stx22
Newbie
I'm thinking about getting a 06 rage and am curious what you 05 rx riders think about the monoshock setup. How's the durability? Does it still have a W arm, and if it does, does it still break? How about the shock itself? Some of you must have 2-3000 miles by now. How is hyfax wear? Thanks.
If you like riding in the twisties you'd be better off with a short track. No issues with my W arm or shock but the RA cable broke once. Bushings for W arm were shot. I've got 2,300 miles and original hyfax still in good shape.
Tork
TY 4 Stroke God
IMHO the mono is magical. It gobbles up a lot of the bumps. You can see the bumps but you wonder where some of them went.
To be honest, some problems on the 05's. First of all no zerks. Guys are getting bushing wear and at least 1 had some cracking on an arm. Also adjuster boot and cable breakage. All the 06 sleds they say will have zerks. It sounded like they are working on the other problems as well for 06 but werent very specific as to the details of that.
My vector had worse hyfax wear on a 700 mile trip than the 2 05 monoshock RX1s I was with.
Hope this helps
To be honest, some problems on the 05's. First of all no zerks. Guys are getting bushing wear and at least 1 had some cracking on an arm. Also adjuster boot and cable breakage. All the 06 sleds they say will have zerks. It sounded like they are working on the other problems as well for 06 but werent very specific as to the details of that.
My vector had worse hyfax wear on a 700 mile trip than the 2 05 monoshock RX1s I was with.
Hope this helps
Monoshock-studs-wheel wear?
It was mentioned on the RS Vector forum about the track wheels getting worn, gouged or deformed when the track is studded, is there any issue with this on the monoshock equipped sleds? Just curious as the Vector will have the mono-skid next year.
Thanks!
It was mentioned on the RS Vector forum about the track wheels getting worn, gouged or deformed when the track is studded, is there any issue with this on the monoshock equipped sleds? Just curious as the Vector will have the mono-skid next year.
Thanks!
Swiss Sledder
TY 4 Stroke God
Re: Monoshock-studs-wheel wear?
The mono shock is the real deal. I also loosened the tension in my track and after 1025 miles on new hyfax, they barely show any wear.
None in 2227 miles this season and I have 96 studs down the middle. Rode with Mr Sled and NOS-Pro who have more studs than me and also no problems.xcsp said:
The mono shock is the real deal. I also loosened the tension in my track and after 1025 miles on new hyfax, they barely show any wear.
Heard a growling noise today while out on the trail. Found the cross piece on the W arm where the front end of the transfer adjustment rod attaches broken completely off. Some of the other welds look to be cracked too. Also noticed the RA cable was again broken. Sure do like the ride of the mono but doesn't seem to be holding up any better for me than the proaction did. No other issues with this sled after 2,700 miles.
kenlacy
Expert
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2004
- Messages
- 207
Just make sure if your over 210 lbs. with gear to get a stiffer rear spring if you are an aggressive rider.
ReX
TY 4 Stroke God
The w-arm (now called "Pivot Arm") seems to suffer from fatigue problems on high mileage sleds that have been driven somewhat aggressively (don't we all...).
My 2nd pivot arm broke a couple of weeks ago and I know of 7 other 05 owners with cracked arms too (some have broken more than one too).
With all the ones I know of, the cracks start very small (I caught my first one early) and slowly grow until the outside connection to the slide rail disconnects. Here is a picture at that point:
If you own an 05 RX-1 with the mono-shock, you should take a look at yours. Look very carefully in this area around the weld for hairline cracks.
For 05 RX-1 owners; The bad news is if you don't notice it at this point, the bolt eventually fails in fatigue (loaded in single shear), one (or both) slide rails get slightly bent, other parts get stressed/bent slightly, and if you ride until the track ratchets the track is so badly stretched on one side you need to replace it. Unfortunately there are no warning signs, no rattling sounds, no funny noises, no handling issues, etc. until the track ratchets (at least in my case and one other I know of that got to that point).
With Yamaha not providing a warranty on tracks, hopefully this info will save some of you from having to pay for a new track like me (I have read many posts and received e-mails where Yamaha USA has replaced tracks in situations like this - so if you're in the US, you might be in better shape).
Also, the slide rails and pivot arms are back ordered until the end of March. If you catch the crack early enough you can simply weld them up and ride for the rest of the season.
stx22, other relatively minor issues:
- The 05 stock spring is definitely too soft IMO and is also subject to sagging as the miles pile on.
- My sled came from the factory with out any grease anywhere in the suspension and the 05's didn't have grease fittings. The bushings all wore very quickly. The 06's have grease fittings.
for your other questions:
- My RA cable only broke once - with the updated cable protector installed. The boot is torn slightly again.
- The shock is quite good and the RA works very well, but it does need rebuilding around 5000 kms (my dealer didn't have the new custom tools to rebuild them so mine hasn't been rebuilt yet - it fades quite badly on stutter bumps now)
- Hyfax wear was fast at first, but then pretty much stopped wearing. Mine are still original at over 9100 kms. At the current wear rate I'm sure I could easily get 15,000 kms on them, likely even 20,000+ kms.
Other than these issues, the mono-shock suspension does work well. With the stock settings (lots of weight transfer/ski lift) the ride is probably just about the best out there for a 121" track.
If you want your skis on the ground and reduce the weight transfer to minimum (like me), the ride is IMO about the same as a well set up ZR or Xtra-10 skid (except the ZR/Xtra-10 need custom shock valving as well as optional springs; the mono-shock is stock except the spring).
Also, with the 05 RX-1 at least, tightening the limiter strap by a couple of holes greatly improved the stability, with a minor reduction in ride quality.
If I was to go back in time a year, knowing what I now know, I would still buy the 2005 RX-1 (awesome sled). I would take it home, take the suspension apart, add grease fittings, install the stiffer spring and reinforce the pivot arm. With those updates I'm sure this suspension would be very durable as well as perform very well (as well as save me a pile of money, down-time, time and frustration).
Good luck with your decision. Be aware of these issues, but don't let them hold you back from an 06.
My 2nd pivot arm broke a couple of weeks ago and I know of 7 other 05 owners with cracked arms too (some have broken more than one too).
With all the ones I know of, the cracks start very small (I caught my first one early) and slowly grow until the outside connection to the slide rail disconnects. Here is a picture at that point:
If you own an 05 RX-1 with the mono-shock, you should take a look at yours. Look very carefully in this area around the weld for hairline cracks.
For 05 RX-1 owners; The bad news is if you don't notice it at this point, the bolt eventually fails in fatigue (loaded in single shear), one (or both) slide rails get slightly bent, other parts get stressed/bent slightly, and if you ride until the track ratchets the track is so badly stretched on one side you need to replace it. Unfortunately there are no warning signs, no rattling sounds, no funny noises, no handling issues, etc. until the track ratchets (at least in my case and one other I know of that got to that point).
With Yamaha not providing a warranty on tracks, hopefully this info will save some of you from having to pay for a new track like me (I have read many posts and received e-mails where Yamaha USA has replaced tracks in situations like this - so if you're in the US, you might be in better shape).
Also, the slide rails and pivot arms are back ordered until the end of March. If you catch the crack early enough you can simply weld them up and ride for the rest of the season.
stx22, other relatively minor issues:
- The 05 stock spring is definitely too soft IMO and is also subject to sagging as the miles pile on.
- My sled came from the factory with out any grease anywhere in the suspension and the 05's didn't have grease fittings. The bushings all wore very quickly. The 06's have grease fittings.
for your other questions:
- My RA cable only broke once - with the updated cable protector installed. The boot is torn slightly again.
- The shock is quite good and the RA works very well, but it does need rebuilding around 5000 kms (my dealer didn't have the new custom tools to rebuild them so mine hasn't been rebuilt yet - it fades quite badly on stutter bumps now)
- Hyfax wear was fast at first, but then pretty much stopped wearing. Mine are still original at over 9100 kms. At the current wear rate I'm sure I could easily get 15,000 kms on them, likely even 20,000+ kms.
Other than these issues, the mono-shock suspension does work well. With the stock settings (lots of weight transfer/ski lift) the ride is probably just about the best out there for a 121" track.
If you want your skis on the ground and reduce the weight transfer to minimum (like me), the ride is IMO about the same as a well set up ZR or Xtra-10 skid (except the ZR/Xtra-10 need custom shock valving as well as optional springs; the mono-shock is stock except the spring).
Also, with the 05 RX-1 at least, tightening the limiter strap by a couple of holes greatly improved the stability, with a minor reduction in ride quality.
If I was to go back in time a year, knowing what I now know, I would still buy the 2005 RX-1 (awesome sled). I would take it home, take the suspension apart, add grease fittings, install the stiffer spring and reinforce the pivot arm. With those updates I'm sure this suspension would be very durable as well as perform very well (as well as save me a pile of money, down-time, time and frustration).
Good luck with your decision. Be aware of these issues, but don't let them hold you back from an 06.
