What did you mean by this was a little confused on what you meant
Alpha riding struggles
- Thread starter BubbleNuts
- Start date
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wasatchcomm
Well-known member
foot placement, on boards,,,, toe out and heel on tunnel,, and front to back on board
BEND KNEES
throttle control,
EYES FORWARD, HEAD UP, LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!
master all this and you can follow anyone IMO
BEND KNEES
throttle control,
EYES FORWARD, HEAD UP, LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!
master all this and you can follow anyone IMO
Iam new to all snowmobiles. I had a 16 cat m6 146 for a season and I’ve had this 21 154 hc for two seasons now. I have a habit of putting my knees in the plastics with my toes in the holes. Iam a small guy. 5’5 145lbs. I be been wrestling this thing since I bought it . Sunday I was having a way easier time getting it on edge by moving my feet back in the running board and stomping or just by shifting my weight hard or if I had momentum just locking out my knee real fast and it’ll change direction. Steeper you go the more you gotta go too but I had great success with it. Started noticing it when I was both feet on one side. Wrong forward is hard for me and so I cheat a lot doing both well my back foot would tip the sled way easier than my from t foot so I started experimenting and it just seemed to work. The farther you go back with more throttle burst the more extreme. I could do left u-turns easy . Right is hard for me but I did do some critical right side hills but also got rolled too. I was finally in wide trees in gentle slopes and was having great success just shifting the sled with my feet in neutral and some in wrong but it’s like I said I felt like I was going where I wanted off camber without the exaggerated one ski way in the air like the dial rail in front of me. Just my experience. In the picture of me stuck I needed to commit and go. I tried going to slow then I dug in the. I trenched. Was actually kinda a bad stick lol. I know jack shi$ but I want to get good so I’ve been trying hard and I’ve been frustrated cause I haven’t been able to dial in and like you wondered if it was the sled. I honestly think you need to have a quieter body on a alpha or you just go back and forth. I said it before I think you can go where you want to go with less effort but when you need to be panelled out you have to move your feet more than you may think.
ok will give that a shot. what area you riding at look like alot more fresh then here i have only rode fernie and crowsnest pass. Waiting till i get better to make trips to sicamous
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wasatchcomm
Well-known member
ya my toes are never in the foot wells, im always at least 3-4inches back from the foot wells, I do see guys that use them and I do think its rider preference,, but for me on the alpha its not necessary to lift with that off side foot in the foot wells, I think that is for maybe tight corners on trail to keep the sled level,, to me the foot wells are more of a danger in getting a foot caught in than anything else...
on a extremely steep sidehill I will have wrong foot forward and up against the foot well to keep my body weight as far forward as possible,,keep in mind that foot is now heel out and toe pointed essentially toward center of sled and forward to opposite side spindle thats about as close to foot wells as I will get
if you are in a open meadow, just point your toes out on the boards, forward but out so that your big toe is not on the edge of board, maybe 6-8" back of the foot wells, then just load one foot or the other with all your weight and look the same direction you load your foot, its so easy to make these sleds get on its balance point,, shock pressures do come into play at how easy on more set up firm snow,, but it becomes so easy,, also make sure to use soft throttle input in more set up snow, vs deep pow where it doesn't matter,, you can as others have stated finesse this platform more than any other ive ridden, and you most certainly can over ride it as others have stated especially the more firm snow..
practice your right turns in open meadow to,, it gets easy after a few tries,, but I always make it a point to try to do 3-1 right turns vs left
because its just more natural for me to go left....
it gets easy quite quickly
on a extremely steep sidehill I will have wrong foot forward and up against the foot well to keep my body weight as far forward as possible,,keep in mind that foot is now heel out and toe pointed essentially toward center of sled and forward to opposite side spindle thats about as close to foot wells as I will get
if you are in a open meadow, just point your toes out on the boards, forward but out so that your big toe is not on the edge of board, maybe 6-8" back of the foot wells, then just load one foot or the other with all your weight and look the same direction you load your foot, its so easy to make these sleds get on its balance point,, shock pressures do come into play at how easy on more set up firm snow,, but it becomes so easy,, also make sure to use soft throttle input in more set up snow, vs deep pow where it doesn't matter,, you can as others have stated finesse this platform more than any other ive ridden, and you most certainly can over ride it as others have stated especially the more firm snow..
practice your right turns in open meadow to,, it gets easy after a few tries,, but I always make it a point to try to do 3-1 right turns vs left
because its just more natural for me to go left....
it gets easy quite quickly
I had it on 85 at fernie in a bit of fresh then on 65 the other with the harder crust. May try like 75 as a middleground
These are awful settings. The more air in the center shock will make the sled handle wayyy better.
Current settings on my Alpha
Front shocks 70
Center 130
Rear 90
Seriously consider getting the center shock to this setting. Think of it as a teeter totter. No air in center shock just leaves the weight where its at......around the engine, thus your diving. A firm setting on the center shock allows the weight to be transferred fore/aft much more easily
Try putting ur feet back as far as they go.
Walk up and down on the boards and see how ur foot position changes the sleds reaction.
I am all over the boards, depending on conditions and how i want the sled to react.
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Walk up and down on the boards and see how ur foot position changes the sleds reaction.
I am all over the boards, depending on conditions and how i want the sled to react.
Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
On that stuck in the picture, and really a lot of trenching stucks…..FIRST thing, right away before shutting it down or hopping off. Tip that over on its side or as far as possible. This is easier to do before the snow sets up. That downhill side on this one. If it tips, go to the other side and kick, fill in the hole where your track was. Then upright it and possibly try tipping the other way and do the same. Probably wouldn’t have to with this stuck though.
Fire back up, go forward slightly and easily, then back up very easily-this packs the snow.
Then give it the wood and you’ll ride out.
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Honestly sounds like you just need more practice. Im also pretty new and I know it can be super frustrating when the sled doesn’t do what you want it to do. Especially when you see other riders making it look effortless. Sounds like you might be riding in stuff thats so beat down its almost like a trail? Marginal snow sucks on any sled especially for a newer rider. And stuff that’s basically hard as a trail really sucks. It wears you out. And to be fair snow that is packed like a trail seems to suck extra on an alpha. Where a twin rail may be able to stay flat ski across an off camber spot or park an alpha may roll a bit more and then down the hill it wants to go lol especially stopping off camber you may have to be more conscious to dig it in a bit. Sometimes when you are basically trail riding on off camber you dont need to go total wrong foot forward hanging off the sled but just put the low side leg/knee on the seat. Keep at it things will click!
The teeter totter is also a good analogy. You want that weight transfer.
The teeter totter is also a good analogy. You want that weight transfer.
Not machine specific but have you seen the videos Rasmussen put out on his you tube channel. As newer or inexperienced riders, they are worth look. He talks a lot about body position, throttle control and how they are used together. Plus a lot of other good info. He rides a skidoo so you’ll have to adapt a little. But the general ideas are the same. Short videos but I feel he breaks it down nicely into small incremental steps to help build your skills
I know this is a popular opinion on the interweb, but I’m not sold on this idea. I’m 300+lbs geared up and been running around 50 psi in my fts for over 3 years now and bottomed out numerous times with no damage. Plus I feel there’s got to be a reason cat said 60psi max in the manual. Most of the broken rail tips I’ve seen were broken behind the front shock mount, this could also be caused from an overly stiff spring/shock. Just my opinion.
I’ve seen four broken just in front of fts, break is wide open at top, down to just a crack at bottom. All light guys with low settings and hard hits.
I’m 300 also and have never broken a single rail, broken everything else though, including a pile of twin rails.
I’m 300 also and have never broken a single rail, broken everything else though, including a pile of twin rails.
Im more with vern. i dont ride an alpha but just rode with one. he was stucking it in some weird little places, was wheelying and trenching down way too easy. got him to loosen off the FTS a hair and problem solved. So these answers are all over the board, it really depends on how steep of terrain you are attempting to climb. high pressure FTS is great for everything but up, unless you are a very quick reacting pro-wheely rider. The teeter totter is fun in meadows and works great going every direction but up. If youre willing to throw money at it to see if anything helps your mountain riding, i would throw some ZRP lift spindles on it and see what ya get. Then you can run the stiffer FTS setting, not bottom out, and not be out of control climbing.
Overly stiff fts has always been a recipe for wheelies and trenching. Don’t think that concept is going to change for the alpha.
To each their own, but I just don’t see how some folks sleds can be rideable with the way they’re setting up their shocks in the name of saving the rail. Like I said I run about 50 fts and 160 rts and it’ll still pack the skis when I need it too, but in a controllable manner.
To each their own, but I just don’t see how some folks sleds can be rideable with the way they’re setting up their shocks in the name of saving the rail. Like I said I run about 50 fts and 160 rts and it’ll still pack the skis when I need it too, but in a controllable manner.
