Tail wagging

E

ecopter

New member
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
214
Location
Staunton, Il
'02 Vmax 700...

I can not seem to dial this sled in to keep the tail/track from wagging all over the place. I placed shims under the ski mounts, checked the toe-out and put the sled back to stock suspension settings. It's almost uncontrollable going down a trail and anything above 45 mph gets interesting and requires your undivided attention.

I'm wondering if I need to put more weight on the skis (with limiter straps). I have almost no weight up front right now with the stock settings. It's almost as if the back end doesn't have a track, but rather a roll up kids sled underneath it that constantly whips back and forth.

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Jon
 
I had the same problem with my wifes 01 SX-R 700. I got rid of the stock .92 Yoko track and put in a Camo 9854 1-1/4 and that seems to have helped alot.
 
more ski pressure will make it steer better, but will also make the rear as you put it wag more.is track studded, what kind of conditions were riding in, thease variables all play a role. the yoko tracks are junk IMO mine went to hell after 1270 miles, but was a .75 lug. try a little less ski pressure, does the sled dart around or hunt. if not try a little less ski pressure.adjustable control rods help out alot with weight transfer ( rear suspension coupling) mor weight tranfer more skis lift but when you get it just right its like a slot car. hope this helps....
 
jon, if i remember right the mrs' sled has the finger style track correct? even with very little ski pressure that track isnt enough to overcome the drag of the skis, so you get the wagging. we took kayla's track (has same sled as you guys) off and replaced it with marks .92 yoko with 144 center belted studs. she has no more wagging. maybe the yoko isnt a great track for the fast perfomance guys, but for the ladies it is just fine for trail riding. if you wanted a big improvement a 9830 would be a fine choice. when we going up? ski
 
my sled darts and wags like a bandit, lol, even with 192 studs, but i have C&A's with a lot of ski pressure. Powdery trails are interesting...hard pack it ROCKS
 
I appreciate all the suggestions. The track is not studded, it is the finger track (I hate it) and it happens in all condition except a freshly groomed (unridden) trail. It never did it until this year. Would blown shocks cause this? My thoughts are that it would only affect the quality of ride (hard/soft), not handling. I would love to swap the track, and am now wishing I would have kept my stock SRX track to change out. That finger track provides no sidewards resistance and is probably adding to the problem. I have no ski pressure as it its. The limiters are all but pulled out; if I go any further, the nuts will fall off. As it stands, the only thing I changed in the off season was the two up seat I put on. If things remain the same, I'll have a beautiful two up seat with the works for sale here real soon.

Jon

(One hour track swaps? hmmmmmm??? Eric, I've got two days of riding coming up on Feb. 15th and 16th. It will be somewhere in the U.P (I know, I know). Can you make that? One more trip after that around the 1st, 2nd week of March. How much are three day passes?

later...
 
Stud that puppy!

Had the same issue a few years ago right after I put new 6" carbides on (but no studs). Almost killed myself on the Seney trail.

144 studs later, no problem.

Do the studs, set everything back to OEM spec, then dial-in from there.
 
You know, that just may be it. I put new Bergstrom bars on this year.......I never thought of that. However, I did shim the skis and while it did improve, it was still fishtailing a bit.

Thanks,
Jon
 
Is the back of the track on the ground when it's sitting on concrete or is it tipped up some? If it's tipped up you're gonna have that problem. I'm guessing it probably is since you have the limiters all the way out. Feels like you're riding on the skis and a basketball under the gas tank. Pull the limiters up so that when you pick up the back and set it down the track is pretty much flat when it hits the ground and you're problems should be solved.
 
My 600 did the same thing until I shortened the limiter straps and added 96 studs. Now it only wags a little on loose packed groomed trails. I'm thinking about adding a few more studs also.... And i just picked up some plastic skis which I'm sure will help the handling.
 
It's not a "weight on the front end" or transfer problem. It's a "not enough track on the ground" problem. Limiters out works great for straight line with the throttle to the bars but will give you lots of gray hairs when you're cruizing down the trail.
 
Bigmax, you've got me confused. I have the limiters out and the track currently sits flat on the ground. I'd call that enough track on the ground for all regimes of riding. My limiters are out, tracks completely on the ground, the ski shims are in and it still fishtails on a groomed trail with soft snow. Studs will do nothing on this type of snow. ????

Thanks,
Jon
 
they are saying pull the limiters up some so that there is more weight on the rear of the skid as well. I have never tried this myself, but the idea kind of makes sense, maybe it will work. Definately worth a try...
 
I recently shortened my limiter straps (well, spartaSRX did it for me) and there was a noticable difference in the ride... skis stay on the snow better when turning, acceleration seems better (more track on the ground?), and it just handles better overall. I'd say it's just more fun to ride.
 
I had the same problem. I pulled in the limiters and it did help. I was then thinking, I also shortened some of my travel. I then let the limiters back down to stock position, and lessened the pre load on the shock in the front of the skid. After a little tinkering with it, I too have the problem solved, but also have a better ride!

Hope this helps.

Bob
 
it is recommended that you adjust the center shock preload before doing anything with the straps, this is from pioneer performance on there long travel set up but is pretty much the same deal.by shortening the limiter straps center shock travel will be reduced.if you want to improve handling it is recommended to first try reducing center shock spring pre load.
 
Here's the experience I had... with the stock setup I had this problem. I ended up pulling the limiters up so that there was about 1/4" of threads left between the nut and the eye where the strap attaches. I didn't adjust the preload on the shock... was zero when I started but increased as I pulled up the limiters... because I wanted to help resist some bottoming. I also set the FRA on soft. With this configuration the track sits much flatter on the ground and when the sled is picked up in the rear and set down, the whole track should come in contact with the ground at the same time. With the stock configuration the track under the center shock would hit first and then the rest of it would start touching as you set it down (if that makes sense). This got rid of the wild *** ride and made it a lot more fun to ride. Then I swapped out the skis with some C&A Pros... didn't adjust anything... and bam, got the same problem. Looked at the C&A's next to stock and the mounting hole is about 1" to 1-1/2" lower than the stock ones which dropped the front end down that far, rocked more weight onto the front of the skid under the center shock, and killed the ride.
 
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