Been riding snowbikes for 5 years in the Sierra on a yeti 120 kit updated with max 2 track and soft strut. Have friends with lots of different TImbersled kits to compare against. The Yeti was always quickest through the trees but the Timbersleds consistently out pulled the Yeti by 20 feet on steep climbs. The Yeti is nimble and light feeling but compared to the Timbersleds got stuck more often on climbs. I also broke 5 belt deflectors from contact with rock or logs hidden in the snow and the TImbersleds never broke anything because of the higher placement of the chain drive. I run a Thumper Racing 570 ktm so when Timbersled announced the 3" track I thought it would be a match made in heaven.
Got my Premium Riot 3 with TSS QSL last Thursday and then out on the snow on Saturday. Used the factory spring preload settings out of the box and 250 air pounds in the QSL. Factory set to 14 inches long for my bike.
First thing I noticed is how much higher the foot pegs were. Like 2 to 3 inches higher! Even compared with the 2020 Riot. That should have been my first clue that something was wrong. A 1/2 taller lug should not make the pegs that high. Clickers were set to soft and I was liking the suspension feel. It felt like twice the suspension of anything I else I have tried. But every time I came to a stop the damn thing fell over because I could not dab a foot it was so tall. In slow nasty terrain same thing happened I kept falling over like a total newbie. Center of gravity was just too high. Picking it up was so much harder too because it was tall and also heavier than the Yeti I was used to. The traction is just insane on it but I was starting to get buyers remorse because it was falling over so easy. I am 180 pounds, 5 foot 11 and 32 inch inseam so my legs aren't that short. The front end was very planted and not lifting as much as I expected on a Riot. The snow was pretty set up which made things worse because it was sitting so high on the snow and tippy. I bet people who ride 10 inches of powder or more wouldn't have a problem on their first ride though.
We ended up dropping the TSS QSL pressure to 200 (suggested minimum) and then shortened the total strut length as far in as it would go about 3/4" shorter. Then we moved the forks up in the triple clamps as high as possible. This completely lowered the pegs to a reasonable height and changed the feel of the kit drastically. Like night and day difference. Didn't tip over once the rest of the day. I could dab a foot when I needed to. The front end would come up easier and felt more playful. I was in total heaven with the feel of the kit!
We did some hill climb pulls to compare the Riot 3 to a 2020 Riot on a 525 ktm. In a foot deep soft snow the Riot 3 consistently out climbed the older Riot by 50 to 60 feet! In knarly tree riding with buried logs you can traction through with surprising ease. Also when you have to a make a split decision and the only option is a steep wall of snow, it will crawl up and over with no momentum to help. I think the Yeti is still more nimble when it comes to fast tree riding and quick direction changes. I love the Riot 3 for its huge suspension travel, playful feel, amazing traction and ability to pull you out of sticky situations. I have decided to sell my snowmobile too. I have liked having a sled for those deep days and steep pulls but now I can get that fix on the Riot 3". Sure, it won't out pull a sled on a hill climb but it's getting closer!
Hope this helps any first time buyers with the Riot 3". The factory settings seem way off to start. I could see people getting frustrated. Next I am going to try lowering the preload on the skid shocks and increase the height of the strut a little because my rear fender is hitting the gas tanks on the tunnel. Would love to hear anyone else's first ride experiences or suspension set ups that they like.
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