Mainenytro89
Newbie
Hi everyone. I just bought a 2009 rtx 121”track. I took it for the first ride yesterday and could barely steer the whole day. Extremely hard to turn. I am 210lbs and 6feet y’all do not a little guy. I read a little bit on here but am admittedly brand new to this sled and unsure what I’m doing. The sled has Simmons dual carbide skis on it and when I bought it the guy had let the air out of the shocks so I put 75psi in each one. Can someone please tell me how to make this sled turn easier? I have ridden sleds a lot when I was younger and never have had one this hard to turn. What should I do? I read about limiter straps and front rear school but don’t know what it should look like. Thanks for your help!
Pairodice
Veteran
I would start by lifting the front of the sled off and making sure it’s not binding anywhere. After that limited strap all the way down, then rear spring. Front shocks don’t make much difference in steering effort imo. I have an apex that was a nightmare to steer when I got it also. Skis may help also slp powder pros are the hot setup for me
74Nitro
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I've encountered this problem before. Most likely the lower A arm ball joints.
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how loose is the spring on the front skid shock? might need to add some spring tension.
Pmtg04
Veteran
I've had the front track shock get frozen in the compressed position, made it very difficult, borderline impossible.
I've had the tierod boots fill up with snow and freeze, also made it very very difficult to steer.
If someone torqued down the steering post bushings, that'd do it too.
Adding some compression on the front track spring, per maim's post, is a good tuning route if nothing is malfunctioning.
You can take off the tierods at the spindles, cycle the steering and see how it feels. Helps narrow it down to what's causing it.
I've had the tierod boots fill up with snow and freeze, also made it very very difficult to steer.
If someone torqued down the steering post bushings, that'd do it too.
Adding some compression on the front track spring, per maim's post, is a good tuning route if nothing is malfunctioning.
You can take off the tierods at the spindles, cycle the steering and see how it feels. Helps narrow it down to what's causing it.
Gone Blue
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The front skid shock and spring will also effect ski pressure and steering effort. Look at the recommendations for suspension setup in the FQA Nytro section. I followed most of the recommendations and I am running Pilot 6.9 skis that are shimmed and mine steers pretty light. G.B.
gzuzfrk
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- 2011 Nytro XTX
2008 Vector LTX GT
I'd be confident in saying that the majority of the problem is those Simmons skis. They came on my Nytro when I bought it used and I promptly took then off and sold them. The guy I bought the Nytro from looked at me surprised when I told him I wanted the original Yamaha skis and didn't plan to use the Simmons. They turned awful just trying to load the sled when i bought it. Had them prior to that on a Vector and sold them then too. I put the original skis on my Nytro and added Woody's Slim Jims for carbides, cranked up the spring on the front skid shock to relieve pressure on the front end and this thing works fantastic now. I think of the Slim Jims as a poor mans snowtracker. They are all I'll run on my 4strokes now.
grizztracks
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The stud boy deuce bars work great on the stock skis with less push than the slim jim's have.
Hier_will
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Get a front skid spring from Schmidt bro’s Motorsports or stingray. once the nut hits the spring go three turns. Front limiters second hole. No pre load on front springs. I also put on a relocating block that moves my handle bars more forward on the column giving less steering effort. My wife is 120lbs and loves driving my sled. I also have slim Jim dolly’s one Curve XS. This sled is on rails and can steer easily.
Hooray!
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
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1998 Yamaha VMAX 700 XTC
I went with the new tuner IIs and full Bergstrom setup (triple points inside, wear bars outside, both with ski saver shims, reversed rubbers, shim rear of rubber), straps two from tight, skid front shock w hygear dual springs... Did new a arm bushings and knuckles, all tight but well greased, rides on trails like on rails, no pushing, does take some pressure to steer but not too hard IMO... Tuner IIs are not super in powder but I just broke trails in 3' of new snow and you get used to using the throttle to steer with power and weight shifts vs all skis. Many rave about curves for snow flotation and good trail manners.The stud boy deuce bars work great on the stock skis with less push than the slim jim's have.
grizztracks
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I went with the new tuner IIs and full Bergstrom setup (triple points inside, wear bars outside, both with ski saver shims, reversed rubbers, shim rear of rubber), straps two from tight, skid front shock w hygear dual springs... Did new a arm bushings and knuckles, all tight but well greased, rides on trails like on rails, no pushing, does take some pressure to steer but not too hard IMO... Tuner IIs are not super in powder but I just broke trails in 3' of new snow and you get used to using the throttle to steer with power and weight shifts vs all skis. Many rave about curves for snow flotation and good trail manners.
I tried the Tuners and a few other dual keel skis and found them all to be unpredictable with changing condition and terrible in loose or deep snow. I've found the single keel skis to be more consistent with changing snow conditions and in particular the Curve skis to be superior for more aggressive riding in most all conditions....... Just my opinion after testing several options on a few different sleds over the years.
Jusu
Newbie
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grizztracks
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I made this steering modification to my -12 xtx nytro 2 weeks ago, it really made it easier to steer.
You just shorten a metal plate on a steering column to get joint closer to axle..
Wouldn't the steering radius be reduced with this mod to the arm? The drag link displaces less with rotation if it's end is mounted closer to the pivot point.
4strokes
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same concept as the bop kit everyone raves about, but I agree. I tried a similar mod on mine in 2010. didn,t like the added handlebar movement. I believe snowmobiles come with the correct geometry and dont need power either. the right ski and setup
Jusu
Newbie
Well i guess it will reduce it a little but i didn't notice it on a trail. Now I just need less force to steer on slow speed and i'm happy with it.Wouldn't the steering radius be reduced with this mod to the arm? The drag link displaces less with rotation if it's end is mounted closer to the pivot point.
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