Inside Ski Lift GONE!

[garserio]

I just got back from a 450 mile tour of the Laurentide region in Quebec. I got to first say how much I love my new Vector!

Because of excessive inside ski lift, I found myself failling behind my buddies in the first hour of riding and this wasn't typically the case when I was on my old 600sx. So, I decided to do a few trailside tweaks of my rear suspension to resolve the inside ski lift. First, I moved the limiter straps to the third hole from the top and 95% of the ski lift problem was GONE! I then found that I was never bottoming out the suspension, so I set the rear spring tension from M to S. This seemed to help a little bit more.

By chance I also noticed that the Hyfax burn slowed significantly! Upon further investigation, it was clear that adjusting the limiter straps causes the skid to angle move upward thus reducing Hyfax wear by distributing the pressure more evenly.

BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT BE AFRAID TO DIAL IN YOUR SUSPENSION TO YOUR RIDING STYLE. THIS SKID HAS MANY ADJUSTMENTS WHICH IS A GREAT FEATURE, SO USE IT! REMEMBER THAT YAMAHA HAS TO BUILD THESE SLEDS QUICK AND INEXPENSIVELY, SO THEY SETUP THE SUSPENSION AT THE FACTORY TO ELIMINATE/HASTEN AS MANY PROCESS STEPS AS POSSIBLE. INSTALLING THE LIMITER STRAPS ON THE TOP HOLE ALLOWS THEM TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF COIL SPRING COMPRESSION, AND THUS SAVE ASSEMBLY TIME!

Here is a little more info on me and my riding style: 6'1", 175#, aggressive trail rider who like to carve turns at high speeds.

Remember, my suspension tuning recipe might not be ideal for you, but at least it's a starting point. I recommend that you only change one setting at a time in a series of small adjustments until you are happy.

 

[Tfin]

By sucking up your limiter straps, have you found the steering to become heavier and more cumbersome?

 

[RSRAGER]

I'll keep that in mind this weekend. I had some ski lift, hopefully I can fix it. Thanks for the info.

 

[rock]

I'll keep that in mind this weekend. I had some ski lift, hopefully I can fix it. Thanks for the info.

RSRager, a little ski-lift never hurt anyone. Just ride baby!

 

[RSRAGER]

The only time it hurts is when a person cracks his head off a tree!

 

[rock]

RSRager, Yes, stay away from those trees. Caribou, Maine has a great Yamaha dealer who certainly could advise you on the proper course of action with your ski lift. Go see Brother Raymond and he'll help.

 

[Anonymous]

Would you look at all the Maniacs...It is nice to see the home state being represented on RX-1.info

 

[Snakebit]

Guess I better chime in, then... 8)

 

[rock]

Hey, Maine is a great snowmobile state which often gets overlooked in the sled press. I've seen a significant increase in the number of Yamaha's in our area as well.

 

[garserio]

I did NOT notice a heavier steering feel, but I did notice more darting. However, my old 600sx darted all over, so I am used to riding with it. I am also running 6" of 60deg carbide on the skiis, so that contributes to the darting as well.

 

[Tfin]

I did NOT notice a heavier steering feel, but I did notice more darting. However, my old 600sx darted all over, so I am used to riding with it. I am also running 6" of 60deg carbide on the skiis, so that contributes to the darting as well.

Thanks for the reply.

If you haven't already, you might want to try shimming the rear part of the rubber block under your ski spindle to eliminate some of the darting. There is a description of this under the Tech section.

 

[RSRAGER]

One great way I decreased darting on my sled was to buy some Simmons Flex Skis. They track better, look awsome and have incredible bite.

By the way. GO MAINE!

 

[Nordik]

I just got back from a 450 mile tour of the Laurentide region in Quebec. I got to first say how much I love my new Vector!

Because of excessive inside ski lift, I found myself failling behind my buddies in the first hour of riding and this wasn't typically the case when I was on my old 600sx. So, I decided to do a few trailside tweaks of my rear suspension to resolve the inside ski lift. First, I moved the limiter straps to the third hole from the top and 95% of the ski lift problem was GONE! I then found that I was never bottoming out the suspension, so I set the rear spring tension from M to S. This seemed to help a little bit more.

By chance I also noticed that the Hyfax burn slowed significantly! Upon further investigation, it was clear that adjusting the limiter straps causes the skid to angle move upward thus reducing Hyfax wear by distributing the pressure more evenly.

.

Shortening the limiter straps, you were no longer bottoming, so shall we understand that it was stiffer on small bumps?

 

[garserio]

I think you misunderstood me about the bottoming. I was NOT bottoming before the limiter strap adjustment and this remained the case after the adjustment. The ski-lift and bottoming problems are independent of each other in my mind. I just felt that since I was not bottoming, I could soften the rear spring settings from M to S. I did this after the limiter strap adjustment and found that ski lift did not get any worse. It seemed that in addition to the softer ride, the rear spring softening gave a slight improvement with the little remaining ski lift that I experienced after the limiter strap adjustment.

Let me just make it clear that the limiter strap adjustment was the key to eliminating the ski lift. Adjusting my strap two holes down from the from the top hole almost completely eliminated my inside ski lift problem. It solved 95% of the problem!

Finally, adjusting the limiter strap made no difference in ride stiffness on my sled.

 

[Nordik]

Thank's Garcerio. I shortened the strap one hole and it reduced ski lifting. I think though that shortening the strap remove also some confort on the stutter bumps. I am running since the begining with rear spring settings at soft and it bottom just sometimes(my weight is 195). At medium, it is way to stiff on the stutter bumps.