avoid 5 common mistakes

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The snowmobile season is short enough as it is, so don't let a lack of preparation now hurt you once the snow flies.

Often vacations are planned, down payments are made and expectations are high once October rolls around. We're thinking snow, so why not do some preventative maintenance now, while time and tools are handy?

Perhaps I'm not a good example of maintenance because I'm always busy, but who isn't? I can't count how many times we loaded up for our first trip of the season, and when checking the trailer found that most of the running lights, directionals or brake lights didn't work because the wiring harness was rusted, corroded or broken.

Believe me, a cold December afternoon, with the rest of the troop waiting impatiently, is not my favorite time for troubleshooting wiring harnesses, or hunting for fuses and bulbs. Don't make these same mistakes, fix things up now!

(1) Neglected trailer
Checking your trailer should be a top priority in fall, not only the wiring harness, but also the wheel bearings and tires. If you used your trailer to haul a watercraft in summer, and backed it into the water to unload, be sure to re-grease the wheel bearings. Also, check tire pressure and make sure you have a spare tire and the jacks and tools to change it on the road.

Moisture is the enemy, so it's also a good idea to check that you can turn the wheel nuts too. Don't be the one parked along a busy highway unable to loosen a rusted nut without breaking the stud.

Your trailer is just the start, let's talk sleds!

(2) Dirty carbs
Fall is a good time to remove and clean your sled's carbs. Jets should be removed and soaked in a cleaning solution and then blown through with compressed air because corrosion builds up over the years and reduces the fuel flow. Ultimately, that can lead to your engine seizing. Many experienced riders install new jets often if they want to be sure their sled's fuel flow is correct. It's inexpensive insurance.

(3) Worn brakes, bearings
Checking the brake system also should be part of your fall tune-up. It's possible you'll need to install new brake pads. The same goes for slide-rails, carbide runners and studs. If the sled is a couple of years old, it's time to check all the bearings in the drive system, including the wheels on the suspension.

While you're at it, check your sled's electrical system too to make sure everything is working right, no wires have frayed or have become disconnected.

(4) Track trouble
Be sure to take a good look at your track to make sure it's not ripping or coming apart. This often starts where studs have been torn out during the past season.

While checking the track, get a good look at the tunnel to confirm that the protectors have done their job and the studs are not ripping their way through the tunnel and into the fuel tank or coolers. Damage to the fuel tank could leave you stranded, or worse!

Additionally, if studs rip through your coolers, the coolant will leak out and again your engine could seize up. Of course, coolant leaks in other parts of the system will have the same result, so while you have the sled in a dry garage, run it until the system gets warm, and then check for leaks.

Naturally, most of this can be accomplished on a bad weather weekend when a heated garage is a comfortable place to be, and if you find problems, you have some time and tools on hand to fix them.

(5) Tuning mistakes
We all want our sleds to run well, but tuning them improperly will ultimately rob performance.

Too rich: When it comes to jetting, factory setups are notoriously rich. There are a number of good reasons for this, many revolving around warranty and liability issues. A new sled needs to be broken in, and manufacturers jet fat to make sure you don't get stranded in -20 F with a cooked engine.

That means you'll usually get better performance than normal at 20 F if you jet down a couple of sizes, but a lot of sledders who do, forget to jet up again when it gets real cold. The result can be a sled that seizes after a long, wide-open haul along on a railroad bed or across a lake.

Fortunately help is available. The Holtzman Tempa-Flow unit compensates for temperature changes when installed on a carbureted sled. Barry Holtzman's system has a baseline of -40 F and leans the jetting out as the temperature warms by controlling the float bowl pressure. Holtzman also has a Vari-Flow system that allows you to dial in the jetting according to conditions.

Mounting an EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) gauge tells you how well the jetting is matched to the conditions. When the EGT increases, it's a sign of leaner conditions. If the temperature exceeds 1,250 F, it's time to jet up. There are several new digital EGT gauges with programmable warning functions that grab your attention should the reading exceed the pre-selected limit.

The new KOSO is a good unit for this purpose. It comes with probes, has a warning function and you can check your max readings.

Poor gas quality: EGT gauges not only help to check jetting, but also to check the quality of the gas you just pumped into the tank.

If the gas is low on octane and pre-ignition occurs, the gauge will show a high temperature. This can be a problem early in the season when smaller gas stations with less traffic may still be selling summer-blend gas from tanks that also may contain too much water due to condensation in the fall.

Best to fill your tank from a pump at a high-traffic station and buy the highest octane you can get, if your sled has a carburetor. This is always good insurance and probably only costs you a buck or two more compared to 87-octane that may be marginal when it comes to pre-ignition protection. With fuel-injected sleds, it's probably best to follow manufacturer recommendations.

Late 1970's and early '80s sleds had a lot more compression because gas was higher in octane then. Today, these older sleds need to run premium fuel, and some may also need an octane booster to be added.

Gutting the air box: Gutting the air box without re-jetting is a common tuning mistake. Today's air boxes are a major part of an engine's silencing system, usually with several compartments connected by longer tuned tubes. Gutting the air box usually means you have to go up several sizes on the main jets, since the carbs were tuned to the vacuum produced in the air box.

With the air boxes on some early-2000 models, there were decent gains to be had by removing restrictions, but if you did not re-jet accordingly, you risked damaging your engine. Newer models manage to silence the intake system without restricting the flow, and there's hardly any gain in modifying the newer boxes.

Final heads-up!
My friend Kris Vogt, president of our local club, the Caledonia Snolords, also advises riders to carefully evaluate what you are trying to accomplish with your tune-ups.

Too many guys see themselves as racers and want the latest, hottest, go-fast goodies, but mostly end up trail-riding with the club or other friends. As a result, their sleds' suspensions are set up so stiff that Blair Morgan couldn't bottom it out, even on a triple jump. The carbide and studding can be so aggressive that an oval racer would have a hard time steering it around the Eagle River Derby Track. The engine is so modified, it needs constant attention to jetting and clutching to keep it working right, not to mention it may have a hard time living, even on premium, and requires extra octane booster or racing gas for a trail outing.

All the trick stuff may be fun, but can be hard on backs and wallets. Experienced racers have a solution, one sled maxed out for playing on the lake, and another sled set up for comfortable trail riding with friends. I keep my 600 Polaris Edge set-up comfortably with the best shock package I can get, a quiet performance pipe with a nice long powerband, good clutching and an engine with stock compression. This is my trail sled and I always use the highest octane gas I can find to protect against pre-ignition problems.

If we want to play on the lake, I pull out my Yamaha Viper with triple pipes, 800cc big bore kit, heavier studding and Ohlins shocks. But to be honest, I spend 95% of my time riding the Edge on trails.