Please help new Phazer dangerously squirrely!

[DGZRT]

http://www.hardcoresledder.com/foru...-discussion/497465-ski-shims-101-why-how.html

This is a good write up ! But all they do over on HCS is argue about stupid stuff!!

 

[Mooseman]

Also add one or two extra limiter straps. Both of mine failed (MP's have two) and destroyed the front shock. I now have three.

 

[Gone Blue]

With the bent spindle I would check to see if the the front subframe or a-arms are bent as well. You want to see if the front shocks are located the same between the a-arms on both right and left sides. Place a tape measure up against the shock or spring on top of the a-arm and measure to either the front inside or outside of the a-arm. G.B.

 

[michiganphazer]

Wow! was that the Ski Spindle ? That was bent? , So While you have it off the ground loosen those springs on the front shocks until you can slide the spring up and down just a little . Then tighten the locking one or two turns to keep the springs seated. Your limiter strap looks all the way lose. tighten it up one hole. The shims under the ski rubbers goes in the back of the rubber not the front . There is a nice writeup on Hard Core Sledder under the Polaris section. It's a good read and will show you what to do for shims. I make mine out of rubber belting but many use pc's of Hyfax cut at an angle . Most people have some left over from cutting off the ends of there slides. The shim only needs to be about a 1" to 1.5" wide and the full width of the ski rubber.

Woody's Slim Jim Dooley's are a crowd favorite. and might be cheaper Then Snow trackers. I'm running the Semi Aggressive Snow tracker's on my Vector and It's the Best Carbide I have tried so far. They are pricey. If you look on Ebay you might find a deal for Them .

Do a search on Aligning you ski's ... Very important ! most every Carbide except the Snow Trackers require you skis to be toed out . I prefer about a 1/4" toe out on each ski.

It does help to move the shim on the ski bolt to widen the stance.

If the steering become heavier with all of these adjustments tighten the spring collar on the front shock by the limiter strap! one or two turns . It will lighted up the steering!

Thanks so much for the tips. I cannot get this kind of advice at any yamaha shop!! Will apply these settings this week hopefully.
What about Bergstrom Skegs triple carbides? I see they make shims as well, save me some time.
When aligning the skis there was weight on them and theres some play in them so I need to go back and do this accurately when everything else is done.

And yes, I was shocked how much that was bent, considering nothing else is broke (that I've found). Either it was in an accident or dropped hard!!

I'm really excited to get these changes made and try the sled out again!! Just need SNOW! Ugh!

 

[DGZRT]

Triple Points from Bergstrom are an excellent choice ! I ran them for 3 years. His 1/4" ski saver with the Shim works great!!

I was going to add. When working on the Limiter strap it helps to lift the front of the track right where the rails bend up . I put a floor jack under the track and crank it up. As you go up the strap will get loose. You can also take the measurements of the strap and add one to the other side. You can find this material at many farm stores or on line . Many refer to it as Smooth Baler belting. This rubber belting can be cut with a Razor Knife and straight edge and can be drilled with a normal drill bit Make it just like the one on there. Don't worry if it's a little thicker or thinner. It will work!

 

[michiganphazer]

Triple Points from Bergstrom are an excellent choice ! I ran them for 3 years. His 1/4" ski saver with the Shim works great!!

I was going to add. When working on the Limiter strap it helps to lift the front of the track right where the rails bend up . I put a floor jack under the track and crank it up. As you go up the strap will get loose. You can also take the measurements of the strap and add one to the other side. You can find this material at many farm stores or on line . Many refer to it as Smooth Baler belting. This rubber belting can be cut with a Razor Knife and straight edge and can be drilled with a normal drill bit Make it just like the one on there. Don't worry if it's a little thicker or thinner. It will work!

Thanks for the tips. Can I just buy a strap cheap online somewhere pre-drilled? I suppose I could make my own but if the price is right I'll just order one up.

 

[DGZRT]

Yes , you can buy them online. If you go to Amazon and type in Yamaha limiter strap two different ones come up. Or go to Ronnie's microfiche look up the Exploded View of the right year phazer and figure out what the part number is . Once you have the part number go to http://www.boats.net/and type it in . They are the cheapest most of the time.


Stopper 1

8GC-47495-00-00 I think this is the part number

 

[DGZRT]

I am not a Shock guy but I have a suggestion. On the front suspension you have the GT shocks with Compression and rebound. This is what I did , the top black knob is the Compression adjustment. turn it all the way counter clockwise. This will soften up the shock. The bottom black knob is the Rebound, turn this all the way counter clockwise, Then turn it back clockwise 4 clicks. and give it a try. If it bottoms really easy give the top button one click to the right or clockwise. If the you feel a lot of kick back thru the handle bars give the bottom knob one click to the right or clockwise. find a good bumpy section of trail and go up and down it and make adjustments one click at a time. when you find that spot where you barely feel the impact thru the bars you have it close! Keep track of how many clicks to the top and bottom. I have found you have to have the bottom one around 3or 4 clicks to start because full counterclockwise on the rebound kicks back kind of hard.

 

[Indy]

Bergstrom triples are good, but I think you'll like the snowtrackers better, and you dont shim the trackers. Woodys dualies or snowtrackers are your best options. You can get the snowtrackers at www.barnofparts.com

 

[michiganphazer]

I am not a Shock guy but I have a suggestion. On the front suspension you have the GT shocks with Compression and rebound. This is what I did , the top black knob is the Compression adjustment. turn it all the way counter clockwise. This will soften up the shock. The bottom black knob is the Rebound, turn this all the way counter clockwise, Then turn it back clockwise 4 clicks. and give it a try. If it bottoms really easy give the top button one click to the right or clockwise. If the you feel a lot of kick back thru the handle bars give the bottom knob one click to the right or clockwise. find a good bumpy section of trail and go up and down it and make adjustments one click at a time. when you find that spot where you barely feel the impact thru the bars you have it close! Keep track of how many clicks to the top and bottom. I have found you have to have the bottom one around 3or 4 clicks to start because full counterclockwise on the rebound kicks back kind of hard.

Ok so I should do this in addition to the spring adjustment?

 

[Indy]

yes

 

[Alberta Farmer]

I'm having a similar problem with my boy's new M-TX. I'm almost scared to ride it, it darts so bad and nearly tips every time it darts. 50km/h is way too fast the way it darts.

Being the mountain machine, it has the wide skis with very deep keels( is that the word?) On hard pack, or deep powdery snow it is fine, but on crusty snow its unridable. Have three other mountain machines here and none of them do this at all. The faster they go, the more stable they sit. The MTX is the opposite.

I'm thinking most of the issue is the deep keel on these skis combines with the hard crusty but deep snow, but there must be a way to improve the handling? Book doesn't say much about suspension adjustments.

First thought is to lengthen limiter strap set front shock (on skid) as tight as possible and rear shock as light as possible to take weight off the skis, then just keep them up in the air.

Skis measure parallel to each other, so I will try toeing them out as per the suggestions in this thread.

Would shimming the front of the skis up make much difference in this kind of snow, skis are sinking in a few inches through the crust? One of the other sleds we have doesn't even have a rubber on one side, and it rides arrow straight at any speed in the same conditions.

Front shocks (regular OEM shocks) are as set light as they can be.

No groomed trail riding around here, mostly virgin fields or mountains.

My apologies for hijacking your thread, but I came to search for this very topic and was very pleased to find a thread already going full of good info.

 

[blueironranger]

7000+ miles of 50/50 riding with Stock MTX skis with bergstrom triples and ski savers, great ski both on and off the trail! The only time it's seemed noticeably twitchy was when a tierod got loose. Mine seems to like 1/4" toe out the best, anything less and it gets twitchy. I also put a bungee cord between the ski loops while setting toe in to remove any slop.

 

[DGZRT]

Most of what has been discussed will apply to your sled also! We are trying to make Michiganphazer sled rail around corners! Yours is deep snow! If it was me I would select Snowtracker carbides and follow there instruction to align the skis straight. Note this is only for the Trackers most every other carbine should be toed out. The SnowTrackers will make it track perfectly and lighten up the steering. When you look them up online you would swear your steering would be harder but it is most definitely NOT!

 

[Phatboyc]

michiganphazer, X2 on the Snowtracker. My wife has them on her Vector and loves the predictability. By the time you buy triple points and shims from Bergstrom there isn't much difference in price.