Kingers BOOSTED garage....

[kinger]

Almost ready!

Wiring ugh there is a lot of plumbing with a turbo! I even have coolant going to the external wastegate!

Better:

Relocated XIC I don’t look at it while riding anyway.

Never gets old!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kinger]

So I had a issue with the MTX spindles. I didn’t realize they are 1” longer then trail apex spindles. My billet spindle shafts only fit the trail the length so I put those on. I got to 4 scale it today and my weight balance is off with more weight to the front even though I took off 30 ish pounds.

UPDATE:
OK so I got the scales out and got a chance to test this. Really interesting stuff! Attached is the weight chart, sorry its a bit of a eye chart but there is a key to the upper right of the colors. Here is my summary:

Sled came in at 642lbs RTR with about 7 gallons of gas in it. Not as light as I had hoped it appears to be about 18 lbs lighter then my SC sled even though part by part I took off more weight so not exactly sure why it doesn't add up.

Aside from that, static weight doesn't really matter, its the weight distribution that I was attracted to. If you remember there was a skinz video of the process to 4 scale a feather weight Polaris Pro and I got really interested in any key learning from that I could apply to my Apex. The Turbo Pro 4 scaled out at 530 lbs w/o rider and 728lbs with ~200lb guy (screen shot of form the video is attached). Compare to me at 642/871 respectively although I go about 230lbs. 110lbs heavier no matter how you slice it.

What got me hooked was the front ski weight of 150lbs per ski was their 'benchmark' weight for light handling in the deep. I knew I could never get the apex to weight as light as a Pro but I thought I could probably get the ski pressure similar and thus improve the handling? Not sure what it would do but I thought it would be fun to experiment.

The Pro F/R weight distribution was at 55%/45% without a rider and 43%/57% with a rider. Compare that to my mid mount and I ended up at 37/63 or a delta of 6/6 respectively.

Check out the eye chart and compare the SC sled, a stock body impulse, my lightweight crossover impulse and you'll see the W/F varies 1-2%. I was a little surprised by that. I was thinking it would be a lot more variance.

Couple key points in the green cells, check out that I reduced overall ski weight AND balanced it out completely Left to Right. They are equal in all scenarios I was playing with. I'm hoping it will be more predictable know in the deep stuff and not list the oil tank side like before. Lastly look at that ski weight! The turbo pro is 157 and mine is 161lbs! I think that is a great accomplishment and I'm hoping will really make the sled playful and fun in the deep and hopefully not screw up its trail handling that the SC sled was REALLY good at.

Lastly the blue cells look at the difference front end height makes on the Weight Dist! It doesn't matter what lightweight stuff you did you can get whatever distribution you want. In fact about a 2" rise over what I have would probably match a pro F-R Weight Dist exactly. The down side though is look at ski pressure, it goes up as you raise the sled and take pressure off that front arm in the rear skid. So at the 1.5" raise spot you can see the ski pressure is already 20lbs more then a Pro, here is where static weight finally catches up and cannot be overcome. I need to pull 100lbs off the sled in order to compete with a pro which means we have come full circle and ended up in the same spot we started...heavy beasts LOL.

Overall this was fun to put some data around the whole heavy and light battle, I am curious how the sled will handle now if there is any difference at all.


I'll test it out in a couple weeks in the winding Hayward/Cable WI area!

 

[kinger]

Ergonomics - I keep finding myself increasing the height of my bars. Here is where I had them at:
stock MTX IS 34" from foot well to bars

Apex GT bars were 36” with a total 9” of risor. 7”+2” pivot from lake effect.

This new set up Bar height with oem MTX mountain bars and old repurposed lake effect risor is 37”

I finally feel comfortable standing with a nice bend in the elbows. I’m 6’1”.

I had a set of CR racing bars and risor but I need a new steering post to make those work so I wasn’t planning on the extra 1-2” of rise from the MTX bars. It will be fun to try and see how long I need to make the new post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kinger]

GPS mounted!

The fit and finish is so good, all the panels are tight, and the sled has a nice solid feel to it. Love it all over again!

Just waiting on my pimp LED inserts for my hand guards to complete my LED headlights, taillight and it’s done for this year!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kinger]

Annnnnd we’re done! Time to ride!!!!

These come on with key it will be soooo handy in enclosed trailer at night!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[princesledalot]

Love it !

 

[Gone Blue]

Just awesome Kinger! G.B.

 

[kinger]

I go out on my first trip this Thursday and I haven't even ran it on its own power yet! So yesterday I got 10 mines and I took it out on the sloshy lake because I was worried the boost gauge never moves on the stand (my SC did twitch slightly) and I wanted to be able to test the cutout opening at 6psi. Cruising at 40-50mph was quiet and smooth, open it up and it spools instantly and was able to build boost just fine. Everything is working as planned and the cut out exhaust is SWEET! I'm a little worried going on its 500 mile maiden voyage with yammie hating doo freaks in a group of 20 who I know are ready to pounce should I have overlooked something and have a breakdown. Fingers crossed and full ride report coming next week!

 

[DIALIN43]

Kinger your sled is one of the great looking and hope ride goes trouble free

 

[kinger]

Thanks DIALIN43 it’s hard to believe it’s 11 years old and draws more crowds at gas stops then the new iron. I always thought the proportions of the apex were just perfect. It is a mean machine both looks and performance. As my 4 yr old says “daddy will that thing bite me <hugging leg tighter and tighter>”. Haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kinger]

Wow what a great trip! I’ll expound a little on my findings later but the sled ran like a beast!!! I’m officially a turbo convert now. The lake power is unbelievable. It will pull the skis 5-6’ in the air at ANY speed like even a 100mph. I was in a group of 21 sleds and they just couldn’t believe it! A new Doo 850 I ran up on him at like 95 mph and waved him to race and I punched it and just took off gone in 60 seconds style. Later I learned he was pegged haha. Just nuts. Never ridden a machine like this. UNREAL!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kinger]

Time for my ride report! We did a little over 300 miles on trails that were smooth to start and rough near the end. The sled ran really well but not perfect. Here are some of the minor issues:

The AFR gauge seemed like it was showing rich, but after a few miles (like 50 or so) it started to show lean lean lean. Then would run into the 13’s-14’s for every throttle position. So its either 1 of 2 things, a bad sensor or my valves exhaust is creating swirls in the pipe and its not in the flow. So I will replace the sensor and see if it works or not.

The Fuel gauge started flashing and not working multiple times on the trip. I got a chance on day 3 to pop the side of the seat and found a wire pulled out of the connector for the fuel sender. I made a temporary jumper (I had brought a long a wiring kit for the first time ever!) and it seemed to work. Until I filled up with gas, its almost like the float is going to high and breaking the connection. So I will try a more permanent wiring solution if that doesn’t work I will fix the sender this summer. Remember this is a custom aluminum tank and the sender is on the side of the tank. So it would make sense if the float is ‘over floating’ past the sensor range compared to stock position. (This is just a theory)

Steering bushings are shot, this was an oversight by me. I have been riding on OFT bushings for so long I forgot about the OEM plastic ones. Way too much slop, I will get those swapped out from my old one. I also got a lightweight steering post, bars, and cross shaft (the one behind the oil tank) which should shave 3-4 lbs. Probably do that in off season.

Minor annoyance with the turbo lag, I’m not sure its turbo lag or tuning lag. Adjusting the fueling threshold of when boost kicked in made this better or worse so this leads me to believe it’s a tuning issue. Or my exhaust valve opening up at 6psi may be impacting this. Right now in the trails at 30 mph if I want to jump a mogul or hump in the trail the SC would just spring off those and very fun, this one doesn’t react in time and just bogs for a second and I miss the jump. Turbo is a 2860R tial SS housings and 3” V band out, on the impulse 4:1 header it should be ok right? Not sure how much ‘lag’ to expect, I feel like it should be zero.


Last issue was a new one for me, on the last stop on the last day I went to start the sled and it gave like a half pop when I would expect it to start and then just turned over and over and over. I got nervous as heck about flooding it so I waited like 10 mins tried again, no change. The lithium battery and UC pack did a great job turning it over and over and over. Finally, I started pumping the throttle and lit and ran on a couple cylinders for a few seconds with me holding the throttle and then settled out and idled fine and ran fine. The sled has been sitting outside for maybe 2 hours it wasn’t cold but it wasn’t warm. Almost like it was too warm to get into the cold idle circuit but too cold to fire on my low idle setting. Why the low idle setting (1200 rpm) you ask? Well before the trip when it was in the garage and idling it squealed/whistle something fierce and it was the BOV (vortech unit) with the air pumping out hitting something making a god-awful whistle. I put my hand in front of it not covering entirely and it was enough to make it stop. I didn’t have anything I could cover it with and so I turned the idle down to 1200 and it completely went away. So I’m going back to 1500 rpm and try that. It’s weird it was flawless all weekend until this point. It’s also very quiet when idling at 1200…very easy on the ears.


Ok on to the fun! What an ANIMAL on a lake. The sound is orgasmic from the full boost runs to the wastegate flutter…glorious sounds of power. Waving at new sleds that are wide open at 95mph and I peg mine and the skis lift (100mph) and away I fly just makes me giggle! I can’t stop laughing when driving it at speeds. It will NEVER let the skis come down..ever… I tried and ran out of lake. The transfer is unreal, remember this is a 151”! I think all the weight balance stuff I did earlier really shows up. In the trails, it handles easy and very playful. I don’t think it needs more weight on the front, it really is fun and it will handle with brake usage in hard driving. I went with a single carbide on the clutch side and dually on the oil tank side and it worked but you need to be alert when turning left it will push and turning right it will grab and lift a ski. So that was 100% noticeable. It stays in vacuum well so the exhaust valve stays closed and keeps it quiet. Fox floats with nextech reservoirs, comparing to my Ohlins. I thought they did a good job! I don’t even know how to check the pressure or adjust it yet but it wasn’t firm (pogo stick) like I expected. It was nice and cushy without rolling over I look forward to playing with the adjustments at some point. 11mm vs my old 13mm I had rode a 13mm since my RX1 so I thought I would try this stock MTX bar at 11mm. I noticed I needed more body English to make it turn and keep that ski down. However a few parts of the trail were rippled out in the center but smoother on the sides so I intentionally just let the left ski bounce on those bumps and I liked the lack of movement in the bars where the 13mm just makes the whole sled bounce, this allowed that Left side float to bounce on those and the rest of the sled remained calm. I will leave it in for now. The lithium and UC pack worked wonderfully, although it was never colder than 10 degrees F so I need some negative digits to fully develop confidence.

Overall the sled is a winner, its feels light and playful. I can tell the difference between a full tank and empty tank of fuel. When its full the sled handles a little light in the front, when its empty it puts more pressure on the skis and handles even better. Normally I am ALWAYS sore after the first multi-day trip but not at all this time. A little more refinement and I don’t know how you could have a better sled. When a bunch of Doo die hards converted in a weekend from making fun of the big heavy Yamaha to WOW what a sled! It was faster, handled better (at least they couldn’t keep up with me in the twisty’s), and I still got more looks at stops! People walking past the new 850’s right to my sled. HAHA They almost fainted when I told them its 11 years old! Long live the Tapex!

 

[Snowman871]

Such a sweet looking sled!

 

[kinger]

Leave on Thursday for a nice trail ride and probably a ‘King of the trail’ race at the 1st annual event and see what the Ole girl can do.

Better bring it in for a check up, only has 309 miles on it from last check up but you can never be to careful right? Uffda that is where it got ugly.

First thing I notice is my prized rare 13.5x1.25x151” track. This has held up to all the boosted sleds I have had it on and can’t be purchased new. I dreaded the day I had to replace it. The day came:

This sled is so insane I wanted to ride it but the don’t die part of my brain won out and I ordered a new 1.5”x15x151” crossover which I had studied and should this day come I already knew what I wanted. That comes here tomorrow.

I figure I’ll get a head start and pull the skid, break down the chain case so this will be fast. Then I see this:

WTF! Those have 309 miles on them. Spent hours calling around to see about getting some Kimpex next day. No go. So I head out to the shed and find some old ones. By flipping them backwards and piecing 3 bad ones to make one good one I end with this:

Crisis averted...or so I thought. Let’s change the oil I think. In goes some 0W40 yammie oil. Start up to circulate and I get a smoke storm:

Oil in intake:

WTF??

So next day ordered a new CHRA and it will be here tomorrow. This will make for a late night. Please nothing else be wrong!!!

To be continued....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Snowman871]

Ouch, good thing you're resourceful!!