exciter track adjustment

[theo125]

Track seems to be moved over to the left looking from the rear of the machine. If I tighten the right adjuster slightly will it move the track over slightly? Also the limiter straps on the front of the skid are very loose. The ones on the back are tight. To me it would seem like the front would be kind of "light" and not dig in.

 

[snowdad4]

your thinking in reverse. if its too far left, tighten left or loosen right adjuster. as for the limiter straps, the looser the front and tighter the rear, the more transfer. read as more transfer equals more speed and less steering. tighten front, steering requires more effort, same effect if you loosen the rear. sounds like the skid is set for maximum transfer. depends on your style of riding.

 

[theo125]

Thanks-You came through for me again!
Is there a happy medium with the transfer? The front straps are on the last setting-not really even touching at this point. The sled is mainly used for riding around the property and an occasional rip through the field. I only got to ride it a few times at the end of the season, but it seems like you steer with the gas, if that makes sense. The front really did not want to dig in.

 

[snowdad4]

look at it this way. the longer the strap in the front and the shorter the one in the rear, the less ski pressure. by shortening the front strap and extending the rear, you increase ski pressure, but reduce traction. read ski pressure as steering effort, orhow much weight your putting on the front. think of the sled having three pivot points:skis, front of rear shock, and rear of rear. its trial and error, or rider preference. if you feel it has too much front lift, start by shortening the front, one hole at a time, both straps equal. run it on the "501" dyno, and keep adjusting until you like it. normally you can achieve your desired setting with the front alone, but dont stop there. with the front where you think you like it, make a 1 hole adjustment to the rear. play back and forth and you will find the happy spot. little adjustment trick: take a ratchet strap and compress the suspension, makes adjustments easier. make only one change at a time and test. working on just the front or just the rear. front seems to be the most noticable adjustment.

 

[theo125]

Snowdad-Thanks again. I had to adjust the one on the right side. I let them sit with Kroil on them overnight but alas......the one on the left was stripped. Bummer-I kind of wanted to tighten the track up while I was doing it. Any tips for getting the nut loose? It is in such an awkward location-otherwise I would probably use a cutting wheel on the dremel. Kind of a bad design in my opinion.
I have another questionable wheel bearing on a small upper wheel, were the skid bolts in. I want to switch out the wheel but am afraid once I take the bolt out, I will not get it back in because of the weight of the sled. Is this something to worry about? Thanks

 

[redryder]

Exciter trac tension

Hi, noticed your quest for info on your track, I read the info posted and it's all good, it's fairly simple and once you align your track play with the limiter straps and set it to your needs, as a past EX440 sno-drag rider, the limit strap was tightened to increase ski preasure and to give more speed on hard conditions. Loosen the strap and there is less ski preasure and more track on the ground for deep snow conditions.

 

[opsled]

While you're horsing around under there have a close look at the left (speedo) side drive axle bearing. When this bearing goes bad (not all that uncommon) it will cause that side to go loose and the track will walk to the loose side. If it is bad adjusting the track to compensate will do no good and could cause damage to the axle and/or tunnel.

Good Luck,

Phil (opsled)

 

[theo125]

Thanks for all the great info!
Are there any tell-tale signs that the bearing has gone bad? Should I pull the bolts off the cover and take a look? Would I be able to tell right away if the bearing was bad?

 

[phazer35]

The biggest tell-tale sign is your speedometer will stop working. At least thats how it is on the Phazers, I think the exciters are the same in that respect.