air19
Pro
Wow, I'm amazed at what you have just put together. It has all the elements of a good groomer starting from the rear: 1) a good compaction bed, hopefully most of the snow goes underneath it, not sure with it's low angle if any will go over the top, 2) an adjustable cutter bar if I'm looking at your picture right, I think I see a corkscrew that will raise and lower it, 3) a good distance from the cutter bar going up to the hitch, this is in effect your leveling distance.
The one thing I would recommend is that you get a real hitch on the VK Pro, compared to the one that comes stock with the machine. This stock hitch swings up and down on a hinge. For grooming you want a fixed hitch to do a better job of leveling. I had a custom pintle hitch made, but you can order one from Yamaha that will bolt right into the holes on the back of the VK Pro. There is a little forward and backward play on my pintle, but the up and down movement is minimal and that's what is most important for leveling with your groomer.
Tom could you take another picture that shows a closeup of the cutter bar. I can't tell if it is one piece of metal all the way across or if there are any individual teeth. It helps if you have some relief along the cutter bar to allow some snow to flow through. With a solid cutter bar there can be a tendency to just pull all the snow along, or worst case start loosing it out to the side.
Great job!
The one thing I would recommend is that you get a real hitch on the VK Pro, compared to the one that comes stock with the machine. This stock hitch swings up and down on a hinge. For grooming you want a fixed hitch to do a better job of leveling. I had a custom pintle hitch made, but you can order one from Yamaha that will bolt right into the holes on the back of the VK Pro. There is a little forward and backward play on my pintle, but the up and down movement is minimal and that's what is most important for leveling with your groomer.
Tom could you take another picture that shows a closeup of the cutter bar. I can't tell if it is one piece of metal all the way across or if there are any individual teeth. It helps if you have some relief along the cutter bar to allow some snow to flow through. With a solid cutter bar there can be a tendency to just pull all the snow along, or worst case start loosing it out to the side.
Great job!
Tom Lee
Extreme
This groomer does work very well for its intended purpose which is to cut all the high spots and dump snow into any low spots on our wood path after a busy day cutting firewood. The adjustable blade can be set to just skim the high points and fill the low points or it can be set deep to fix up the trail in a hurry. Some snow lands and stays on the compaction section adding weight to set the snow.
If the cutter blade is set deep it will drive some snow out from the sides but most of it just stays in front of the cutter and keeps going around like a cascading wave just waiting for a low spot to escape into. The cutter can also be raised very high allowing the groomer to be towed out of deep snow areas while turning around to get back on track. This also makes it easy to tow it up steep hills that haven't been groomed yet.
It is so easy to use that I have begun lending it to others to dress up their trails. I will see how they find it soon.
I may install an electric scissor jack in place of the threaded rod to be able to adjust it on the fly.
If anyone is looking to build a groomer, this is the way to go for this purpose. The cutter blade is made from a blade used on highway snow clearing equipment and has a straight cutter edge. I had intended to use the hand grinder to serrate it but now think it is unnecessary for the intended use.
I will try to get some more pics and maybe post a video if time permits. I don't mean to steal your thread and maybe should post my experience with this on a new thread.
If the cutter blade is set deep it will drive some snow out from the sides but most of it just stays in front of the cutter and keeps going around like a cascading wave just waiting for a low spot to escape into. The cutter can also be raised very high allowing the groomer to be towed out of deep snow areas while turning around to get back on track. This also makes it easy to tow it up steep hills that haven't been groomed yet.
It is so easy to use that I have begun lending it to others to dress up their trails. I will see how they find it soon.
I may install an electric scissor jack in place of the threaded rod to be able to adjust it on the fly.
If anyone is looking to build a groomer, this is the way to go for this purpose. The cutter blade is made from a blade used on highway snow clearing equipment and has a straight cutter edge. I had intended to use the hand grinder to serrate it but now think it is unnecessary for the intended use.
I will try to get some more pics and maybe post a video if time permits. I don't mean to steal your thread and maybe should post my experience with this on a new thread.
Jack_Shaft
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
air19, what was the final verdict? Did the upgraded cooling system indeed keep your VK Pro from overheating in the warm Spring temps?
air19
Pro
Yes, the second radiator proved to solve my cooling needs. I had two strong spring grooming days before I finally ended the ski season. Conditions both times were moderate temperatures ranging from 28 to 32 degrees F. I was also running with the groomer knives down therefore exerting maximum load on the sled. I ran for about 3 hours each time and had no cooling issues!
The second radiator not only adds a lot of cooling surface area, but the fan that comes with it is very strong and the placement right at the front of the cowl and the air vents is much better than the primary radiator.
The only downside is the cost. The total installed cost probably runs close to $1000, with $600 for the parts and $400 for the labor. My dealer worked with me on this to make it much more bearable.
With this modification, the sled is a keeper for me now and I hope to get 10 years out of it, like I got out of my original Skandic SWT.
Time for me to switch over to forestry work, but in the fall I'll get back to the VK Pro and other projects related to it. I'll get the gooseneck hitch all set up and post pictures on that. I have also been reading the various threads about getting unstuck and will look a jack or that spring cord rope device.
The second radiator not only adds a lot of cooling surface area, but the fan that comes with it is very strong and the placement right at the front of the cowl and the air vents is much better than the primary radiator.
The only downside is the cost. The total installed cost probably runs close to $1000, with $600 for the parts and $400 for the labor. My dealer worked with me on this to make it much more bearable.
With this modification, the sled is a keeper for me now and I hope to get 10 years out of it, like I got out of my original Skandic SWT.
Time for me to switch over to forestry work, but in the fall I'll get back to the VK Pro and other projects related to it. I'll get the gooseneck hitch all set up and post pictures on that. I have also been reading the various threads about getting unstuck and will look a jack or that spring cord rope device.
Jack_Shaft
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Didn't you already install the gooseneck hitch in the place of the passenger seat? Maybe you just had it fabbed up and not installed.
What kind of forestry work will you be doing? Chainsaw/brushcutter, or handsaw greenie nonsense?
What kind of forestry work will you be doing? Chainsaw/brushcutter, or handsaw greenie nonsense?
air19
Pro
For the gooseneck I have the bottom half in place. Basically a base plate with a ball welded to it. The trick was to build up the bottom of the base plate so the weight rests on the four mounting points used by the passenger seat. Then there is no down pressure on the exhaust area. I have pictures of this base plate much earlier in this thread. In the Fall I'll add the gooseneck arm.
My forestry work this year involves a lot of pre-commercial cut thinning in our stands, and trail corridor work. The thinning is all chainsaw work. The trail work covers a wide range.
Our ski trail network all started out as skidder trails. Each year we work on different skidder trails to try and bring them up to ski trail quality. Since I'm the groomer and a skier, I'm quite demanding about the quality of the trail to make it safe for winter grooming and skiing. The first effort is always removing stumps and big rocks, which we usually do with an excavator. One year I tried to shave all the stumps down on one trail with a chainsaw, but during low snow winters this trails cause problems. And every year we go back and pop as many new rocks as we can find. The irony is that over the groomed trails, the rocks grow better. All winter long we are packing the frost down farther on the trails, and come spring some of those rocks get pushed up above the surface.
The next effort is always widening the trails. I've learned over many years that the wider the trail the better the trail. Our trails are currently 8 to 12 feet wide, but I would like to see them all 12 to 15 feet wide. The wider the trail, the easier it is for the snow to get down to the ground, the more chances you have to do some snow farming by bringing in new snow from the sides onto the groomed area, the less tree overhang the less chance you have for icing to occur, and many other reasons. Each year we take another trail and widen it out. Chainsaw work to remove trees, and polesaw work to remove branches.
Another effort is trail grading. Over a winter of grooming I learn all the curves that are reverse banked, or not banked enough to help me carve the curve. Over a winter of skiing I also remember which trails I was snowplowing too hard on, and pushing all the snow off to the sides. I'm a big believer in banking trails to solve some of these problems. The main tool for this work is the tractor with a box blade with top and tilt.
We have 25Km of ski trails and winter grooming is always the easier job compared to trail work the rest of the year. As a comparison, this winter I groomed the trails 32 times averaging 5 hours each time for a total of 160 hours. The previous 9 months I worked with a couple of helpers a total of 450 man hours to get the trails ready for the winter.
It sounds like a lot of work (and it is), but the best part is that when I have a problem with a certain section of a trail in the winter, I can try to fix it in the summer. Here in Vermont we have many many miles of snowmobile trails that go through private land and it's a lot harder for the snowmobile clubs to get permission to make fixes. But if they could make some of the fixes I am able to do (like banking) then the snowmobiles wouldn't rut up the curves as bad and the grooming efforts would last longer.
My forestry work this year involves a lot of pre-commercial cut thinning in our stands, and trail corridor work. The thinning is all chainsaw work. The trail work covers a wide range.
Our ski trail network all started out as skidder trails. Each year we work on different skidder trails to try and bring them up to ski trail quality. Since I'm the groomer and a skier, I'm quite demanding about the quality of the trail to make it safe for winter grooming and skiing. The first effort is always removing stumps and big rocks, which we usually do with an excavator. One year I tried to shave all the stumps down on one trail with a chainsaw, but during low snow winters this trails cause problems. And every year we go back and pop as many new rocks as we can find. The irony is that over the groomed trails, the rocks grow better. All winter long we are packing the frost down farther on the trails, and come spring some of those rocks get pushed up above the surface.
The next effort is always widening the trails. I've learned over many years that the wider the trail the better the trail. Our trails are currently 8 to 12 feet wide, but I would like to see them all 12 to 15 feet wide. The wider the trail, the easier it is for the snow to get down to the ground, the more chances you have to do some snow farming by bringing in new snow from the sides onto the groomed area, the less tree overhang the less chance you have for icing to occur, and many other reasons. Each year we take another trail and widen it out. Chainsaw work to remove trees, and polesaw work to remove branches.
Another effort is trail grading. Over a winter of grooming I learn all the curves that are reverse banked, or not banked enough to help me carve the curve. Over a winter of skiing I also remember which trails I was snowplowing too hard on, and pushing all the snow off to the sides. I'm a big believer in banking trails to solve some of these problems. The main tool for this work is the tractor with a box blade with top and tilt.
We have 25Km of ski trails and winter grooming is always the easier job compared to trail work the rest of the year. As a comparison, this winter I groomed the trails 32 times averaging 5 hours each time for a total of 160 hours. The previous 9 months I worked with a couple of helpers a total of 450 man hours to get the trails ready for the winter.
It sounds like a lot of work (and it is), but the best part is that when I have a problem with a certain section of a trail in the winter, I can try to fix it in the summer. Here in Vermont we have many many miles of snowmobile trails that go through private land and it's a lot harder for the snowmobile clubs to get permission to make fixes. But if they could make some of the fixes I am able to do (like banking) then the snowmobiles wouldn't rut up the curves as bad and the grooming efforts would last longer.
Jack_Shaft
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
No doubt, but remember that we have a much larger trail network to maintain as well, so getting to all of these bad spots is not always easy.
I do a lot of trail maintenance myself. The biggest obstacle is the bridges, hard to span some of the swampy rivers well enough to support groomer weight.
Since you have made use of a few snowmobile forums to help solve your problems, I think you would be interested in a great power equipment (chainsaw/brushcutter/etc.) forum that I frequent. It helps me keep our club's gear running without costing too much:
www.arboristsite.com
Lots of knowledge there, some Pacific-Northwest hot heads, but for the most part great advice and troubleshooting help.
I do a lot of trail maintenance myself. The biggest obstacle is the bridges, hard to span some of the swampy rivers well enough to support groomer weight.
Since you have made use of a few snowmobile forums to help solve your problems, I think you would be interested in a great power equipment (chainsaw/brushcutter/etc.) forum that I frequent. It helps me keep our club's gear running without costing too much:
www.arboristsite.com
Lots of knowledge there, some Pacific-Northwest hot heads, but for the most part great advice and troubleshooting help.
air19
Pro
Thanks for the lead on the arborist site. I've started browsing through all the different sub-forums on that one. From my first take there is a ton of useful information. Another site I have used a lot is TractorByNet for all my tractor and attachment needs. There is a good sub-forum on UTVs there also.
All these internet forums are great learning tools and I really appreciate your contributions and all the others that have spoken up. It was very cool this winter when I was getting advice on my cooling issues from experienced riders in Labrador, Alaska, and Sweden - small world. My dealer's service manager went on this forum and read through all this feedback before talking to his Yamaha rep and deciding what to do.
All these internet forums are great learning tools and I really appreciate your contributions and all the others that have spoken up. It was very cool this winter when I was getting advice on my cooling issues from experienced riders in Labrador, Alaska, and Sweden - small world. My dealer's service manager went on this forum and read through all this feedback before talking to his Yamaha rep and deciding what to do.
Jack_Shaft
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
Got that gooseneck fabbed up yet? If not, how's the progress on the trail maintenance? Are you using Arboristsite.com at all?
air19
Pro
Haven't worked on the gooseneck yet. Probably sometime in the fall.
Right now I'm too busy getting in my wood. I use wood to heat the house and barn, and my domestic hot water. I need about 3 cords to do the hot water each year, and another 12 cords for heating the structures. That means at the end of every summer I need to see 30 cords drying in my wood sheds for an ongoing two year supply. I'm trying a different technique this year for storage, instead of the usual tight stacking, I'm using a European method of storing the wood in a big bag on a pallet. From the splitter I throw the splits into the bag and don't touch them again until they go into the indoor wood boiler. The tractor with forks does all the lifting and it saves me a couple of weeks of handling time each year. Of course I can't pack my usual 6 cord into my 6 feet x 16 feet sheds, so I'm building more sheds.
This all ties back into my trail maintenance because I'm cleaning up my trail corridors gathering fir that is about to fall down for the sheds, and cleaning up the hardwood deadfall for the firewood. I'm chipping some of the tops for chip material that I put on some wet trail sections although this isn't my preferred material, just lots available from the tree work.
I have definitely used the Arborist forum. Got lots of good advice before I purchased a new splitter. We were doing 8 cords a year by hand, but when we are processing over 15 cords a year a good splitter is the only way to go.
Summer is a good time to talk about trail maintenance and after 10 years of doing this and then all the grooming, my motto is the wider the trail the better. The best trail surface is grass. Stops erosion in the summer and in the winter during early snow conditions it catches the snow and holds it well giving me material to start working the base. I walk along all my trails marking big softwoods that are blocking out the sun or holding too much snow in the winter that I would rather have on the trail.
While burning wood or building out buildings, nothing gets wasted.
Right now I'm too busy getting in my wood. I use wood to heat the house and barn, and my domestic hot water. I need about 3 cords to do the hot water each year, and another 12 cords for heating the structures. That means at the end of every summer I need to see 30 cords drying in my wood sheds for an ongoing two year supply. I'm trying a different technique this year for storage, instead of the usual tight stacking, I'm using a European method of storing the wood in a big bag on a pallet. From the splitter I throw the splits into the bag and don't touch them again until they go into the indoor wood boiler. The tractor with forks does all the lifting and it saves me a couple of weeks of handling time each year. Of course I can't pack my usual 6 cord into my 6 feet x 16 feet sheds, so I'm building more sheds.
This all ties back into my trail maintenance because I'm cleaning up my trail corridors gathering fir that is about to fall down for the sheds, and cleaning up the hardwood deadfall for the firewood. I'm chipping some of the tops for chip material that I put on some wet trail sections although this isn't my preferred material, just lots available from the tree work.
I have definitely used the Arborist forum. Got lots of good advice before I purchased a new splitter. We were doing 8 cords a year by hand, but when we are processing over 15 cords a year a good splitter is the only way to go.
Summer is a good time to talk about trail maintenance and after 10 years of doing this and then all the grooming, my motto is the wider the trail the better. The best trail surface is grass. Stops erosion in the summer and in the winter during early snow conditions it catches the snow and holds it well giving me material to start working the base. I walk along all my trails marking big softwoods that are blocking out the sun or holding too much snow in the winter that I would rather have on the trail.
While burning wood or building out buildings, nothing gets wasted.
tolson
Newbie
Wow - I'm glad I found this topic - what a wealth of information! I've read thru the whole thing twice and took notes! Our club has been using a Skandic SWT for 5 years (and I have one I use to groom 7 miles of trail that connects two x-c ski trail systems). We just got a new VK Pro a month ago to replace the clubs SWT, and I've wired it for lights and actuators. I thought I was all done, but now I have more great ideas to set it up for grooming, and things to watch for with overheating.
Air19 - thanks for taking so much time to share your pain with getting your VK working properly. I hope you've solved your overheating problem, and I hope we can avoid that - and not have to add the extra radiator. I agree with some of the other comments - if Yamaha has that available as an option, then they know there are overheating problems with the VK, and a $1000 add-on radiator is not a "customer friendly" solution...
A couple questions:
There were comments about "shorten the limiter straps on the front torque arm of the rear suspension" to improve steering. There's no mention of limiter straps in the owner's manual for the 2009 VK. They mention adjusting the preload on the spring of the center and rear shocks. Could this be a change on the 2009 VK?
There were comments about the ice scratchers and the Simmons Cooling Fins being used to cool the "hyfax". So what's the hyfax? I would have thought all the cooling was in the radiator (I'm a x-c skier, not a mechanic!!).
There was one comment about adding a thermometer to monitor engine temps - another thing Yamaha could add (instead of an idiot light) so you can see when the engine is getting hot and take action to avoid an overheating condition. We talked to the groomers at Michigan Tech University in the UP (lots of snow!), and they just added an oven thermometer. Taped the probe to one of the radiator hoses. It doesn't necessarily show actual temps, but it shows when engine temps start increasing. Any thoughts if this would actually be useful? Would the temperature change actually be detected?
Has anyone studded the track on a VK? Some people swear by them, but I haven't heard any mention of traction issues in this topic. We have a few steep hills on our trails, and the SWT will climb them without studs most of the time. Should we stud the track on our new VK?
There doesn't seem to be a "neutral" on the VK transmission. Is that true? It seems you can kind of leave the lever in between low/reverse/drive, but it seems like it might slip into gear.
We have Simmons Flexi-Skis on our Skandics, and I was planning on selling them with the 2004 that we're selling, but now I think I put the stock skis back on the Skandic and put the Simmons Flexi-Skis on the VK.
There were some comments about limited storage, etc on the VK (the SWT's aren't much better!). I thing I did is make a "chain saw boot" and mounted it on the outside of the rear rack. This gets the bulky (and dirty) chain saw out of the way, frees up a lot of space, holds the chain saw very securely, protects the bar/chain, and makes the saw very easy to pull out and use. The saw is a little exposed, but it's inside the profile of the skis. I've never had a problem with it hitting anything - only a little brush when I was packing the trail with just the SWT. On my SWT, I made a similar boot to hold a big lopper and bow saw. I've attached a couple pictures.
My final comment (for now) is about grooming with tracked atv's. I used an atv (no tracks) for the first two years I groomed (15 years ago), and besides always getting stuck (dah!), it was VERY cold. You are completely exposed to the elements. My hands were always numb, even with hand and thumb warmers always on high, feet were always cold, and the cold just cuts right into your body. The nice warm engine is underneath you, but most of the heat goes out the back. An atv windshield might help, but the wind still gets around it, and you still don't get the heat from the engine.
When I switched to a snowmobile (an Alpine first, and then the SWT), it was a night and day difference. The engine and windshield block the cold, and the heat from the engine flows right back thru you. I've groomed in windy conditions at -20F and been comfortable for 4 or 5 hours, and I've groomed at +25F in light gloves and a sweatshirt on the SWT.
The enclosed utv's would probably Ok, but then visibility is an issue (as mentioned above), and I'd be worried about tipping over if you get off the edge of the packed trail - or you get some drifts on the trail that cause a cross-slope - because you can't shift your weight from one side to the other, and they don't have a 6-way plow to keep the trail nice and level.
We've had a few cool days this past week, and now I'm all revved up for grooming and skiing!! Where's the snow????
Air19 - thanks for taking so much time to share your pain with getting your VK working properly. I hope you've solved your overheating problem, and I hope we can avoid that - and not have to add the extra radiator. I agree with some of the other comments - if Yamaha has that available as an option, then they know there are overheating problems with the VK, and a $1000 add-on radiator is not a "customer friendly" solution...
A couple questions:
There were comments about "shorten the limiter straps on the front torque arm of the rear suspension" to improve steering. There's no mention of limiter straps in the owner's manual for the 2009 VK. They mention adjusting the preload on the spring of the center and rear shocks. Could this be a change on the 2009 VK?
There were comments about the ice scratchers and the Simmons Cooling Fins being used to cool the "hyfax". So what's the hyfax? I would have thought all the cooling was in the radiator (I'm a x-c skier, not a mechanic!!).
There was one comment about adding a thermometer to monitor engine temps - another thing Yamaha could add (instead of an idiot light) so you can see when the engine is getting hot and take action to avoid an overheating condition. We talked to the groomers at Michigan Tech University in the UP (lots of snow!), and they just added an oven thermometer. Taped the probe to one of the radiator hoses. It doesn't necessarily show actual temps, but it shows when engine temps start increasing. Any thoughts if this would actually be useful? Would the temperature change actually be detected?
Has anyone studded the track on a VK? Some people swear by them, but I haven't heard any mention of traction issues in this topic. We have a few steep hills on our trails, and the SWT will climb them without studs most of the time. Should we stud the track on our new VK?
There doesn't seem to be a "neutral" on the VK transmission. Is that true? It seems you can kind of leave the lever in between low/reverse/drive, but it seems like it might slip into gear.
We have Simmons Flexi-Skis on our Skandics, and I was planning on selling them with the 2004 that we're selling, but now I think I put the stock skis back on the Skandic and put the Simmons Flexi-Skis on the VK.
There were some comments about limited storage, etc on the VK (the SWT's aren't much better!). I thing I did is make a "chain saw boot" and mounted it on the outside of the rear rack. This gets the bulky (and dirty) chain saw out of the way, frees up a lot of space, holds the chain saw very securely, protects the bar/chain, and makes the saw very easy to pull out and use. The saw is a little exposed, but it's inside the profile of the skis. I've never had a problem with it hitting anything - only a little brush when I was packing the trail with just the SWT. On my SWT, I made a similar boot to hold a big lopper and bow saw. I've attached a couple pictures.
My final comment (for now) is about grooming with tracked atv's. I used an atv (no tracks) for the first two years I groomed (15 years ago), and besides always getting stuck (dah!), it was VERY cold. You are completely exposed to the elements. My hands were always numb, even with hand and thumb warmers always on high, feet were always cold, and the cold just cuts right into your body. The nice warm engine is underneath you, but most of the heat goes out the back. An atv windshield might help, but the wind still gets around it, and you still don't get the heat from the engine.
When I switched to a snowmobile (an Alpine first, and then the SWT), it was a night and day difference. The engine and windshield block the cold, and the heat from the engine flows right back thru you. I've groomed in windy conditions at -20F and been comfortable for 4 or 5 hours, and I've groomed at +25F in light gloves and a sweatshirt on the SWT.
The enclosed utv's would probably Ok, but then visibility is an issue (as mentioned above), and I'd be worried about tipping over if you get off the edge of the packed trail - or you get some drifts on the trail that cause a cross-slope - because you can't shift your weight from one side to the other, and they don't have a 6-way plow to keep the trail nice and level.
We've had a few cool days this past week, and now I'm all revved up for grooming and skiing!! Where's the snow????
Attachments
YETI
Extreme
Tolson there is a lot of info in the VK section air19 went through alot with his overheating but seems to have got it figured out I agree alot of money that should be taken care of buy yamaha. I plan on putting studs on my VK and there is a pic in here with a double line down the center of the track. the hyfax is the plastic that is between the track and the rail of the suspension .
Tom Lee
Extreme
Congrats on your new sled.
I have had my 2006 vk pro studded since Ive owned it. I put a V pattern down the center section only, but if I were to do it again I would stay on the left side to avoid hitting the heat exchanger. Ive noticed a few hits on the heat exchanger, but not too serious yet. I may remove those offending studs on the right side that could hit the cooler. I still recommend studding though. My best improvement to date has been the addition of a sway bar made up mostly from Arctic Cat components. Anyway I tend to ramble on too much about my sled so good luck with yours and good luck grooming this winter.
I have had my 2006 vk pro studded since Ive owned it. I put a V pattern down the center section only, but if I were to do it again I would stay on the left side to avoid hitting the heat exchanger. Ive noticed a few hits on the heat exchanger, but not too serious yet. I may remove those offending studs on the right side that could hit the cooler. I still recommend studding though. My best improvement to date has been the addition of a sway bar made up mostly from Arctic Cat components. Anyway I tend to ramble on too much about my sled so good luck with yours and good luck grooming this winter.
air19
Pro
tolson said:
Jack_Shaft
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
With reference to the comment:
"There were comments about "shorten the limiter straps on the front torque arm of the rear suspension" to improve steering. There's no mention of limiter straps in the owner's manual for the 2009 VK. They mention adjusting the preload on the spring of the center and rear shocks. Could this be a change on the 2009 VK?"
Have a quick look at Part #25, there's the one you want to shorten in order to increase ski pressure.
"There were comments about "shorten the limiter straps on the front torque arm of the rear suspension" to improve steering. There's no mention of limiter straps in the owner's manual for the 2009 VK. They mention adjusting the preload on the spring of the center and rear shocks. Could this be a change on the 2009 VK?"
Have a quick look at Part #25, there's the one you want to shorten in order to increase ski pressure.
