm about 230-240 with my gear).

To make the suspension very close to perfect for me it would need:
- a variable rate monoshock spring that just before bottoming out increases the rate rapidly (I notice Yamaha incorporated a rate increase system on the Vector. It doesn't bottom out)
- more high speed compression damping.
- slightly stiffer springs all around (10-15% stiffer - stock would be perfect for someone in the 180-190 lb range)

When I compare the RX-1 to my buddies stock ZR500, the RX-1 is significantly more comfortable on typical trails (we always through his sled rode nice), but the ZR500 is significantly harder to bottom out and can handle bigger bumps at higher speeds.

The all out best riding sled for me (IMO) is my 1997 Storm SE. Mike Carver (he does most of the snow-cross Fox setups) from Carver performance made up custom valve stacks for my weight and riding style (Fox shocks). This sled soaks up the bumps and is smooth and soft riding on typical trails, but with 5' of air it provides a very nice controlled landing without bottoming out hard (just bottoms out).

I'm getting more into trail cruising, so 5' isn't required, but handling 2' of air without bottoming (or just bottoming) is. A great modern suspension should really handle this stock.

Having said all that, the 05 RX-1 still has a great ride for most conditions and overall this is one awesome sled. It does everything (except big bumps) very, very well.

 

[welterracer]

Having said all that, the 05 RX-1 still has a great ride for most conditions and overall this is one awesome sled. It does everything (except big bumps) very, very well.

At 240.. your pretty heavy... a lighter rider 160-190 might not have any bottoming complants and say that its the best riding sled ever.. Just a thought...

 

[wolfie]

How much have you fiddled with the tunnel adjusterÉ I``m about 210 plus gear, and 5 off of full soft, spring preload //5 . I will probably end up around 7 in off full soft. Very impressed with the ride quality and hookup of this sled-I have about 200 miles on so far.

 

[ReX]

Having said all that, the 05 RX-1 still has a great ride for most conditions and overall this is one awesome sled. It does everything (except big bumps) very, very well.

At 240.. your pretty heavy... a lighter rider 160-190 might not have any bottoming complants and say that its the best riding sled ever.. Just a thought...

I blame the tekvest, suite, helmet, boots, and all the stuff I carry that are heavy....

Yeah, I suspect someone in the 160-190 range ready to ride would be happy with it as is, even riding as agressively as I do.

 

[ReX]

How much have you fiddled with the tunnel adjusterÉ I``m about 210 plus gear, and 5 off of full soft, spring preload //5 . I will probably end up around 7 in off full soft. Very impressed with the ride quality and hookup of this sled-I have about 200 miles on so far.

I fiddled a fair bit. For the first 200 miles I was very happy with the ride. As I rode more and more, I started to get a little more agressive with the sled and tweaked the suspension settings a little more (ended with spring preload at #5, and shock about 7 off full soft)

A couple of days ago I rode a few rough trails with a buddy who likes to ride the bumps fast. That's when I found the bottoming out was a little too much.

I cranked the preload to #6 and also tried cranking the shock settings - to about 6 from full hard (horrible ride). Even there any small jump would cause the skid to bottom at least lightly - sometimes moderately hard. I never took any big jumps (don't really plan to).

 

[welterracer]

The better you build a sled the harder it will get ridin!