Do Belly pans help with Flotation?

moss

moss

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Well I was out yesterday, put on few hundred K, and the sled performed great. Much snappier and better ride all around. Quite happy with it. What I did have an issue with tho, was breaking trail. We have about 18-20" up where I was riding, and not all of it was broken trail. I had a few problems with making some hills when I was breaking trail, however my buddy with his TSS Vmax would pull right around me and had no issue's at all.

Seems to me the design of the TSS is much better for Powder than the trailing arm sleds...when I got stuck, What I noticed was my front end was plowing snow, and it would all build up in the trailing arms, shocks and Radius rods, short of Long tracking this machine, since I don't typically ride in these conditions, but every once and awhile we break a trail into a new lake or the groomer hasn't passed after a dumping, Would a simple Belly pan help reduce this drag? or am I stuck with this issue? Any other cheap idea's to help these sleds in the powder??

It was really only an issue if I stopped, the visor was getting iced over from snow mist coming over the sled, and I'd have to stop, and if I couldn't get back up to speed, then it would plow down, and I couldn't get back up on the snow, if a hill was close I was done for.
 
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what kind of skis are you running with? may be an issue of needing better skis for more float. the newer yamaha mountain skis have been well spoken about, might be able to find a set for cheap. also, your rear suspension will play a roll as well as to whether you sink or swim. may want to take a look at setting it up differently for the deep stuff.
 
sxviper32 said:
what kind of skis are you running with? may be an issue of needing better skis for more float. the newer yamaha mountain skis have been well spoken about, might be able to find a set for cheap. also, your rear suspension will play a roll as well as to whether you sink or swim. may want to take a look at setting it up differently for the deep stuff.
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I have the stock Steel ski's and just put new Ski skins on. I had wide ski skins last year, but We never really had this issue, was no snow last year, so I can't tell if they helped or not.

What type of suspension changes would help for the deep stuff?
 
The TSS sleds were known for being great in the powder because of how slim the suspension was you werent dragging and much "stuff" through the snow as you would with a trailing arm or a-arm sled.
Better skis would help, perhaps you could upgrade to a set of mountain skis that are wider and float better.
Now, when you say, "belly pan" are you referring to a skid plate? I dont think a skid plate would help much with flotation because all is does is protect the bulkhead from rocks. It really doesnt increase the surface are under the sled, so I dont see it helping the sled float on the powder better.
One thing you could consider is converting your 121" to a 136". That would help you when breaking trail, would give you a smoother ride over the small bumps, would give you better straightline traction and stability and really wouldnt hurt your cornering that much.
 
Octane said:
One thing you could consider is converting your 121" to a 136". That would help you when breaking trail, would give you a smoother ride over the small bumps, would give you better straightline traction and stability and really wouldnt hurt your cornering that much.
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Yah I guess this would be the best bet to help with float, but I just put a brand new 121 track on, so That won't happen this year. I suppose I'll just let my Buddy break trail from now on :rofl:

If I did more off trail it would be worth it, but typically once the trails are broke that first time of the year, unless we get a real big dump its not too bad after that.
 
Octane said:
That or your could just upgrade to an Attak or Rage. LOL
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lol, yah with enough $$ $$$ I would!! but for the riding I do, really my XT is prefect, I don't care if branches hit it, in the tight atv trails we ride on getting to lakes, and it is paid for, instead of payments.

My next sled will probably be a 700 Tripple long tracked, maybe a venture. presuming I ride enough next season, the GF has a bun in the oven, so that could tap my resources and time
 
I hear ya. Id love to be riding a new Phazer this winter, but Ive got an old Ford truck with almost 170,000 miles on it and Im saving up for a new Toyota Tacoma.
I almost bought an '07 Phazer FX last year, but for some reason I thought that buying a dirtbike would be a better idea and bought an '06 YZ 250F instead. Lets just say that dirtbikes are fun, but the maintenance costs are a real killer! I still kick myself for not buying the Phazer, but oh well. I guess some lessons in life you just gotta learn the hard way.
 
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