Jerry
Newbie
Hello. This is my first post. This past August I purchased a 2005 RX-1 Mtn, had 684 miles on it. PO had fitted Simmons Gen 3 flexi-skis and a left-hand throttle. I live in western Colorado and ride at elevations of 9K - 10.5K feet. Purchase price was $3,200.00
Have been out twice for a total of about 160 miles. Quite a change from my old 550 Arctic Cat. Couple questions / comments.
Sled seems to require mush more effort than I am used to to steer. Checked alignment of the skis, have a slight (1/8 - 1/4 inch) toe-out which the Simmons documentation says is OK. Have noticed the skis are mounted in the rear hole, documentation says nose-heavy sleds like the RX-1 should use the front hole. Any comments about changing this?
Second, fuel mileage is not what I was expecting, first outing of 75 miles took about 7 gallons of gas. Have not checked second outing of 85 miles, looks a bit better on the gauge (3 bars showing) but I was expecting maybe closer to 15 or better. Sled had been rejetted I was told, running 127 (?) mains. Sled was originally set up for Anglefire (near Taos) New Mexico. I have not checked the plugs, but engine seems to be running fine. What mileage is normal for running on mostly groomed trails with fresh powder on them?
Third, I really need some storage for small items like a bottle of water. snacks, other small items. Does anyone sell a rack that will take 5 - 10 pounds and either not interfere with or would relocate the tail lights? I really don't want to wear a backpack.
Last, I will say riding so far has been a blast. I replaced the cracked 15.5 inch windshield with the 17.5 inch version, otherwise the sled is stock except for the skis.
Taken on Grand Mesa, Colorado, December 21, 2008.
Have been out twice for a total of about 160 miles. Quite a change from my old 550 Arctic Cat. Couple questions / comments.
Sled seems to require mush more effort than I am used to to steer. Checked alignment of the skis, have a slight (1/8 - 1/4 inch) toe-out which the Simmons documentation says is OK. Have noticed the skis are mounted in the rear hole, documentation says nose-heavy sleds like the RX-1 should use the front hole. Any comments about changing this?
Second, fuel mileage is not what I was expecting, first outing of 75 miles took about 7 gallons of gas. Have not checked second outing of 85 miles, looks a bit better on the gauge (3 bars showing) but I was expecting maybe closer to 15 or better. Sled had been rejetted I was told, running 127 (?) mains. Sled was originally set up for Anglefire (near Taos) New Mexico. I have not checked the plugs, but engine seems to be running fine. What mileage is normal for running on mostly groomed trails with fresh powder on them?
Third, I really need some storage for small items like a bottle of water. snacks, other small items. Does anyone sell a rack that will take 5 - 10 pounds and either not interfere with or would relocate the tail lights? I really don't want to wear a backpack.
Last, I will say riding so far has been a blast. I replaced the cracked 15.5 inch windshield with the 17.5 inch version, otherwise the sled is stock except for the skis.
Taken on Grand Mesa, Colorado, December 21, 2008.
Powder Nomad
Veteran
Nice sled bought right!
Wow, looks to me like you got a really good deal on that, congrats! Nice lookin sled... (I had an 03, have an 05 T-Vec now).
Mileage is about right on I would say... that tank will run you about 100 miles. One thing I noticed was cruising along on the trail, or screaming in the powder, seemed to get relatively close to the same mileage.
Re: steering, uh, assume you meant Gen II, or you have a really good contact/in at Simmons!
(or I've been in a cave and didn't notice a third version come out from them) Not sure about them, on my 03 RX1 I put on triple carbide PPD X-MT's and it steered very lightly I thought, but then again it only had one mounting hole, so... :-/
Good luck w/ the storage... they do have less storage than I'd like. :-/ I just went to a backpack, but I am sure others will have some thoughts on a rack.
Happy sledding, hope it continues to run well for you!
Nomad
Wow, looks to me like you got a really good deal on that, congrats! Nice lookin sled... (I had an 03, have an 05 T-Vec now).
Mileage is about right on I would say... that tank will run you about 100 miles. One thing I noticed was cruising along on the trail, or screaming in the powder, seemed to get relatively close to the same mileage.
Re: steering, uh, assume you meant Gen II, or you have a really good contact/in at Simmons!
(or I've been in a cave and didn't notice a third version come out from them) Not sure about them, on my 03 RX1 I put on triple carbide PPD X-MT's and it steered very lightly I thought, but then again it only had one mounting hole, so... :-/Good luck w/ the storage... they do have less storage than I'd like. :-/ I just went to a backpack, but I am sure others will have some thoughts on a rack.
Happy sledding, hope it continues to run well for you!
Nomad
bdm
Expert
This won't help for your current questions but check it out when you start modding - one-stop shopping, figuratively. The RX is a handful without some big changes.
www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=34170 ... ght=animal
www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=34170 ... ght=animal
You could buy a used Apex seat and replace the RX1. You'll have a little storage. Or you could buy a rack, many people make them Wildchild on Snowest sells some nice racks with LED light built in. You'll have to get exhaust turnouts or do an undertunnel exhaust. Follow the both link for the second option.
Once you start moding these sleds it doesn't stop.
Stock
Not stock
Since that photo Works shocks up front. Sway bar removed. Will be doing an undertunnel exhaust in a couple of weeks. And currently looking for a 159 track to put in it.
Once you start moding these sleds it doesn't stop.
Stock
Not stock
Since that photo Works shocks up front. Sway bar removed. Will be doing an undertunnel exhaust in a couple of weeks. And currently looking for a 159 track to put in it.
Frostbite
TY 4 Stroke God
Congratualtions. The RX-1M had some pretty bad press initially for deep powder applications but, with a little work they are wonderful.
I initally used mine for trail and boondocking but, I have since gone to mostly boondocking. I do have a Arctic Cat 1M rear rack that looks and works perfectly on the back of an RX-1M with stock pipes. It's been in my shop for quite some time. Send me a PM if you're interested in th rack.
For trail riding, I think the best thing I did was add the Holz 41" front end. It made the sled so mcuh more fun on the trail (way less tippy). I also set the front shocks with minimum spring pressure, it makes no sense in my mind at all but, the sled rolled far less for me in the corners.
You can really improve the clutching on your sled from stock too. I must have tested 30 helixes for Dalton in the 02-03 time frame for trail riding at elevation and the 54/2 helix with s silver Yamaha spring at 70 degrees and an Orange/Silver/Orange spring in the primary really woke my sled up.
Best of luck to you and welcome to the best forum in snowmobiling.
Frosty
I initally used mine for trail and boondocking but, I have since gone to mostly boondocking. I do have a Arctic Cat 1M rear rack that looks and works perfectly on the back of an RX-1M with stock pipes. It's been in my shop for quite some time. Send me a PM if you're interested in th rack.
For trail riding, I think the best thing I did was add the Holz 41" front end. It made the sled so mcuh more fun on the trail (way less tippy). I also set the front shocks with minimum spring pressure, it makes no sense in my mind at all but, the sled rolled far less for me in the corners.
You can really improve the clutching on your sled from stock too. I must have tested 30 helixes for Dalton in the 02-03 time frame for trail riding at elevation and the 54/2 helix with s silver Yamaha spring at 70 degrees and an Orange/Silver/Orange spring in the primary really woke my sled up.
Best of luck to you and welcome to the best forum in snowmobiling.
Frosty
Jerry
Newbie
Thanks for the replies so far. I had read many of the other threads on the forum about mods. One of the reasons I looked for an '05 because of the rings issue, a bit lighter weight, some differences in clutching, etc.
I generally ride in groups with people from my snowmobile club (SnowSkippers out of Grand Junction, Colorado) which entails a lot of powder snow travel in remote areas. Other riding is solo on groomed trails in the area, primarily Colordo's Grand Mesa and Flattops. My previous sled was an old AC Bearcat 550, but it had the 156 inch track. Not real fast but I never got it stuck. Prior to that I ran a V-Max 540L . Most of my sledding was done in Wisconsin, but when I moved to Colorado in '03 I needed better flotation (got the V-Max stuck a lot) and ended up with the AC. I was a little hesitant going with the RX-1 Mtn with the shorter track, so my immediate concern is improving powder snow capability. Plus, the club is probably 90% AC with a few Polaris sleds and I want the RX-1 to really do well during the club outings.
Short of changing the skid, are there less drastic / less expensive ways to improve deep powder capability? The Simmons skis are a step in that direction, what else should I look at?
I generally ride in groups with people from my snowmobile club (SnowSkippers out of Grand Junction, Colorado) which entails a lot of powder snow travel in remote areas. Other riding is solo on groomed trails in the area, primarily Colordo's Grand Mesa and Flattops. My previous sled was an old AC Bearcat 550, but it had the 156 inch track. Not real fast but I never got it stuck. Prior to that I ran a V-Max 540L . Most of my sledding was done in Wisconsin, but when I moved to Colorado in '03 I needed better flotation (got the V-Max stuck a lot) and ended up with the AC. I was a little hesitant going with the RX-1 Mtn with the shorter track, so my immediate concern is improving powder snow capability. Plus, the club is probably 90% AC with a few Polaris sleds and I want the RX-1 to really do well during the club outings.
Short of changing the skid, are there less drastic / less expensive ways to improve deep powder capability? The Simmons skis are a step in that direction, what else should I look at?
IDA rather b sledding
Newbie
Hello Jerry. I am a new RX-1 owner this year also. I can't offer you alot of advice except for these 3 things. I bought 2 RX-1's, one is modified w/ under tunnel exhaust, Simmons Gen1 skis and Apex boss seat, 2 inch bar rizers. I ride alot like you are describing so I think I might help. First,I would not do an under tunnel exhaust. The one I have builds far to much ice build up on the tunnel extension in powder riding. You may have noticed my post. Seems to be a common issue that is overlooked or accepted as okay. All it has accomplished in my book is to exchange dead weight for dead weight. My stock sled does not have this problem. I put the Apex turnouts on my stock sled and use an AC tunnel bag. No issues at all. Second, I would not buy a Boss seat for a trail run sled. As Frosty said they are tippy, and once they start, they go over. I plan to go back to a stock seat and keep my bar rizers. Get the weight back down where it belongs. The wider A arms are too spendy for me right now. The third suggestion I have is buy the high lift snowmobile jack that one of your fellow Coloradoian's came up with. What a great and yet so simple idea. These sleds are back breakers when stuck. Also a shovel. I am noting the same fuel mileage issues. To be fair I only have 80 miles on these sleds, all new snow/ fresh powder. I need to learn the quirks and issues, but I have snowmobiled for over 30 years. My current opinion of my purchase is not overly positive. But they are the best machines I could afford, actually quite a bargain for my area. I continue to research the site here for things I can live with as far as mods go and riding techniques that will improve the situation. My friend assures me that they get 14 mpg and ride great on groomed trails. One thing I forgot was if you don't have reverse, get it. The absolute best feature of my new machines. Good luck, Ben
Snobeel
Newbie
There are a lot of simple things that can be done that cost $0. Like I went through my sled and took every piece that wasn't essential to the performance of the sled and put in a box in my garage. Things like the lunch box in the nose of the sled, the carberator flap, and all of the foam. Yes, the sled is a little louder, but the weight savings is in the 3-4 lbs range and if you think about weight removal to cost ratio these are great things. I think you made a good call on the 05 as I spent some money on my sled getting some of the stock 05 setup. There are some tips on the steering that help a lot. Be sure to run a winter grease in the front end. If you use regular grease it will get stiff in the cold and increase the steering effort. Also I like to use honda's chain lube to spray onto the four steering linkage bushings. It is simple, penetrates and is water resistant. Yamaha recommends annual lubrication of these bushings but it can be a lot of work to take them all apart and lubricate them and put them all back together.
The single change that I made to my naturally aspirated rx that seemed to make the most difference was to go to a 159 track. You can really feel the difference both in traction and flotation.
My sled is now supercharged with timbersled front end, fox floats, an apex tunnel and rear suspension, 162x16 track, apex riser and bars with rider forward per Kachess, and a whole lot of fun, especially when you ride past a stuck xp.
The other super important thing I think is to learn to adapt to the 4 stroke on and off the throttle. It won't react like a 2 stroke and it takes some getting used to, but once you get it your sled and you should run with most everything around.
Ps that 159 is available.
Jack
The single change that I made to my naturally aspirated rx that seemed to make the most difference was to go to a 159 track. You can really feel the difference both in traction and flotation.
My sled is now supercharged with timbersled front end, fox floats, an apex tunnel and rear suspension, 162x16 track, apex riser and bars with rider forward per Kachess, and a whole lot of fun, especially when you ride past a stuck xp.
The other super important thing I think is to learn to adapt to the 4 stroke on and off the throttle. It won't react like a 2 stroke and it takes some getting used to, but once you get it your sled and you should run with most everything around.
Ps that 159 is available.
Jack
Jerry
Newbie
Was out for the 3rd time with the RX-1 this past Sunday, only now getting used to the difference in low end / throttle response. It does take some getting used to. Next sunday is a group ride through back country powder, will see how it performs in those conditions.
