Ski Alignment

[Esox_Magnum]

Hey guys, on ice and hardpack I don't notice but in the softer stuff I get alot of darting at low/mid speeds (20-50) or when shutting down from high speeds ( 50- whatever) After coming home Sunday I notice the skies look out of wack, when the bars turned straight 1 ski seems turned out and the other about straight. How to adjust and whats the proper adjustment. Sleds a 95 Polaris Indy with plastic skies.

[Eelpout08]

Ive heard that to help with darting you want the skis to toe in slightly, not sure if its true as i have never tried it. if the steering joints are all pretty tight i would measure between the front of the skis and the back of the skis and adjust till they are the same, that would give you perfect alignment, but im sure you will want some toe to keep it going straight

[tonkapat]

Loosen the inner and outer tie rod end locking nuts. Spinning the rod will adjust your ski in and out. Measure with a tape measure at the front and back of ski's. Just a little bit of toe out, around 1/16". Put the bars straight and adjust. You can run a straight edge off a properly aligned track to get a starting point. Hopefully that helps. Good luck

[mabr]

Thanks for asking this question Esox mine does the same thing and all keep saying its normal to some degree. But at times its riding a razors edge to keep control.

What about track pressure. Mine also has alot of adjustment from where the lock nut is comprared to how far up it will go. If I raise this nut up will this improve downward force on the skis? Or should i look to the mid track shocks for adjustment?

[Esox_Magnum]

I'll have to get it off the trailer then and do some adjusting, they were about 2" off front to back, and not exactly staight with the bars. Guessing you need a shorty wrench to get to the nut under the exhaust manifold?

I have also read about ski/track preasures but not entirely sure how to adjust that either. I'm a light guy at about 150 with gear on.

[leech~~]

I'll have to get it off the trailer then and do some adjusting, they were about 2" off front to back, and not exactly staight with the bars. Guessing you need a shorty wrench to get to the nut under the exhaust manifold?

I have also read about ski/track preasures but not entirely sure how to adjust that either. I'm a light guy at about 150 with gear on.

Guy's heres what my Polaris book says. Alining skis. With handle bars in straight ahead position, measurement between the front of the ski's and the back should be 1/8" to 1/4" greater (wider) at the front of the skis or toe out I guess. As for Ski pressure shortening the front limiter strap will increases ski pressure but will also stiffen the whole suspension and lengthening it will decreases ski pressure. Hope this helps? Leech~~

[Esox_Magnum]

Wow what a difference, still not perfect but I think as good as it may get on a 15 year old machine with 5000 miles.

[Eelpout08]

i took a lot of the dart out of my zrt by putting more preload on the front shock in the skid, that also helped it hook up a little better. you could also lengthen the front limiter strap.

[Esox_Magnum]

Preloading would mean compressing the spring, correct?? Need a spanner wrench I think, or whatever those shock tools are called.

[Deep_Sinker]

More preload would cause more darting as there is less weight on the front of the sled, more is on the springs. To adjust pre-load, with the front off the ground, loosen the spring until it is loose, then tighten back a bit. This should give you zero preload which will allow the sled to travel flatter in the corners and give you less inside ski lift. You could also benefit from shiming the carbides which causes them to cut deeper. That can be done with just about anything, but I'd start with about 1/8" of shim. If that doesn't help, check out your limiter straps in the rear suspension. They should be closer to all the way out than in.

[lawdog]

how do you shorten the front limiter strap to put a little more pressure on the skis???

I want to do that on my '97 A/C Cougar.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Another thing to try if you primarily do alot of trail riding is switch to a double runner skag like the Polaris E.Z. steer's. They take away alot of the darting as well. They do steer a bit heavier but they tend to track alot straighter on trails with alot of traffic. As far as ski pressure in relation to the front limiter...pulling the front of the rail up = more ski pressure and vice versa. Alot of things also depend on what cond. your front shocks are in. If your shocks and springs in the front are shot then your front end is going to be sagging creating alot more ski pressure than normal. There's tons of things that can contribute to this issue but ski alignment is a great place to start! Good luck

[Macgyver55]

how do you shorten the front limiter strap to put a little more pressure on the skis???

There are multiple holes in the strap. You can shorten or lengthen it by moving the bolt to a different hole. You'll need to compress the suspension in order to remove the bolt in the strap, then pull it tighter and put the bolt back into the next hole.

[Esox_Magnum]

I think I can live with it now, I think the rest is just play in the steering due to age and milage. I have heard I may need longer carbides since I'm heavily studded and this may help to by going to an 8" carbide. Any truth to this?

[Macgyver55]

Yes, the more studs you have the more carbide you need.

[hydro]

Esox, one thing you will notice with trail handling is that there will always be some "darting", and it's very hard to get rid of. Also, the overall handling of your sled is a combination of several variables, all affecting each other. What you want to find is a combination that suits your individual preference. I suggest trying to find a shop manual for your sled, and read up on suspension setup. If you can locate that information, you can set the suspension to a neutral ride, then adjust one variable at a time from there. Be sure your front and rear shocks are in good shape (if they are FOX, have them all rebuilt as they lose their charge over time).

As for carbides, as Macgyver mentioned, you may need more bite on the carbides with a lot of studs. What do you have now for carbide length and number of studs? With too little carbide for the stud bite, the sled will "push' into the corners and be hard to get turned. If you have too much carbide bite for the track you can actually lose control as the skiis bite and the track comes loose.

[Esox_Magnum]

Yes Fox shocks and they were rebuilt last year, I was told 196 studs but cant confirm that, havent counted them, but she hooks up like no other.. I think they are 1 1/4" The only time its a real problem is fresh trails with a few tracks on it. It's alot better now after adjusting the skies. If I'm on fresh snow breaking my own trail it's not a problem, or if on ice or hardpack it's fine. When the time comes to replace the wear bars I'll put a set of 8" on it and see what happens.

[gregg52]

I personally have a hard time believeing more carbide

is going to make alot of difference in turning unless you are on icey conditions

IMO If you think you are pushing i would try a heavy wear

bar and tranfer as much weight up front as you can

i seen some bars the actually have a smaller like secound bar

welded on the bottom

i just have a hard time with that small piece of carbide really helping in snow

back in the day they had what they called grovvy's

they were grooved down the middle i think they have more turnin in them than carbide

i havnt bought carbides recently but they use to be awful spendy

[Esox_Magnum]

Rode 100 miles today, did notice something interesting, if sitting then I darted, if I was standing with my feet mid to rear of the boards no problem. BTW she keeps up with a 03 1000 Thundercat

[leech~~]

Another thing to try if you primarily do alot of trail riding is switch to a double runner skag like the Polaris E.Z. steer's. They take away alot of the darting as well. They do steer a bit heavier but they tend to track alot straighter on trails with alot of traffic. As far as ski pressure in relation to the front limiter...pulling the front of the rail up = more ski pressure and vice versa. Alot of things also depend on what cond. your front shocks are in. If your shocks and springs in the front are shot then your front end is going to be sagging creating alot more ski pressure than normal. There's tons of things that can contribute to this issue but ski alignment is a great place to start! Good luck

I'll second the double running wear bars as NAMA, has suggested, I also agree with gregg52 that carbids work well on icesy surfaces but don't matter much in the snow. One time I was riding with two guys up in Big Fork and I just could not keep up with them because I couldn't steer around the corners very well and I was darting all over the place. Lucky the trail through town goes right behind a Polaris dealer. I went in and they had a set of double runners, and the guy said he could throw them on for $10 bucks. So, I wiped out the Visa and drove it right in their back door! The rest of the weekend and ever after that sled had no issues running the trails Great. No darting at all.