Curve XS Skis

[IFlyEm]

Ok got a couple days of riding in and have been working on getting her dialed in.

1st ride:
Conditions: Not good. 6" - 15" wet snow.
Sled: All stock setting.
Skis: 5/8" toe out.
6" Rounds

Tracking was decent. A little darting at speeds over 60. Not too bad but wasn't comfortable going much over that. Steering at cruising speed was not too bad. However, steering at low speed was heavy and steering in the twisties when decelerating was very heavy. Basically it steered like a Mack truck! It was also pretty tippy. I got a good workout in the 80 miles I rode that day.

2nd ride:
Conditions were very good for trail riding. 3" - 8" groomed trail with some hard and smooth straightaways.
Sled: Control rods were set for more transfer, bushings on the skis swapped to widen ski stance, torsion rods set to Hard, compression on shocks full high, rebound stock.
Skis: 5/8" toe out with with the wider stance as stated above.
6" Rounds

Darting was more prevalent at high speeds. Still wasn't much fun going over 80 on the hard packed straights. Never felt dangerous just a little unnerving at high speeds. Darting was more noticeable when decelerating. Soon as I got into some powder all darting went away even where there were numerous other tacks. Its the hard packed and icy portions where the bars got busy.

Steering effort was a little more manageable. Probably due to the harder packed snow and not plowing through the deep wet snow. Still got heavy at slow speeds or decelerating.

Tippyness was still a little of a factor. When you do get the bars turned this thing goes where the skis are pointed. There is NO pushing at all. Sometimes the a$$ wants to come around on you.

At this point the highest priority on my list is dialing out the darting. I want to get the steering locked so I can keep up with my buddies on the lake.

Suggestions?

 

[billymx815]

For the darting and heavy steer at the front you need to look closer at the suspension settings (i.e. - limit straps). There is a tread under FX Nytro General Talk that lists rider weight and suspension set-ups. You might want to start there. Then of course you can look at changing out the stock skis, although I was able to fix my darting and heavy steer with suspension tuning.
Good luck.

 

[**sj**]

loosen front strap and front spring shocks to their max.....with the skis hanging in the air the spring retainers should be just tight enough to prevent rattling of the spring....use the softest torsion spring setting you'd be able to use without bottoming out...set transfer rods more....closer to or at middle...set toe per ski manufacturers recommendation...


ride it....your ski pressure will be less and should be much better...
if you want more...sart to tighten the rear suspension front shock spring in small increments...

 

[BombaPolaYama]

Then of course you can look at changing out the stock skis, although I was able to fix my darting and heavy steer with suspension tuning.
Good luck.

Looks like he has already changed the stock skis to Curves (see topic title). I noticed on here last year that there was nothing but good reports on the Curves, but this year they don't exactly seem to be so good as first reported. Would be nice to always be able to try products before buying. I almost bought the Curves but they are pricey - I was lucky in that I bought Slydogs based on info on TY and the company's advertising and they worked great - steering effort much easier than stock.

Hopefully you can get the darting and steering effort improved. Would ski savers help in that case?

 

[justinator]

With these skis you will adjust the suspension components so much to dial out the darting that when your done you will hate the way your sled rides and handles. This was the case with my 09xtx, I always had to adjust back to get my sled to handle like normal but then the darting would return as well as some front end push. Sold them on ebay.

 

[IFlyEm]

I've got the steering effort in a place where I can handle it. The skis seem to perform best in 3 - 5 inches of powder with a good base under it. Like I said they have great bite.

But being that I'm in WI I spend a lot of time running lakes and hard packed. That's where the darting is really prevalent. I've had simmons on my previous sleds and I could be ripping across the lake 100+mph and the bars were locked.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about the skis. Just getting them tweaked. I think I need to revisit the toe out amount.

 

[northerndoc]

Nick and Sean with CurveInd have a new item you can bolt to the front of your carbides to eliminate the darting problem with these skis. They have great bite as everyone has mentioned, but due to this, they tend to follow tracks in packed snow. I can't remember the name of the piece, but if you give them a call, they will be happy to work with you. I haven't run across a group of people more willing to work with thier customers to make them happy. I emailed them concerning the skis I purchased and they called me at home not 4 hours later. Kind of suprised me, as I (like many of you) have gotten used to companies that offer no customer service whatsoever. They understand they aren't going to make everyone happy, but they will try. Give them a call- they've tested these skis on the Nytro extensively.

 

[IFlyEm]

nm

 

[IFlyEm]

OK I was looking at the "Leading Edge" that you were referring to.

http://curvexs.com/shopexd.asp?id=28&bc=no

I am pretty disappointed that they want $100 for that dang thing. That's twice as much as my carbides! It should be a $25 part imo. It also doesn't address my darting at high speeds.

I have to say Sean and Nick have provided outstanding customer service! They have promptly returned emails and phone calls. However I probably would not have gotten the skis had I known it was going to be a $700 investment.

 

[BETHEVIPER]

Most of the hype of these skis was generated by a few people who posted constantly how perfect they were and Sean and Nick who are great salesmen. They do have great customer service. For that kind of money for a ski that is that finicky, they better have customer service.
My daugthers SRX will be getting a ski that tracks straight, no matter the suspension settings, on all conditions, turns easy for less money . I wont care about the customer service because I wont need to call them.
I feel bad for people who bought the hype.

 

[twin whackas]

I don't want to HiJack your thread, but start by tightening up your front tunnel spring almost all the way. Run your fronts as loose as you can without bottoming out.
I run my RTX. Fox fronts @ 55psi. Front Tunnel spring 90% tight. My rear blocks on High. I am also running 8" woody dually slim jims on the stock skis.
This set up is almost perfect for hard riding for me. I actually need to loosen the front tunnel spring to get a hair more ski pressure.

 

[justinator]

Most of the hype of these skis was generated by a few people who posted constantly how perfect they were and Sean and Nick who are great salesmen. They do have great customer service. For that kind of money for a ski that is that finicky, they better have customer service.
My daugthers SRX will be getting a ski that tracks straight, no matter the suspension settings, on all conditions, turns easy for less money . I wont care about the customer service because I wont need to call them.
I feel bad for people who bought the hype.

Couldn't of said it better myself

 

[**sj**]

lets not knock and advertiser here gents...as said they have great customer service...
like anything else...some love some dont...I get the same responses about my simmons skis ive been running for almost 15 yrs now...but the more technical the ski...the more weight on the ski...the more finicky...tuning the suspension is the key...and you can chase your tail at times...
try my suggestions earlier in this thread if you plan on trying to keep them..

 

[AKrider]

The lack of high speed stability is an issue with the Nytro. It was developed on the snocross track and my '08 just doesn't have the same stability at high speed as does my Vector.

I remember when the '09 geometry came out and it was supposed to cure the twitchiness at high speeds. It didn't.

I've got a short track and not an XTX, but because the Curves are far more aggressive of a ski than the stock 5" wide models, you can get away with less ski pressure. I'd let your limiters all the way out, dial the transfer rods for max transfer and then play with the pre-load on your front shocks to minimize the diving when cornering. The lower your front end the better, but you have to find the balance.

All that said, I've not met or talked to anyone who would say that their Nytro was stable at high speeds. There are lots of theories about what causes the problem, but I lean towards the idea that the sled was designed for snocross and they don't see high speeds in that venue. However, that said, there are Nytro's being run at high speeds on the ice and they seem to work. Pure Blue on this site has a Nytro ice racer.

Let us know what you find with your continued testing.

 

[twin whackas]

I must be one of the very lucky ones with my 08 RTX. There is no twitching, darting, etc with my sled. I can take more than I care to give to it. Maybe I just got lucky and hit my set up dead nuts.
I am so happy with it I sold my 2009 Ski Doo 1200 4 stroke to only have my RTX to ride. Not a lake racer, but I can blast through any trail you throw in front of me.