hurley
Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2011
- Messages
- 6
Going out west with a nytro rtx with extensions and a 1.75 backcountry track. Should i just find a set of mountain skis to use out there and stock ones for trail ridding or is there a mountain ski that is also good for trail ridding. Was looking at yamaha's mountain skis for all around?Any other suggestions to get my sled ready for the mountains. Most my ridding is nothern wi and upper micighan
Mtnviper
Vendor
hurley
I have Yamaha mountain skis (the 2011 and prior, not the new M9) on my XTX. While I don't do a lot of trail riding, on the trail they handle similar to the stock ski.
Where they shine, is off-trail in the mountains. The wider width helps keep the front end up in deeper snow and I've always felt that they held a side-hill pretty good.
Some recommendations for setting your sled up for the mountains.
Remove or dis-connect the sway bar.
Gear down, for the 1.75" track 20-39 or 20-40 should work well.
Re-clutch, the stock clutching chart for the elevation you'll be riding at is a good place to start. With the 1.75" track you'll want to install the heavier rivits in the heel instead of the tip like the chart shows. Same total mass, your just moving the weight from the tip to the heel. This helps prevent over-reving at slower speeds and under-reving at higher speeds or when pulling a hill.
For the secondary a shallower or multi-angle helix helps improve back-shifting when your on-off the throttle during a climb, or boondocking through the trees. A straight 39 or 43-39 works pretty good.
For the rear skid pulling the limiter straps up one or two holes reduces the track approach angle and helps reduce trenching.
As for the riding itself, momentum and the throttle are your friends in the deep snow! Little tricks like stopping pointed down hill or circling around and stopping in your own tracks can make the day go much smoother!
I have Yamaha mountain skis (the 2011 and prior, not the new M9) on my XTX. While I don't do a lot of trail riding, on the trail they handle similar to the stock ski.
Where they shine, is off-trail in the mountains. The wider width helps keep the front end up in deeper snow and I've always felt that they held a side-hill pretty good.
Some recommendations for setting your sled up for the mountains.
Remove or dis-connect the sway bar.
Gear down, for the 1.75" track 20-39 or 20-40 should work well.
Re-clutch, the stock clutching chart for the elevation you'll be riding at is a good place to start. With the 1.75" track you'll want to install the heavier rivits in the heel instead of the tip like the chart shows. Same total mass, your just moving the weight from the tip to the heel. This helps prevent over-reving at slower speeds and under-reving at higher speeds or when pulling a hill.
For the secondary a shallower or multi-angle helix helps improve back-shifting when your on-off the throttle during a climb, or boondocking through the trees. A straight 39 or 43-39 works pretty good.
For the rear skid pulling the limiter straps up one or two holes reduces the track approach angle and helps reduce trenching.
As for the riding itself, momentum and the throttle are your friends in the deep snow! Little tricks like stopping pointed down hill or circling around and stopping in your own tracks can make the day go much smoother!
hurley
Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2011
- Messages
- 6
Thanks for the info mtnviper. New to totallyamaha and all the info i needed to get my sled ready came from here. When you say dis-connect the sway bar- is that just unbolting them from the a-arms. Cause to remove it , do you have to tear down the whole front end to get it out??
For the clutching i have different springs but for the weights i've heard to just take all the rivets out. Will this just make it over-rev all the time?
Have you heard of taking the transfer blocks out of the rear end to make it transfer better?
Thanks for the response,
Todd
For the clutching i have different springs but for the weights i've heard to just take all the rivets out. Will this just make it over-rev all the time?
Have you heard of taking the transfer blocks out of the rear end to make it transfer better?
Thanks for the response,
Todd
Mtnviper
Vendor
Yes, just remove one of the sway bar links to disconnect it.
Or to remove it all together, no need to pull the front end off. Just pull both side panels and the bottom plate. Then you can reach the allen bolts that hold the sway bar frame bushings in. Once the frame bushings/mounts are off, the bar will slide out.
Some guys will cut the bar to remove it which is easier, but then it is no longer usable of course!
For mountain use snow conditions will dictate whether or not you'll want more transfer. I'm more fimilar with the XTX skid, which doesn't have transfer blocks. You may want to leave them in and try it for a day first.
If the snow is firmer and there is a good base, then more transfer will allow the sled to hook up more. If the snow is deep powder with very little base, then excessive transfer can cause the sled to trench more. This is because the front of the skid is pushing downwards into the snow more, only there is no base for the track to hook up on. So what ends up happening is the track just keeps digging downward instead of moving the sled forward. If that makes sense!
Best thing to do is adjust your suspension settings after you get there and see what the snow conditions look like. Mountain snow conditions can vary from day to day a great deal!
For the rivits, it depends on the elevation your riding at. Running the weights empty (no rivits) would be for 8000' to 10,000' typically. If your riding at lower elevations then it may over-rev some.
In the mountains the elevation change can vary quite a bit. You may start out at 5000', but the play areas could be 7000'-9000'. In this case you would want to clutch for the 7000'-9000' and take it easy while down at 5000' to keep it from over-reving to much!
Bill
Or to remove it all together, no need to pull the front end off. Just pull both side panels and the bottom plate. Then you can reach the allen bolts that hold the sway bar frame bushings in. Once the frame bushings/mounts are off, the bar will slide out.
Some guys will cut the bar to remove it which is easier, but then it is no longer usable of course!
For mountain use snow conditions will dictate whether or not you'll want more transfer. I'm more fimilar with the XTX skid, which doesn't have transfer blocks. You may want to leave them in and try it for a day first.
If the snow is firmer and there is a good base, then more transfer will allow the sled to hook up more. If the snow is deep powder with very little base, then excessive transfer can cause the sled to trench more. This is because the front of the skid is pushing downwards into the snow more, only there is no base for the track to hook up on. So what ends up happening is the track just keeps digging downward instead of moving the sled forward. If that makes sense!
Best thing to do is adjust your suspension settings after you get there and see what the snow conditions look like. Mountain snow conditions can vary from day to day a great deal!
For the rivits, it depends on the elevation your riding at. Running the weights empty (no rivits) would be for 8000' to 10,000' typically. If your riding at lower elevations then it may over-rev some.
In the mountains the elevation change can vary quite a bit. You may start out at 5000', but the play areas could be 7000'-9000'. In this case you would want to clutch for the 7000'-9000' and take it easy while down at 5000' to keep it from over-reving to much!
Bill
I'm kind of a ski snob and will actually change skis for the snow conditions I plan to ride in. I got that way once I experienced how much difference a ski could make towards handling. It is now hard for me to tolerate the wrong skis for conditions.
I won't go into brands and what not, but use wide skis for off trail and narrow skis for on trail. Guys might say it doesn't matter what ski your run on set up trails but it does to me. Running a wide, hard to turn mountain ski on trails isn't fun and you really are not gaining anything. Stock skis tend to be the easiest to turn and the most predictable in wide ranging conditions for the ski's intended use.
I won't go into brands and what not, but use wide skis for off trail and narrow skis for on trail. Guys might say it doesn't matter what ski your run on set up trails but it does to me. Running a wide, hard to turn mountain ski on trails isn't fun and you really are not gaining anything. Stock skis tend to be the easiest to turn and the most predictable in wide ranging conditions for the ski's intended use.
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