Anyone try the Rasmussen spindles?

[rr715]

Ski Spindle Pair, Rasmussen Performance, Ski Doo Short – Ride Rasmussen Style / Backcountry Snowmobile Rides

Improve sled control using less rider input. These spindles are everything you have been waiting for. Buy now at this low introductory price, available now till Monday. Shipping early December.

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Maybe a bit long winded over thinking here but as I get older and don’t get to ride as much, I find it fun to try and make the ski doos easier to ride. I rode doos for a few years and then switched to a 16 cat limited. It came with some downsides but one thing I really liked was the locked in feel once it was in a side hill. Switched back to doo when they released the g4 turbo and climbed everywhere but missed that feeling. Now I’m on a 23 expert turbo and feel it’s much better, and if I had to ride this sled as is forever I would be perfectly happy. I know someone who rides more will say just ride the damn thing sissy (and you ain’t wrong) But i like to tinker and waste money testing different things.

So I read and read and watch you tube and know all about the things most people are going to say. And I try to talk myself into a Polaris every year but personal experiences with friends and there issues always make me hesitant. Sounds like they’ve made good progress with the boost but now 25 running board snapped on buddies new sled and clutch broke on another. So I end up trying to figure out how to get that locked in feel on my ski doo when we are in really steep trees with mandatory sidehills.

I’m not a smart man or an engineer but adjusting the air pressure on my mtn top the other day I had a small revelation. I added some air to the shocks and then pushed down in the back and it didn’t come back up. I could even push hard enough to bottom the skid. Just before calling the company to tell them I have a problem, I realized that I had the wheels under the front ski. Removed the wheels and pushed on the rear and worked perfect. Spring back up and felt way stiffer. That got me thinking about the sag issue on the G5’s. Haven’t figured out for sure if that’s crappy shock issue, torsion spring issue or possibly it’s a similar issue with the snowbike wheels scenario.

I’ve been researching the ice age and zrp lift spindles lately and getting ready to try some despite some people loving them and some people kind of mixed feelings. Then found these Rasmussen ones. I don’t think there is much argument in putting the ski pivot bolt in line helps. But interested to hear people’s thoughts. Seems backwards to me but if lifting the front end adds ski pressure then would lowering the front end reduce it? And I do trust that Bret knows what is talking about.

I do believe the rider forward nature of the ski doo causes some front to back balance issues and makes it lack a little in that locked in side hill feel. Kind of a mute point but watching muskoka last video he took the Polaris into that gnarly zone simply because of the sidehill feel. He has a lot of ski doos and even the 175 mod and rides a lot but kind of justified the way I feel about a tiny lack of confidence in skidoos sidehilling.

I do have some sala king runners to put in, post forward from an older sled I want to try, I have raptor front shocks and plan on getting some for the rear. Maybe even the mayhem torsion delete. Will probably try some different skis as well. I want to spring check a 26 to stay in warranty so haven’t done any of these items yet. But I want to try one thing at a time to gain a better understanding of snowmobile geometry.

 

[RS_Rider]

While i haven't tried the Rasmussen spindles, i do have some time on the ZRP lift spindles. I personally like them - i feel that bringing the ski bolt in line with the a-arm bolts leads to better tracking (more predictable) across old lines or other uncertainties that lie beneath the snow. It does come with a price though - your turning radius on flat ground gets noticeably larger. To me, no big deal on that front.

Regarding the ski pressure comment, think of all of the contact area of the snowmobile on the shop floor. If you increase the front bumper height by a measurable amount (like you would with the lift spindles), you're effectively taking a small portion of the front of the track off the ground. Since the track is then carrying less of the snowmobile's weight, that means the skis are carrying more, which is the increase in ski pressure. By lowering your front end, you could be lightening the ski pressure some, however i think a better way to look at it would be letting your limiter strap out a hole, which is effectively doing the same thing - more track on the ground, allowing for the rear suspension to carry more of the weight of the snowmobile.

Hope that helps.

 

[TreeThrasher]

Letting the limiter out has different effects on the geometry of the sled than raising the ski.

A couple years ago I was talking to Bret about taller spindles, I was excited about them and better clearance up in the front of the sled. He wasn’t a fan, said he wanted to try shorter spindles. I was taken aback by his answer because it was so counter to the direction the aftermarket industry seemed to be moving. I already owned the taller spindles so I tried them. I of course got the heavy ski pressure feel, so I lengthened the limiter to help that. Ended up with a trencher that would then wheelie. Tried mounting the skid in it lower. Now you have induced poor attack angle. I finally gave up and went back to stock spindles. Bottom line, the tall spindles were more negative than positive for me. I’m excited to try these shorties!! Bret is a smart fella and understands sled setup.