Venture Lite/MP track&ski options+clutching&gearing

[BombaPolaYama]

different skis is going to incerase steering effort but should still be farely lite. if u never go over 55 u mite want to play with the gearing. im not sure what the top speed is on these

Different skis will not necessarily increase steering effort. Wider skis will = better flotation which will = easier steering off trail and also on the trail if you don't go too aggressive with the ski/carbide combo.

 

[McM]

Thanks for the response so far.

I ordered the 144" CrossOver. Was told the stock gearing is 18/45. To those of you that have changed track on Venture Lite/MP, what gearing do you use? I'm tempted to go with 17/45 since the sled is never used at high(er) speed.

Regarding skis I had almost decided on the 10" wide Simmons Gen II. I've never seen those in person but was told they have dual carbides placed quite some distance apart. Correct? Wouldn't that increase stearing effort?

Thansk again.

 

[karl]

Hey McM, I am running a 159x16x2 challenger track and run a 17/45 gear set. The sled will still pull a top speed of 110kph on gps and hold a track speed of around 70kph in bottomless powder. The Simmons gen 2's are awesome skis both on trail and off.

 

[BombaPolaYama]

Thanks for the response so far.

I ordered the 144" CrossOver. Was told the stock gearing is 18/45. To those of you that have changed track on Venture Lite/MP, what gearing do you use? I'm tempted to go with 17/45 since the sled is never used at high(er) speed.

Regarding skis I had almost decided on the 10" wide Simmons Gen II. I've never seen those in person but was told they have dual carbides placed quite some distance apart. Correct? Wouldn't that increase stearing effort?

Thansk again.

Eh, it's been awhile so how about letting us know how you made out with the track and what skis you went with? And what improvements you have seen?

As for the clutch kit, I see that Schmidt Bros has what they call a comfort clutch kit ($99) for the VL that is supposed to reduce engine braking. Sounds like a good idea and I'm tempted to try it as it should help with trail cornering, etc.

thanks,

 

[KnNil]

Lug height

How high lugs can I install on my VL and do I need to make any mods?

 

[McM]

Thanks for the response so far.

I ordered the 144" CrossOver. Was told the stock gearing is 18/45. To those of you that have changed track on Venture Lite/MP, what gearing do you use? I'm tempted to go with 17/45 since the sled is never used at high(er) speed.

Regarding skis I had almost decided on the 10" wide Simmons Gen II. I've never seen those in person but was told they have dual carbides placed quite some distance apart. Correct? Wouldn't that increase stearing effort?

Thansk again.

Eh, it's been awhile so how about letting us know how you made out with the track and what skis you went with? And what improvements you have seen?

As for the clutch kit, I see that Schmidt Bros has what they call a comfort clutch kit ($99) for the VL that is supposed to reduce engine braking. Sounds like a good idea and I'm tempted to try it as it should help with trail cornering, etc.

thanks,

Well, I had the 144" Crossover track installed at the end of march last year. Very pleased so far. No issues in marginal snow conditions at end of last season. We got a lot of snow this season and the improvement vs ripsaw is quite noticable. Geared down to 17/45 and engine pulls the track just fine, sled feels quicker. Didn't do anything else re clutching. There might be some gains with optimized weights/rivets but really havn't felt the need given how the sled is used. If i would do it again, I'd extend to 151" or use an OEM BRP Lynx 146x16x1.5 track to get some more flotation.

Re skis I went with the 7" wide Powder hound's. Better off trail and wife hasn't complained about steering effort. Will soon be replaced with the newer 8" version due to an incident with a car on the parking lot...

 

[McM]

Forgot to mention an even nicer adjustment I did to this sled. Found out that the front sway bar is different vs the Phazer's. On the Venture Lite/MultiPurpose it's adjustable and ours was set pretty stiff. I re-set it to the softest possible just to see what the effect would be. Turned out to be a nice improvement on the bumpy trails we usually have in our area. Some of the tippiness went away. Should also mention that our sled typically never sees more then ~65 km/h (~40 mph).
I beleive I've seen a document somewhere on the forum describing this, but cant find it right now.

 

[BombaPolaYama]

[quote="McM

Well, I had the 144" Crossover track installed at the end of march last year. Very pleased so far. No issues in marginal snow conditions at end of last season. We got a lot of snow this season and the improvement vs ripsaw is quite noticable. Geared down to 17/45 and engine pulls the track just fine, sled feels quicker. Didn't do anything else re clutching. There might be some gains with optimized weights/rivets but really havn't felt the need given how the sled is used. If i would do it again, I'd extend to 151" or use an OEM BRP Lynx 146x16x1.5 track to get some more flotation.

Re skis I went with the 7" wide Powder hound's. Better off trail and wife hasn't complained about steering effort. Will soon be replaced with the newer 8" version due to an incident with a car on the parking lot...[/quote]

McM,
So specifically, what is the improvement over the Ripsaw? Better traction in deep snow on trail, etc? Wouldn't you have to modify the suspension to fit a 146" track on it?

What carbides did you use?

 

[McM]

...

McM,
So specifically, what is the improvement over the Ripsaw? Better traction in deep snow on trail, etc? Wouldn't you have to modify the suspension to fit a 146" track on it?

What carbides did you use?

Carbides are Shaper Bars, the shortest ones, 4.5" I beleive.

Re track, the 146" is a 2.86" pitch track wich requires new drivers. My dealer said it will work if I use extroverts and allow the track to run a little bit looser. Length difference btw 144/2.52 and 146/2.86 is quite small and they have successfully used 146 tracks on Nytro XTX's.

This Camoplast OEM BRP track is quite tempting, I'll gain some floatation, still be on trail friendly 1.5" lug height and have the option to user lug studs in pre-molded mounting holes. Over here, this traick is usually avaliable quite cheep as take-off since many Lynx X-Trim customers seems to go with 1.75" or 2". If it happens it'll be a summer project.

The Crossover really is better in all aspects vs the RipSaw. Obvioulsy a lot better off-trail and also on prepared trails with fresh/loose snow. No perceived drawbacks on-trail when braking, in corners etc. On icy, low snow end-of-season trails, Ripsaw might have a slight advantage traction wise. But that makes up for <10 % of our riding time so doesn't matter to us.