Holes/rubs in center of track (now w/pic's)

[cobalt650]

My sled spent 9 weeks at Johnson Sales in Arlington, WI. They were going to fix the RA cable that was broken and the cracked rails. The new rails are in, the reinforcement kit has not yet arrived, they said to pick it up and ride it until the kit arrived. Good deal. When I got there, the first thing that I did was try to adjust the repaired RA knob, which has only worked for 2 days in the year I've had the sled. It moved 2 clicks. They pull the sled back inside. Since this appears to be the first time they've checked it, they now say it needs a new shock. Okee dokee, they say take it home, ride it for the next week, we'll put the new shock in when we get it and the reinforcement kit. I then noticed that the limiter straps weren't attached to the bar between the rails. Okee dokee, they now fix that, "sorry we missed that." I rode the sled about 50 miles today, put it in the heated garage, and just went out to peek at it. Now there are HEAVY wear marks on the inside center of the track from the aft part of the shock hitting the track. There are a couple of spots down to the cord, and one that is a quarter sized hole. Now I have a boogered up $485 track, a bad shock, no reinforcement kit, and the good lord only knows what will happen when I bring it back in to the dealer Monday morning. Any thoughts?

 

[KbxSrx]

Be fair but firm, let them know that they are the ones that f*****d up, and that you expect it to be repaired in a timely fashion. Dont get ignorant, dont let them get ignorant, and make sure you deal with the one you get along best with.

 

[cobalt650]

Causes, before Monday morning

I'm looking for possible causes, i.e. the track was too tight, shock is flat, etc. I need to have a good position going in, so that the "track is not covered by warranty" line does not apply. It was in perfect condition when I brought it in, 60 miles later, holes and cord showing along the inside center. All help appreciated before the Monday morning showdown

 

[superbeast]

my almost new 05 i just purchased this year with only 200 miles on it had wear in the middle but very little just some rub marks so i started looking at the skid and the ra cable was tore off then i looked some more and seen the track was rubbing on the shock so i pulled the skid and seen the shock was worn so i bought it to the dealer they said they will order the cable and some update kit but had to check into the shock deal well 1 week later no answer yet , while i was at the dealer looked at 10 different sleds from1- 03's ( no rubbing ) 1- 04's ( no rubbing ) 2 - 05's (1 close to rubbing and 1 rubbing ) and looked at 4 new 06's with the monoshock skid 2 were rubbing 2 were not these are all 121 skids also the longer skid like a 136 apex ( i think ) had this big plastic rounded skid piece up on top to keep the track off the shock and it had lots of room ( no figure ) the dealer and i spoke and looked at this and he said maybe its for the engine breaking , i told him hes got to be f---ing kidding and he said well you never know , 1 of the new 06's that was rubbing that we seen he sold the nextday and didnt do anything about the rubbing

let me know what you find out

mike.j

 

[cobalt650]

ttt

ttt

 

[Silverbullet]

A guy on the Apex forum had his track studed down the center and the studs were rubbing of the end of his shock

http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=21213

 

[QCRider]

Is there any way these things can be assembled incorrectly? Why else would some rub and others not? It's not like Yamaha's tolerances are that wide that one sled would be some different from the next sled.

 

[Mighty]

I think it's the design of the 121 inch mono shocker :ORC

 

[cobalt650]

So what can we, as the rider, do to prevent future wear? Try to add a nylon bumper, run the track tight, run it loose, or budget to get a new track every 1,000 miles??? I have a 97 VMAX with 5,500 miles on its original track, not a scuff. My familie's other 97 VMAX has 8,800 miles, still the ORIGINAL track, very light scuffing. My point being, our riding styles and conditions have proven to get ridiculous wear out of tracks in the past. An oh by the way, the clutch on te 8,800 mile sled is still original, it's never been rebuilt and doesn't need freshening now.

 

[QCRider]

I think it's the design of the 121 inch mono shocker :ORC

Why do some do it and others not though? The answer is not studs either. Mine is studded and I don't have this issue.

 

[cobalt650]

My sled is now at the dealer. It was not the shock, it looks like the trasfer rod either broke or became unscrewed. This part of the rod then dug in to/rubbed against the track. They are going to take the skid apart to finish the rail reinforcements and put the new shock in and let me know what they believed caused this. Since I have NEVER adjusted the transfer rod in 1,800 miles, and this happened 40 miles after they replaced the rails, could they have improperly put it back together? It will be interesting to see what they say.

 

[mdkuni]

The nut on my adjuster came loose and I have the same markings on my track. My transfer rod was replaced as it became severely bent. I am hoping that this caused the damage to the track and am hoping that I do not have to worry about it anymore.

 

[ReX]

I think it's the design of the 121 inch mono shocker :ORC

Why do some do it and others not though? The answer is not studs either. Mine is studded and I don't have this issue.

I'm convinced it is tolerances changing the clearance between sleds. My original rear pivot arm located the back of the shock with about 1/8" of clearance to the track. My new 06 rear pivot arm locates the shock so it has 1/16" clearance (if I tighten the track to spec it rubs even on the stand - under power it always rubs also). A friends Apex ER has about 1/4" of clearance.

I looked carefully at the geometry between the Apex and mine and even though the arm is at a slightly different angle this wouldn't change the shock/track clearance.

Having said all this, even with mine constantly rubbing there is only minor scuffing to the new track after 600 kms this season (I just put on another 350 kms yesterday and haven't checked it though). Last season after 10,000 kms the shock was almost worn through, but the track damage was still relatively minor (it just wore through the rubber in a couple of places).