Whats your favorite skis and why??

[SledFreak]

I did get the Curve skis to work well but still prefer my set up with the shims and the Bergstrom skegs.

The Curve Skis on the Attaks and Phazer I was really happy with but that Nytro is so picky.... I will be trying them again on the XTX to see if the new front end geometry will compliment the skis.

Tom, what did you use on the XTX? Did you go back to stock with Bergstrom? Just wondering, I have the new MT-9 ski on order, but I have a set of Bergstroms for the stockers, but I also may put those runners on the MT9 if they come in.

 

[RunninRX1]

I looked at tons of keel designs of various skis and saw a fairly common theme on them vs my stock Yamaha skis. Square keels. My C&A's have them, Sly Dogs, bunches of other factory sleds from other OEM's and a ton of aftermarket ones. Was talking to a buddy of mine who worked on a bunch of championship sno-x sleds explaining my thought. "Oh yeah. When the keels get worn we put them on a table saw and square the keels up again. Brings the handling back in." So I took my stockers, put them in the bridgeport and squared up the keels with 10 minutes work. See how they do when we get some snow. Can't be any worse right

 

[BETHEVIPER]

Well Tom you asked ~ the more I read the more confused I became. I want skis that rail with no darting and feel like power steering... Now which ones do I buy?????

If all your doing is groomed trail, Arrow skis are the best I have tested and use them still. I have loaned them for others to use on their sleds and they all can't believe how easy they steer and how great they bite and don't dart on any condition I have found, unlike all the other skis I have tried. (though I have dartless on a set of hounds that don't dart)

If your still not sure, just put some dartless plates on the stockers and keep your money for a while, you will find some used skis.

BETHEVIPER what do you mean? (though I have dartless on a set of hounds that don't dart)

short answer, the darless work very well. will do more testing this year on a few other brand skis, They should work on the magic ski as well but of coarse, that never darts so why would anyone need them??

 

[number1kyster]

IMO you can't beat pilots. You can get them cheap and they eliminated 90% of my darting and they made my sled steer easier.

 

[blustar]

I called the Skiido dealership here in Winnipeg (Enns Brothers) and the guy wanted over $500 for the set of the Pilots and he told me that this was the newer version, the ones with only on bar attachment not two like the older ones. Whats up with this?

 

[Grimm]

Those sound like the X Pilots.

Go on the Skidoo website and check out the accessory section. In there is a packaged price with skis, carbides, ski rubbers and I think mounting bolts.

 

[attakred06]

189.00 for snowtracker on stock ski 12000 klm and i have a f1 ride in the trail so forget all the rest,,bye

 

[Sasquatch]

simmons are not wider when you need them, they narrow up the sled 5inches in a corner as they shift the weight from the outside to the inside carbide. this gives the effect of narrowing the sled by 5in compared to a standard center carbide ski.

I thought about this and rode my sled on our trip. Your looking at this wrong. When turning hard left or right the Simmons do lift the outside carbide way off the snow. So your theory is sound!

In practice however you never turn more then a few degrees to corner the sled. Add to that the geometry of the suspension which changes the angle of the spindle when you corner. As the weight of the sled leans over onto the outside ski the top of the spindle moves outward canceling out any lift of the outside carbide.

So other then slow speed turning both carbides are on the snow. At any speed at all where a wider front stance is needed or wanted you never turn hard enough to lift the outside carbide.

So the Simmons do widen the front end even in a corner. They do not narrow at any time other then slow speed hard turns where wider stance is not an issue. So the Simmons are wider when you need them. Your math is wrong as well it could not narrow the stance from center by 5 inches. The best it could narrow is about 3.5 because the ski's are 7 inches wide.

They made a huge difference in the handling of my sled and your comment about narrowing the stance of the sled puzzled me. I knew that by adding them my outside ski lift reduced to the point of being controllable in a corner. As I watched in a corner a few days ago the outside carbide was throwing a plume of snow out from the front of the outside carbide. No different then when going in a straight line.

Your comment made me think how could that be? Was I dreaming it? How come when I checked my tracks on hard pack in the corners there where two well defined carbide tracks? This could not be happening then if indeed the inside carbide was lifting.

The down side of the Simmons is you need larger arms because of increased steering effort on hard pack trail. In fresh snow they will push in the corner because the design of the ski floats the carbides.

The pluses are 7 inch wider ski stance. Less inside ski lift at trail speed and floatation off trail.

 

[Grimm]

I've tried 4 different pairs of skis the last couple of years, Slydog trails, Skidoo Pilots 6.9s, C&A Outlaws and Kimpex Arrows.

Slydog trail skis were put on my sled right off the bat (no stockers for me, thanks) They were already pretty worn, from 7000km of using them on my Vector. They are a pretty thin ski to begin with and in no time, I had worn through them and chucked them in the garbage. They turn pretty easy in all conditions, however I found that you really have to push them to get them to bite the corners, and I don't always like having to ride on the edge to get them to work. If you choose Slydogs, opt for the Race version as they are thicker. The trail and powder versions are pretty flimsy. My storage cover wraps over the skis and after removing the cover, the skis would be pointing inwards and twisted from just the pressure of the cover.

The next set I tried were Pilot 6.9s. They turned with a little more effort and worked quite well on groomed hardpacked trails, but once the trail conditions got beat up, loose and/or fluffy, I found they pushed too much, not confidence inspiring. In deep snow, they couldn't turn worth a damn and didn't float the sled well at all, surprising considering this is a "mountain" ski. I don't think any suspension tweaks will get them to turn in powder though, so if you plan on riding in some powder, opt for a different ski. Perhaps with more adjustments these skis probably would handle quite well on the trails, considering all the great reviews here, but I just didn't feel that same way.

I then scored a great deal on a set of C&A Outlaws that I couldn't pass up. I had read a lot of reviews on the line of C&A skis and many people remarked on how tough these skis are to steer. True, they are tougher to turn (more so at slow speeds), but turn they do. These skis make you rail the corners, a lot quicker (and safer imo) than the Slydogs or Pilots. They are a point and shoot ski that tracks straight with no darting (apart from iced up ruts in the trails). In the powder, they lift the front of the sled up and turn great also. A couple of weeks ago while riding with a couple of friends, one remarked how my sled floated (nose up) in the powder versus my buddy with his Pilot 5.7s on his (lighter) Skidoo GSX, which was plowing through the powder. A downside to these skis are the exposed leading edge of the carbide runners which makes them very easy to catch and stop you dead in your tracks...watch out for railroad tracks!

Recently, I tried a set of Kimpex Arrow skis. I was worried that these skis would not bite in the corners like my C&A Outlaws, but I was very surprised that they held the corners awesome on the trails and they turned the easiest of the bunch! These skis do need some added width for powder flotation, but on the trails, they rocked. I've pulled down my rear limiter strap on hole and mounted my swaybar in the forward hole on the lower A arm, which helped control the inside ski lift I was experiencing due these skis biting in the corners. The Kimpex Arrows are now my favourite skis for trail riding.

Anyhoo, here is my list for best skis on my Nytro that I have tried so far:

#1 Kimpex Arrows - easy turning, great bite, but narrow profile = poor in powder
#2 C&A Outlaws - great bite, wide profile for powder, but hard to steer on trails
#3 Slydog Trails - easy turning, wide profile for powder, mediocre bite, flimsy
#4 Skidoo 6.9 Pilots - semi easy steering, push in corners, wide profile but still not good in powder.

Keep in mind, most of my riding is done on hard packed, icy trails, not powder riding, but I would still prefer a wider Kimpex Arrow ski.

 

[BETHEVIPER]

simmons are not wider when you need them, they narrow up the sled 5inches in a corner as they shift the weight from the outside to the inside carbide. this gives the effect of narrowing the sled by 5in compared to a standard center carbide ski.

I thought about this and rode my sled on our trip. Your looking at this wrong. When turning hard left or right the Simmons do lift the outside carbide way off the snow. So your theory is sound!

In practice however you never turn more then a few degrees to corner the sled. Add to that the geometry of the suspension which changes the angle of the spindle when you corner. As the weight of the sled leans over onto the outside ski the top of the spindle moves outward canceling out any lift of the outside carbide.

So other then slow speed turning both carbides are on the snow. At any speed at all where a wider front stance is needed or wanted you never turn hard enough to lift the outside carbide.

So the Simmons do widen the front end even in a corner. They do not narrow at any time other then slow speed hard turns where wider stance is not an issue. So the Simmons are wider when you need them. Your math is wrong as well it could not narrow the stance from center by 5 inches. The best it could narrow is about 3.5 because the ski's are 7 inches wide.

They made a huge difference in the handling of my sled and your comment about narrowing the stance of the sled puzzled me. I knew that by adding them my outside ski lift reduced to the point of being controllable in a corner. As I watched in a corner a few days ago the outside carbide was throwing a plume of snow out from the front of the outside carbide. No different then when going in a straight line.

Your comment made me think how could that be? Was I dreaming it? How come when I checked my tracks on hard pack in the corners there where two well defined carbide tracks? This could not be happening then if indeed the inside carbide was lifting.

The down side of the Simmons is you need larger arms because of increased steering effort on hard pack trail. In fresh snow they will push in the corner because the design of the ski floats the carbides.

The pluses are 7 inch wider ski stance. Less inside ski lift at trail speed and floatation off trail.

you are riding down the (hard)trail on your simmons, thinking to yourself how proud you are that you bought skis and got a wider ski stance for free (7inches because you cant measure). You got this imaginary messurement by measuring the outide carbides that your sleds weight sits on. As you start into a corner your outside carbide starts to lift shifting the weight to the inside carbide of the outside ski which is a tiny bit over 5inches inside(narrower)the outside carbide. You may find that on a gradual corner on hard pack that the outside carbide touches but the true weight of the sled is transfered to the carbide closest to the ground, the inside carbide.

As for your front end rolling over in a corner making the outside carbide touch, it is still rolling over the inside carbide that has the most pressure on it. Also, if the corner is this gradual, the extra width is not needed. Extra width is only needed in hard corners.

Please dont use the tape measure you gave your wife to measure your you know what. The skis are only 6inches wide unless you have some newer version that I didn't know existed. The carbides are not on the outer edges, I believe they end up around 5.25 wide at the carbide so I rounded down, you on the other hand rouned up to 7inches, like most men do when they are bragging about legnth and width. It was warm in the shop when I took this picture so there was no "Shrinkage".
http://www.ty4stroke.com/files/thumbs/t ... 11_180.jpg

Because most of our sledding is on some crushable snow, these skis work great in corners most of the time but not because the outside carbide has weight on it. Its because of the cupping effect of the bottom of the ski packing section of snow to grab onto.

I am glad my information got you thinking about geometry while riding your sled, that was my intent, not enough people think of why something is, they just ride and enjoy themselves, just riding for the fun and enjoyment of it

P.S. I wont tell your wife about your tape messure

 

[pedros1983]

same here.. been there dun that.
snowtrackers=problem solved.

 

[RunninRX1]

I've finally got alot of miles on my modified stock skis. 1st setup was zero preload on the front shocks, 8" carbides (Stud Boy) and limiter strap pulled up and a shim on the rear ski bumper. Bit in the corners like a pissed off pit bull but steering effort was ridiculous. Put the limiter strap back to stock, left the carbides and front shock spring preload at zero.. still bites DAMN hard in the corners but now steering effort is back to pretty easy. I have my transfer rod set to 2 clicks off MIN. I'm a high speed corner carver and this thing rocks like my old SRX did. Took the stupid 13mm sway bar off and put the stocker back on. Minimal if any inside ski lift. Doesn't dart or push either.
I've tried alot of different skis and so far none corner like modified stockers. I'm not into off trail stuff so I don't care about flotation or any of that. Stock skis suck for that.

We had a new XP along for the ride this week with a guy who said he's a real aggressive trial rider. They all say that. 40 miles in "I give up I can't hang with you in the corners". Ahh.. so my Yamaha junk out corners gods gift to snowmobiles.. you got that right.

So if your a high speed corner guy like me, before you sink a bunch of coin on new skis.. hack up your stock ones. Don't cost anything and you think the stock skis suck anyway so worth a try right?

 

[journeyman]

OK I am running an older Yamaha (Viper) but last year I had just installed a Cobra track. (121") I was running the 2004 saddless Viper/RX-1 ski with a 6" Woody's Trailblazers. It was real snakey/twitchy on the trails and it wanted to body roll in the corners. I then started to shop for skis. I had it down to Slydogs (powder model) or the SLP powder pro's. The only reason I picked the SLP's was price. I got them for about $100 less than I could get the Slydogs for. So far I really like them. The mounting plate has two bolt holes. One is aggressive and one is for less aggressive which reduces darting. But here's the real kicker. I decided to try an Ice Ripper track this year. My sled now darts more with this track. So in essence what track you run makes a difference too. The Ice Ripper is based off the Ripsaw and I think it's lousy in loose snow especially like you get in the UP of Michigan. I put on almost 800 miles there in early Feb. and I was wishing I had the Cobra track back on. I think I will need to do the shimming to eliminate my current darting.

Now this makes me think back about a year ago on skis discussions. The Snow trackers were a big hit for the 4 strokes guys here over many types of skis for the Apex sleds. Maybe the Ripsaw track is part of the problem. Also Knappattack was running an Ice Ripper an he swore by the Snowtrackers over many skis he tried. I recently demo'd a used Apex short track at Pat's Yamaha in Greenland, Michigan that had a brand new Cobra short track installed. It had stock skis and it had no darting what-so-ever. I think Yamaha needs to put the Ripsaw track to bed and try another track.......JUST MY 2 CENTS.....

 

[snomobubl]

I have retrofitted skis from my 1972 SkiRoule. I always loved the handling on this machine. Some simple welding with minor mods. The profile on these puppies is the baddest of asses. The darting is virtually eliminated and the corner steer with minimal push. I also added some spindle length to correct camber and bump steer. This sled rails!

 

[journeyman]

I have retrofitted skis from my 1972 SkiRoule. I always loved the handling on this machine. Some simple welding with minor mods. The profile on these puppies is the baddest of asses. The darting is virtually eliminated and the corner steer with minimal push. I also added some spindle length to correct camber and bump steer. This sled rails!

LOL!!! Our neighbors in my home town sold Skiroule sleds when I was growing up. I spent plenty of seat time on those machines. They later picked up Brut as another line.