Warrior Handling; Take in Them Straps"Goodwin Pewrforma

[Sodes]

I was traveling to Zion Illinois on business on Tursday, December 14th and stopped in to Goodwin Performance. There were just about every type of sled there in various stages of modifications. These guys just came back from the Northwoods of Wisconsin where they had been testing various mod setups. Needless to say I was impressed, there was a guy terring down an 05' Vector as I waited to talk to one of the technicians. I mentioned the problems that many of the Warrior / RX-1 owners are having with ski lifting as well as the tippiness (especially the Warrior) and he said so many of those problems cam be remedied by tightening that strap up. He suggested all the way and then work it out from there. He also said that the front preload has much les to do with keeping the skis on the ground and flat an even tracking around corners. He had ab 05' Ski-doo as well as an F7 (I don't know much about these sleds, but he said they were new and they were up north for testing) and he liked the Vector better than both of them. As for the RX-1 he said that is set up correctly (pull in that strap) many of the out-of-the-crate problems disapear. One of the guys there was a snowcroos racer now doing field testing and he agreed with the adjustment recommedations. I don't clainm to know 1/1000 of what you guys know, but I really thing these guys know there Sh_t and I'd like to hear what you think regarding the limier strap issue.

Sodes

05' RX-1

 

[Mighty]

I don't like the idea of sucking them up too much or you won't get the weight to transfer. What good is the sled if you simply sit and spin.......

 

[banjo04414]

I wonder how it would do with the new skid?

 

[welterracer]

The big problem with sucking up the limiter straps is that you add so much ski pressure that you cannot turn the handle bars when riding it... Hense.. You wear yourself out very fast when riding aggessively..

You have to try to find a good ballance between ski pressure and carbide bite..

also with the limiters sucked all the way up.... you will be gettin stomped my most sleds the first 600 feet without some weight transfer..

 

[Waterboy]

On my 04 warrior I tightened the limiters until the back of the track was 1" off the shop floor. No weight on sled. That was the starting point. With very little adjustment from there (rider weight) you can play with shock preload for flat cornering. Then put on a set of SLP or other dual ski and you will exceptionally happy. With the SLP's or Simmons you can let out the limiter slightly to reduce turning force. I am using the Ski-Doo precision ski (price was right). A lot of us went through a real learning curve on the 03 RX-1.

 

[Sodes]

Thanks,

Will pass on your wisdom!

Sodes

 

[SledderSteve]

The big problem with sucking up the limiter straps is that you add so much ski pressure that you cannot turn the handle bars when riding it... Hense.. You wear yourself out very fast when riding aggessively....

The last ride of the '02-'03 season, my RX1 was handling perfectly, rode from Ishpeming to Paradise and back, about 450 miles.

The first ride of the '03-'04 season, I got 40 miles down the trail and couldn't turn the bars. The combination of having the limiter straps sucked up and sucking down too many donuts and not getting enough exercise during the off season turned my sled in to a real 1 ton.

I hope the Rage isn't like that because I'm not in any better shape this season. Shame on me

 

[SuperStroker!]

I don't like the idea of sucking them up too much or you won't get the weight to transfer. What good is the sled if you simply sit and spin.......

Mighty, when you shorten the front limiter strap, you preload the front suspension shock more and close the coupling gap slightly. This will allow you to soften the rear of the suspension "slightly" as well. If transfer is still a problem, you may adjust the transfer rods or coupling blocks to allow a little more weight to come off of the skis under acceleration.

The point in shorting the limiter is to tighten the geometric "X" dimension slightly. This allows the sled to stick the skis more in the corners but every initial adjustment of any part of the suspension, USUALLY requires a continuation of thought, as to how that adjustment will affect the rest of the suspensions complience. Somtimes a limiter strap adjust is all ya need but the most important aspect of suspension tuning is to understand how each slight change you make influences the rest of the suspensions complience and the geometry of the sled and suspension.

Too many folks fail to take the time to understand suspension and they are never happy because they don't no how to make the suspension work right for the way they ride. This is the key, we all like our suspensions set a little bit different and understanding your suspension, its geometry and the mechanics of things can make every suspension adjustment you make, make sense.

 

[SuperStroker!]

Oh, I left out the most important part, the idea with weight transfer is to make the whole sled squat in a more linear manner, while making the front end slightly lighter.

A sled that acts a "teeter taughter" when you hit the throttle, will be slower out of the hole and provide you with the allusion the sled is faster...it may well be if you were just spinning before.

The point is to keep the track in contact with the ground and to limit front suspension drop out on acceleration. When this happens, it robs power to stretch the track and will induce driver slip, if this can be a potential issue...I guess with the warrior, it can.

You want the sled to squat, not lift and understanding how the various adjustments affect geometry ("The "X" Dimension") will get you to the sweet spot quicker!

 

[welterracer]

The big problem with sucking up the limiter straps is that you add so much ski pressure that you cannot turn the handle bars when riding it... Hense.. You wear yourself out very fast when riding aggessively....

The last ride of the '02-'03 season, my RX1 was handling perfectly, rode from Ishpeming to Paradise and back, about 450 miles.

The first ride of the '03-'04 season, I got 40 miles down the trail and couldn't turn the bars. The combination of having the limiter straps sucked up and sucking down too many donuts and not getting enough exercise during the off season turned my sled in to a real 1 ton.

I hope the Rage isn't like that because I'm not in any better shape this season. Shame on me

LOL... THe rage will be WORSE... more track= more traction== more fighting with the stearing..

 

[SuperStroker!]

LOL... THe rage will be WORSE... more track= more traction== more fighting with the stearing..[/quote]

Welter, it doesn't have to be the way you describe.

If you just suck-up the limiter, than yes you may be correct.

Try this...

Suck up the limiter strap, shorten the transfer rods one half of a hash mark. adjust the full range adjuster one more position to the stiff and loosen the coil on the rear shock 12.5mm (1/2 inch), tighten the front coil 12.5mm to help lift the front and squeeze the back a bit more during throttle-on situations. This will take ski pressure off slightly when your in the throttle, let ski pressure work for you when your out of the throttle and shorten the "X" dimension between the sled and the suspension.

Now the sled will squat and lift slightly, enough to get ski pressure down and traction up.

This will

 

[welterracer]

No matter what you do a 136 will push more than a 121..

and a 144 will push more than a 136 and so on and so on..

The more track on the ground the more work your skis have to do to turn.. Its that easy!

 

[SnowBandit]

I rode my brothers RxWarrior it didn't tip over on me but it was sure hard to turn those skis at anything below 30MPH...

 

[LazyBastard]

No matter what you do a 136 will push more than a 121..

and a 144 will push more than a 136 and so on and so on..

The more track on the ground the more work your skis have to do to turn.. Its that easy!

Its not that simple.

What is easier to dig a hole with? A shovel with a 1/2 sq ft spade and 6 inch handle? Or a shovel with a 1 sq ft spade and a 6 FOOT handle? LEVERAGE is the key. If you leave the front of the rails where they are stock, then you would be *partially* correct. If you move the center of rotation BACK from where it was, then you get more leverage, and so it is actually EASIER.

I realize that at first glance this doesn't seem applicable, BUT, if you reduce the pressure at the front of the rails and increase at the back, then you make the front of the track EASIER to slide and stick the back harder. This effectively shifts the rotation point towards the back of the sled - the further back, the greater the leverage for steering.

 

[welterracer]

You are correct LB.. except its hard to turn if the skis arent on the ground..

To much weight transfer = No weight on skis to turn..

Not enought weight transfer= Lost races..

You must find the right amount of balance to have an happy medium...

But no matter what you say.. a warrior or rage will not handle the same as a standard Rx-1 or vector..