Got snow Finally, sled slowly loses power in powder 98 600 twin

B

biglsells

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Jan 14, 2012
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Grand Rapids, MI
OK we finally got snow here in West Michigan and I spent all day riding with a friend. Got 8" in a couple hours. I followed him most of the day and the sled was ok (see below for what I have done prior to ride). Afterwords we decided to take some speed runs in powder and after I hit the gas I get up to about 60 in deep snow and speed slowly drops to around 35-40 with nothing left to give! Whats up?

Carbs - totally clean, jets factory, air/fuel 1.5 turns out
Clutches - all new, clean, good belt
Engine - totally rebuilt, good comp, top to bottom rebuild

I put fresh plugs in and did some runs and they are very dark, my guess was fuel / air mix so I popped carbs off and turned it from 1.5 to 1 turn out and took it for a rip, ran totally different, MUCH better, power the whole time in the deep stuff, plugs had slight "copper" color on the ends, was this the problem? Don't want to hurt the sled just wondering if this adjustment was ok!

Thanks Sledders,

L
 
were your rpm's up??Clutch's probably slipping,that snow gives a lot of resistance to the track for turning.I went last week into the Bush along the River.Was about 1 .5 feet deep powder..had to keep her pinned..rpm was 8500 but hard for the sled to keep picking up speed..Your ski's are also pushing the snow.I do not like riding in any deep snow like that,to hard on the clutching and motor.6 inches of snow is perfect.Once had a big storm 5 years back,over 2 feet of powder,good luck riding that stuff..sled was like a plough.Yami's are to heavy for the deep stuff..lol
 
The rpm's gradually dropped, like the motor was loading up, until it was around 5 grand and moving maybe 30mph. After I adjusted the mix screw on the bottom of the carb from 1.5 turns to 1 turn out then it ripped through the snow no problem and kept the r's around 8500, just wanted to make sure I'm not going to burn the thing up. Plugs went from black before to black/copper colored on a new set after the adjustment.
 
If the plugs were black it would definitely be running rich, copper brown color sounds about right maybe still a bit rich, but stock on these twins is 1.5 turns out. Are you sure the adjustment screw was bottoming out? I know sometimes the spring under the screw can bind and its not actually bottomed out meaning you could actually be like 2.5 turns out.

Id stay outta that deep powder though cause 8500rpm in a twin will blow that thing apart! Keep it under 8000. Running full throttle in deep snow in any sled is a bad idea, unless you like replacing belts, clutches and engines.

Also the SX's are probably one of the worst deep powder sleds out there, the front ends are so low they just plow like mad.
 
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brade07 said:
If the plugs were black it would definitely be running rich, copper brown color sounds about right maybe still a bit rich, but stock on these twins is 1.5 turns out. Are you sure the adjustment screw was bottoming out? I know sometimes the spring under the screw can bind and its not actually bottomed out meaning you could actually be like 2.5 turns out.

Id stay outta that deep powder though cause 8500rpm in a twin will blow that thing apart! Keep it under 8000. Running full throttle in deep snow in any sled is a bad idea, unless you like replacing belts, clutches and engines.

Also the SX's are probably one of the worst deep powder sleds out there, the front ends are so low they just plow like mad.
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agree with you about SX,s..but also XTC's, SXR's and of course SRX's. 6" to a foot is not bad,after that the motor,clutch's and belt are working overtime.And the pushing of snow in front is insanely nasty.That is why long track sleds were born,to ride on top better.I myself really don't like riding to long in 2 feet of powder keeping motor pinned at 8500 to long,making a turn really kills you also...we don't get that kind of snow here anyways..normal snow is always like a few inches to 6 inch's on top of the packed snow,so it is desirable to ride in.
 
We dont usually get that much either but so far this year in northern ont. were getting hammered, about 2-2.5feet on the ground and it doesnt seem to be letting up. Its not a huge difference between sleds, but switching from my buddies 99' sx700 to my 97' 600xt in deep powder its definitely noticeable
 
I beg to differ. A sx vmax is around 475lbs dry if I remember correctly, but no worst than any other sled out there. My other sx 700 I had I put a inch track on and it was a beast in powder. Now being a 700 helps. But I have rode 600 inthe powder and thought they were very respectable. Certainly not a long track but I thought very good. You want a boat anchor in the powder try riding one of the older 4 strokers they are horrible. And riddle me this. How is riding in powder any worst than pinning a sled down the lake for 5 miles?? Less resistance on ice for sure but your still spinning everything at 8000 rpm. Just my two cents and not trying to offend anyone but think thats what a sled was made for going threw the SNOW...........
 
herring this i need to stop riding in the deep stuff! last year i got suck in 3 foot of snow because a stump under the snow picked up my right ski and put me and the sled on the side! it took 4 people to get it out and two were cops who were awesome about it! man i just can stop hitting the drifts though!!! ;):D :itchy:
 
If youve ever been in a lot of powder or slush on a lake youd know exactly why its bad, It revs the motor out at full rpm, but at a much slower speed (mph) which puts a lot of force on your clutches and belts. Glare ice you spin on take off but usually once your up to speed ice is fine with studs.
Ive seen guys blow three belts in like 10kms just trying to get across a lake.

I also think your a bit light on dry weight, little over 500lbs I believe, wet their close to 600 pounds with a full tank of fuel, cause an indy 500 from that time period is around 475 dry and they are quite a bit lighter. Trust me an sx 700 is not a beast in the powder especially with a 1" lug, under a foot of powder youd be ok, but anymore youll chew belts. I think you need to go somewhere where they actually get substantial amounts of snow, then see what happens.
 
The sx chassis sleds also have a lot of front end weight bias, its the reason they have a darting problem. And in the powder you want equal weight or rear end bias.
 
all I know is my prior 97 went threw the stuff. I had viper track,and shocks on it. Trust me I know what powder is. Live in the lake effect snow belt. When I had that sled we had a few 200in plus winters. This is getting off topic anyway so nuff said.
 
Appreciate all the input, will put some miles on the sled today and see how it runs. I had the screws bottomed out all the way, double checked that, plus I have cleaned these things 6 times already ruling other things out. Ran great after the last adjustment but only took a couple passes before putting it away so today will be the test. I have to get the miles on before the rain comes tomorrow. The good Lord giveth and taketh away here in MI. Yami1 are you slammed with snow with the storm that came through? Fun stuff.
 
Not to bad this last storm brought varying accumalations in western ny. got 8-10 in where im at. Have a decent base right now riding looks good. I have a busted sx at moment. blw another stator. Thought I could find one local from a few of our used part places. Should of just got one from mr viper when he offered a couple days ago. my bad on that. Id have one by now.
 
nytrodave said:
foam air filter is plugging up with snow dust, my 96 v-max did it all the time in powder.
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This, i actually ended up sucking my foam filter into the airbox last weekend in the UP, so much damn powder it froze solid and broke apart entirely. Ended up icing the carbs entirely, had to take them off on the side of the trail and defrost them. Almost wonder if you were having a similar problem. If you clog the air jets there's not going to be any fuel getting out of the float bowls.
 
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