Mechanical Power Steering for Sidewinder - BTX & XTX "bone spindle" kits now available

[hibshman25]

Got some parts drawn up and fabricated. Traveling north tomorrow to find snow so I can do some trail testing with what I think will be the final design for production. All my testing to date has been about 75 miles of field riding.

 

[PowderFalcon]

Got some parts drawn up and fabricated. Traveling north tomorrow to find snow so I can do some trail testing with what I think will be the final design for production. All my testing to date has been about 75 miles of field riding.

That's awesome Travis! good luck!

 

[DGZRT]

So could this product work on a Viper also ??

 

[kinger]

tnc110, what kits?

 

[hibshman25]

So could this product work on a Viper also ??

Sure will!

 

[tnc110]

tnc110, what kits?

Something like this, but it would reqire a TON of work. Fingers crossed that Travis is on the right path!
https://www.superatv.com/universal-power-steering-kit-170w-220w

 

[SideHogger]

Any new news on your steering?

 

[hibshman25]

managed 110 miles of trail testing last week and very satisfied with the results. The prototype has 3 settings for different levels of assist. We spent hours running the same loops in various settings to compare. My father was with me with his EPS apex and he was equally impressed. We had one real tight twisty loop we tested on, and in stock trim I was gripping bars will all my might....in max assist I barely had to grip the bars! Being able to run loops back to back in various settings gave us good feedback on how well it works.

With this successful testing I'm confident I have the concept for the final product done. Now I just need to hone in on the final assembly, installation and integrity for final product. Because this product is associated with steering and control the liability is substantially higher, so I need to be cautious about what I release.


I should also state that I was testing with curve skis and center shock preload of only 1/4" over free length as per owners manual. Less aggressive skis and more center shock preload will only reduce steering effort even more!

 

[HighSpeedLowDrag]

This sounds like an opportunity to change the steering ratio to a natural 1:1 ratio where the angle of the handlebars equal the angle of the skis.

 

[PAvector]

If your product isn't working correctly or fails, would you still be able to drive the sled to complete a trip?

 

[Snowaddict]

^^^^Am wondering the same thing. What are the consequences if it quits working? (Mind you Travis makes great stuff and I don't anticipate problems. )

 

[hibshman25]

If your product isn't working correctly or fails, would you still be able to drive the sled to complete a trip?

What I'm doing is purely mechanical...no electronics. Really, the only failure point would be it comes unbolted. I want to incorporate extra measures to ensure it does not come undone.

 

[yamadoo]

Very interested to see this.

 

[errol]

We are 2 buying 2018 SW and very interested in your future product...

 

[fxnytrortxkid]

Any chance you could wire in something to it so that the assist level was speed activated. Under 10mph max assist. Under 20 med assist then low assist from there type of deal? Maybe have dial to raise the assist curve to higher mph ranges?