Captain Vector
Newbie
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Messages
- 2
Hey Geezer!
What length of carbide did get on the dooly's? I tried a set of 4" and found they eliminated the darting but pushed bad in the corners. No matter how much ski pressure I added the sled only steered heavier not better.
What length of carbide did get on the dooly's? I tried a set of 4" and found they eliminated the darting but pushed bad in the corners. No matter how much ski pressure I added the sled only steered heavier not better.
4" of carbide and track not studed.
John1Ohio
Extreme
Pleased With Vector
We bought my wife a new Vector this year moving up from an SXViper. I have an 04 RX1 Warrior. I feel that the Vector is a great upgrade from the Viper and is a great sled for my wife. It's quick and easy to control, no darting and suspension is great for her. I would not want it as my primary sled. I am 6' 180 pounds and she is 5'10" at 135 pounds and she is much happier with the suspension on the Vector over the Viper. I think I am too large for the Vector. I have nothing bad to say about it though.
We bought my wife a new Vector this year moving up from an SXViper. I have an 04 RX1 Warrior. I feel that the Vector is a great upgrade from the Viper and is a great sled for my wife. It's quick and easy to control, no darting and suspension is great for her. I would not want it as my primary sled. I am 6' 180 pounds and she is 5'10" at 135 pounds and she is much happier with the suspension on the Vector over the Viper. I think I am too large for the Vector. I have nothing bad to say about it though.
Tfin
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
To larger for the Vector at 180 lbs hu? :? Haven't heard that one before. But to each his own I guess.
John1Ohio
Extreme
I might just be used to my Warrior. It's harder to throw around and with the 136" track it handles totally different. It could be that the Vector is so much easier to throw around and maybe I am just biased.
Tfin
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
That sounds logical and would make perfect sense. The only time I find the Vector heavy is if its stuck. But hey.....when they're stuck they're all heavy!
nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I'm glad I'm doing some reading up on the RS's. I'm going to be replacing my '03 RX-1, maybe next fall, and since Yamaha went with the new sled designs, I'll be changing models to make sure I get a comfortable sled. I was hoping the Vector's suspensions were better than the RX-1, I don't know what made me think that, just wishful thinking I guess.
I hated my stock skid, so I installed a Cat skid. Man, what an improvement! It fixed just about everything I could complain about before. No more tippiness in the corners (ski lift), very smooth, plush ride, easy adjustments, and now that you mention it, it even got rid of the very noisy track sound. My sled rides, corners, and handles awesome. Unfortunately the motor is toast, so its time to replace it (unless Yamaha surprises me and fixes it). I'm not saying to run out and swap skids, but I was surprised at how many problems that are blamed on other things are connected to the outdated, poorly designed rear skid, such as how the front suspension feels, the ski lift in the corners, etc.
If you can get the rear suspension to work properly, most of your other complaints will probably also be fixed.
Jim
I hated my stock skid, so I installed a Cat skid. Man, what an improvement! It fixed just about everything I could complain about before. No more tippiness in the corners (ski lift), very smooth, plush ride, easy adjustments, and now that you mention it, it even got rid of the very noisy track sound. My sled rides, corners, and handles awesome. Unfortunately the motor is toast, so its time to replace it (unless Yamaha surprises me and fixes it). I'm not saying to run out and swap skids, but I was surprised at how many problems that are blamed on other things are connected to the outdated, poorly designed rear skid, such as how the front suspension feels, the ski lift in the corners, etc.
If you can get the rear suspension to work properly, most of your other complaints will probably also be fixed.
Jim
Get somebody to go ride it hard for several hundred miles. It is not getting broke in right.
QCRider
TY 4 Stroke Master
nhrxrider said:
Jim, I owned Cats for years before buying an '05 RX-1 and an '05 Vector. What was true with the Cat suspensions is now true with the Yamaha suspensions. Anytime you had ski lift with a Cat you simply pull the limiter straps up until you like the compromise between ski lift and ski pressure. I personally like a lot of ski pressure, so the limiter straps on both sleds are sucked all the way up, and as a result they corner like they are on rails. BTW, the Vector gets the MonoShock next year, and that suspension is better than ANY Cat suspension I ever had.
Bakemono
TY 4 Stroke Guru
The Vector has the Monoshock this year if you opt for the GT.
Hebi
Hebi
nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
I was talking ski lift in the corners. My Cat skid has great transfer, and will lift the skis with any good amount of throttle, but it corners VERY flat now. Basically, if I lean a little forward, the skis stay down and I can slide the rear around corners using the throttle...but without changing anything on the skid, I can lean back a little and nail the throttle on a straight and get great traction, and pull the skis about 4" off the snow until I let off the throttle. Not like the Yamaha skid, where even when the strps were pulled up to keep the skis on the ground, it would still lift the skis in the corners. And with the Cat skid, it takes seconds to adjust the spring, shock, or coupling blocks (amount of transfer), with only 1 socket or wrench. Unlike Yamaha, which results in tipping the sled on the side, using half your tool kit, and skinning a few knuckles.
Jim
Jim
ssvolvo
Veteran
I just returned from a trip around Gaspe , Quebec on a Vector. I ditched my 04 RX-1 in favor of the wife's Vector for this trip. I feel the Vector is MUCH better than the RX-1 in terms of ride/handling. It has Woody's dualies which are fine for 40 mph but no good for aggressive trail riding. In my opinion the Vector needs a better ski keel; one with less depth and rounded corners on the keel. The ski lift is caused by too much keel depth.
The ride is GREATLY controlled by the transfer stops. These are adjustable on the trail and just need a little at a time. This is a very fussy adjustment. Too much transfer and the sled bottomes easily. Not enough and the rear skid couples too fast and rides rock hard. I do feel that this design of rear skid is proven and acceptable and can be tuned. I'm 180 lbs. and ride hard. Someone will come out with a position sensitive shock for this sled and it will greatly improve ride quality and bottoming. I tried the PS-2 Polaris shock but it is not long enough. I've thought about building my own but I'll keep looking.
Also the fuel mileage is really nice. Worst I got BEATING the sled at 70 plus mph was 16.5 mpg (US). Best I got was 20 mpg while riding easy. Rode 130 miles easily with one third left.
The power is decent although was a little short on the top end. The clutching is nice and if you turn the idle down this sled decends easily with little or no braking. I love the lack of noise. I've always ridden piped sleds but now it's time to save our trails (and ears). This motor has HUGE torque in the midrange; it's a joy to ride powerwise on medium speed trails. No messing with the throttle when riding out of the corners.
This sled is no Rev but in the end is pretty decent and a good value and with a couple of minor upgrades will make a long term "keeper".
The ride is GREATLY controlled by the transfer stops. These are adjustable on the trail and just need a little at a time. This is a very fussy adjustment. Too much transfer and the sled bottomes easily. Not enough and the rear skid couples too fast and rides rock hard. I do feel that this design of rear skid is proven and acceptable and can be tuned. I'm 180 lbs. and ride hard. Someone will come out with a position sensitive shock for this sled and it will greatly improve ride quality and bottoming. I tried the PS-2 Polaris shock but it is not long enough. I've thought about building my own but I'll keep looking.
Also the fuel mileage is really nice. Worst I got BEATING the sled at 70 plus mph was 16.5 mpg (US). Best I got was 20 mpg while riding easy. Rode 130 miles easily with one third left.
The power is decent although was a little short on the top end. The clutching is nice and if you turn the idle down this sled decends easily with little or no braking. I love the lack of noise. I've always ridden piped sleds but now it's time to save our trails (and ears). This motor has HUGE torque in the midrange; it's a joy to ride powerwise on medium speed trails. No messing with the throttle when riding out of the corners.
This sled is no Rev but in the end is pretty decent and a good value and with a couple of minor upgrades will make a long term "keeper".
QCRider
TY 4 Stroke Master
nhrxrider said:
That may be true of the ProAction Skid, but not any more. Very simple to adjust now, basically EXACTLY like that Cat on the Vector with the ProActive, and the MonoShock is only marginally more difficult. However, once you have set the proper preload on the MonoShock it is actually easier to use than the Cat skid, and both of them corner as flat as any Cat skid I ever had.
nhrxrider
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
O.K....I thought the Vectors were still using the No-Action skid until '05...when did they change? I'm still possibly thinking about a couple slightly used ones, and want to know what years to look for. I'm up on the year by year changes of the RX, but now its time to get re-educated. After my experiences, I won't be buying new...I just get screwed out of a couple grand extra to get a warranty that they won't stand by anyway. So I'm either going to get a slightly used sled, do a couple very minor mods to make it work for what I'll be using it for (alternating high speed trail and long distance cruising), and run it. The other option is to find an older sled (either '03 or '04 RX-1), strip it down, and go all through it to correct the design flaws (rear suspension, etc.), and get it back in top condition. When my only problem was oil usage, I coudl have just kept mine and put new rings in over the summer. Now that I found the engine is full of ground up metal, it would need a very extensive rebuild or a whole new engine...so I might as well start with another sled.
Jim
Jim
QCRider
TY 4 Stroke Master
The Vector was new in '05, and has a VERY Cat/Polaris like rear suspension. In '06 it changes to the MonoShock RA, but to be honest the current suspension is very good. The change is probably more about cost and weight savings than anything else. I have ridden my wife's Vector, and I will tell you that it pulls VERY hard. Much stronger than her old ZL600 EFI Cat. The low end and midrange are very very strong on that motor.
