For years all mountain sleds have come with adjustable ski stances … which basically meant a three-quarter-inch spacer that you could position on either side of the spindle. However, it was an adjustment snowmobilers would make once, depending on their riding preference, and leave it at that.
Ski-Doo has now designed an adjustable spacer that doesn’t require the removal of the ski bolt. It’s simple, quick, and makes you wonder why nobody has thought of it before.
Once installed (which only takes about 15 minutes) you can adjust your ski width by merely flipping up the spacer, kicking your ski either in or out, and then snapping your spacer back down in position. That’s about a 30-second adjustment to give you an extra inch-and-a-half of ski stance. You can go from a wide stance on the trail to a narrow stance in the trees, then back again, without any tools or ride delays.
This past spring we had a chance to install one and test it out on the snow. It’s surprising how much change to the handling characteristics of the sled a simple adjustment can make. The wider stance makes the snowmobile more stable, particularly on the trail, and stays flatter through the corners. It’s an easy adjustment that can be made multiple times throughout the ride, depending on the terrain and trails.
After all, what good is adjustability if nobody ever takes advantage of it?