Phazer stability darting wagging

[Nodak1]

Purchased a 2011 phazer mtx with around a 100 miles on it. It was road two Christmas’s by the previous owner and then stored inside until we purchased it in 2023. It’s all stock most likely still set up from the factory. I realize this wasn’t the ideal sled for what I want to use it for but price was right. Im a petite/short 40 year old women. I can see how the sled is tippy and you have to use your body to maneuver the sled I don’t mind this in fresh powder. The fist time I rode it I had to figure that out. I am fine with that and can see how this sled could be a lot of fun. I like that it doesn’t feel like it’s going to rip out of my hands when I hit the throttle. The problem is I also like to ride on groomed trails in the black hills and also will most likely have a child with me on these trails. What is the best set up to help with darting, rear end wagging, cornering and tipping on a groomed trail. I rode it this weekend in the black hills and it was pretty miserable. Hard to get up to a decent speed it would constantly dart, wag, and throw me around. I road my husbands Polaris 800 rmk with no issues except way too much power for my liking. The phazer does not do this with him one it. In fact I had him get on the sled with me to see and the darting etc was minimal with his extra weight. How do I get it to ride like I weigh 250 pounds on a trail. I would love to get this sled to work for me on trail and off. It was nice not to have to worry about getting stuck in the powder but I also want to feel safe on a trail and be able to go over 30 miles an hour especially on a straight away. I see there are so many suggestions but wondering if anyone might have some specific ideas to help. I have been riding for 25 years and consider myself at least average for a girl.

emax73 described it perfectly​

Another problem I have with my phazer is the waggling rear end when you let off the throttle. The Combo of Darting and Arse wagging does not inspire confidence, especially when trying to keep up with bigger sleds.

 

[hibshman25]

Highly recommend a set of semi aggressive snowtracker skags. These will steer easy, track straight and stick the corners.

 

[pdiddy]

What hibshman said but before you spend money on that see if you can adjust the rear suspension as soft as possible. That's the difference adding your husband's weight is making. It's also leveling the sled out and taking some pressure off the skis. The rear of the sled should drop a few inches when you alone sit on it. That's step 1. We can get into ski pressure and snow trackers later.

 

[Nodak1]

We did loosen up the rear suspension at the end of the day to see if that helped. The sled still doesn't drop or budge at all with me on it. Looks like it bottoms out when my husband sits on it now though. It did handle the moguls much better with it looser that was really the only improvement that I noticed.

 

[maim]

ok, this is how i set the 09 rtx i turned into an xtx.

front skid shock, turn the spring down with the back of the sled off the ground until it is stiff to rotate the spring on the shock.

torsion springs, you want to turn these up/down with you sitting on the sled so that the linkage is sitting in the middle of the travel limiters.

front shocks, adjust the springs so that the a arms are almost parallel to the ground and double check that the toe is at 1/8" toed out.

everyone i have let ride it loves how it handles. brother who rides it most has not changed it at all in 3 years.

 

[Cubby]

Dont forget the MTX has a narrower front end than the other models which will contribute to the tippiness on trails.

 

[GudeMN]

I'm guessing the MTX didn't come with Tuners but in case it did the first thing I did for my XTX was ditch those skis and put a pair of C&A Razors on it. That helped a lot. The Tuners were downright scary for me when slowing down after a sprint. I have since had SLP Mohawks and currently have C&A XTX skis on it. I have had good experiences with all those skis.

I should add I also shimmed the back of the rubber ski bumper on the saddle for each ski combo to make sure the tips of the skis pointed up when the front was unweighted. Another ski mod I use is installing Bergstrom ski savers on every set I use. They seem to help the keel not follow other tracks on packed/groomed trails.

Loosening the center shock as mentioned helped quite a bit. Doing so reduced ski pressure. Letting out my limiter strap helped with handling too. The previous owner had everything cranked down for some reason. Those 2 changes let the sled sit more level.

I have Fox Float 2s on the front of my sled and I adjust my air pressure to set my ride height like you would pre-load coil over springs. For trail riding I set up the A-arms so they are pretty close to parallel with the ground. That will help on the trails but may effect your ability to carve off trail. I'm in MN so when I am going to be in the ditches or running ungroomed/plowed forest roads I raise my ride height to help tip the Phazer over easier but on trail performance suffers a bit. Find a happy medium for your needs.

As Maim mentioned, making sure your skis are toed out 1/8 inch might be more important than any of the suggestions mentioned already. The perfect set up with parallel or toed in skis and it won't matter. Dart City all day!

It took me a couple seasons and a lot of direct messages to other members asking Phazer questions about handling to figure out a technique that works for me. Through the corners my Phazer seems to like steady throttle. I approach corners aggressively, let of the gas for a second to let the weight shift onto the skis while I choose my line. Then a nice lean and steady throttle pulls me through pretty well. I feel like the outside ski is holding most of the weight, but with steady throttle it stays pinned to the trail and rails me through the corner nicely. After I've made it through the apex of the turn I can get on the gas if I want.

If I increase throttle too early, I get what I call the "Phazer Wiggle" where the inside ski lifts quickly, moves toward the outside of the turn, and then drops just as fast. It feels like the sled wants to eject you.

If I get off the throttle during the turn, weight shifts forward onto the skis and the machine will push unless I let off the throttle, reposition/find a new line, and resume the steady throttle again.

I was ready to sell it last season and actually had it for sale for a couple weeks. During that time I took it on another ride over a 3 day weekend and figured that technique out (if you can call it that). Luckily no one offered me enough to part with it and I still have. It won't be for sale again. I like it too much.

 

[Nodak1]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. The hubby adjusted the sled before we hit the black hills this weekend. I had sent him all of the suggestions on here. He didn’t add anything to the sled just adjusted the various things mentioned. It was like riding a completely different sled. I could get up to speed without fearing for my life. Still some darting and a bit of wagging depending on the snow conditions but nothing scary like before. I’m sure some of the add ons would help even more but for right now I’m pretty happy where it’s at. It’s a fun little sled.

 

[MikeWalters]

Throw away the junk Yamaha skis! Put a set of used skidoo Pilot skis (dual runner skis) you won't believe the difference! Transforms the sled completely!