98 Indy 500 Classic

[Diago]

My wife rides a 98 Polaris indy classic and has trouble controlling it on groomed trails. At 30 mph the sled seems to be unstable and slides back and forth compared to my 2005 600 two up Polaris. The sliding seems to be in the front end.It is almost analagous in the way it behaves to a car plaining on water. Any suggestions as to making it track straighter for her.

?

Thanks!

[fishfart]

You need to loosen up the rear suspension to get less down force on the skis, but not too much or it won't steer well.

[Macgyver55]

Also check the toe-in of the front skis. The wrong setting can cause excessive darting.

[Diago]

Thanks for the information! What about putting duel wear rods on the front ski?

Jim

[fishingforester]

I have heard that the dual carbides reduce darting, but haven't had the opportunity to try any. I think it would be good to start with the great ideas posted by the others first; it shouldn't take dual carbides to calm down the front end. If you have noticed that it takes excessive effort to steer, reduce the amount of weight on the skis and the problem should go away. One other possibilty is if the wear rods on are in bad condition, but you probably already checked that out.

Ride safe!

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Hi, both of my suggestions have been mentioned. I would in fact install a set of dual runner (e-z-steer) carbides on the ski's. This will help a ton! Also mentioned before but not specificaly you can pull the limiter strap on the front torque arm of the rear suspension UP not loosen. When you pull the limiter strap up this will put more pressure on the front of the machine. This will add pressure to the ski's and help with "darting", however it will make the turning effort harder. One more thing you can try is to crank the spring tension up on the front shocks a bit this will add some pressure to the ski's as well but will also create a stiffer ride in the front. With all that said I would start with the dual runner skags, this should help the most! Good Luck

[hanson]

Diago-

From your original question, is the instability on the trails more of a "darting" on straightaways or is it a "pushing" when you turn?

I really think all sleds experience a moderate amount of darting around on straight trails. I know when my ZR gets into fairly rutted up trails, it does this a little bit. Its manageable and not a big deal though.

Where I would get concerned is in the corners. If the sled pushes a lot, it might be as simple as replacing the carbide wearbars. They may be more worn out than you think.

From there, a lot of the previous suggestions are good places to start. With new carbides, if the "push" still exists, you definitely have a ski pressure problem. Adjusting the limiter strap as mentioned is the first way to put more pressure on the skis. This will tuck the front of the rear suspension up a tad and transfer more of the sled's weight to the front end. This usually isn't something that needs to be adjusted but sleds definitely react differently with different riders because of body position and weight.

Ski Toe-In/Toe-Out is definitely worth a check as well. One ski might have gotten tweaked in or out and that could cause a problem for sure.

Everyone has great advice in this topic IMO. Start with the simple and obvious and work from there.