Cutting Outer edge off ski?? anyone?

[NapaMatt]

Anyone doing this???

Sitting on snowmobile.. take the left ski off and cut the left outer edge from the spindle bolt to the middle and rear of the ski.. so just the left side and on the right ski it would be just the right outer of the ski.. You would have a left ski and a right ski..


Bret R. does it and told us that were watching from the Snow Show.. His Secret!!


This should help huge in just getting your sled over on one side... and a plus for side hilling !!

Hmm Food for thought!!...

Already took a old C&A Ski and cut it .. and yes Pretty sure it will help!

 

[LRD]

I cut one inch off the outside edges of my PowderHounds from just in back of the spindle bolts to the tails. I also cut out my skid plate under the A-Arms of my longtrack TNT so the plate is only about 5 or 6 inches wide where the A-Arms meet under the belly.

Wow what a difference for sidehilling!!!!! That uphill ski goes down a bunch easier. If you can countersteer even more effective.

Good Luck

PS I think the Cats have had virtually no skid plate under their A-Arms for ever, I think its part of
the reason cats have a rep for easier powder maneuvering.

 

[CatWoman]

Oops...didn't see you had a thread here NM.

Very intriguing and interesting idea Bret has!! It was great to watch and hear him talk of that. I'm all for easier sidehilling!!

Those whom have done this, could you please post pics of your ski(s)?

 

[dgreet77]

I haven't done this but isn't this the Carls Cycle Mod? I've read about it on here and thought about doing it with the stock M skis but switched to USI Triple Threats and didn't feel it was necessary with those.

Anyways it might be worth a search for somebody who can make the search on here work better than I can.

 

[backcountryislife]

I tried selling a pair of C&A XT's that I hate & kept getting lowballed so I decided this year I'm just going to do a Carl's style cut on them. I asked the same question last year in the cat forum & didn't get much info. Doesn't sound like many people have done this to skis other than the powder pros.

And good ideas on how to do it evenly on both skis?

 

[Jonce]

I tried selling a pair of C&A XT's that I hate & kept getting lowballed so I decided this year I'm just going to do a Carl's style cut on them. I asked the same question last year in the cat forum & didn't get much info. Doesn't sound like many people have done this to skis other than the powder pros.

And good ideas on how to do it evenly on both skis?

I haven't done this to any of my skis but I would think a simple template made out of poster board would work for this. Just flip it over and use it on the other side. As far as cutting, I'm thinking a jig saw with a metal blade (small teeth) would be useful for this cut. Again, I haven't made this cut on any of my skis but in theory, it should work for your skis.

 

[volcano buster]

I'm working with some UHMW on a couple projects right now. The coarser blade in a jig saw actually seems to make a fair cut if you can keep it cutting straight. I also have a sanding disc for the 4.5" Makita side grinder. That can really smooth up the cut edges to get the tooth trails to disappear.

 

[Ricks 32]

Sounds like this is the same thing as the Carls Mod that came out back in '05 on the SLP powder pro ski. Carls Cycle used to have it on their website. I've had the Carls mod on two different Polaris Edge sleds and one M sled. I honestly couldn't tell a difference when sidehilling. Most of my riding was done in deep snow so the mod may be better in more setup snow?

I even put the mod on my wife's sled to see if she'd notice and she couldn't tell a difference either. I've put a lot of miles on powder pro's with the mod and I can't see that it hindered the sled either.

Maybe it's one of those things that if you think it helps, it does . I can't say anything good or bad about cutting the side out.

Good luck

 

[Jonce]

I'm working with some UHMW on a couple projects right now. The coarser blade in a jig saw actually seems to make a fair cut if you can keep it cutting straight. I also have a sanding disc for the 4.5" Makita side grinder. That can really smooth up the cut edges to get the tooth trails to disappear.

Good point about the sanding disc. It seems like all my projects, I end up getting the Dremel tool or side grinder out for a little sanding.

 

[giddyup]

ski mod

i just did a mod to my stock xp pilots, i used a hack saw then a sanding disk. to finish it off, i put a torch on it to smooth it out, looks like its factory. hope it helps
giddyup

 

[vdo1948]

Sounds like the Carl's mod for the Powder Pros. Was actually done to keep the outer edges from catching ridges and such and throwing you all over the place on a downhill as I recall. I cut the straight part of the cut on mine with a radial arm saw then the curve finish with a jigsaw, then polished it up. Could use a table saw as well.

 

[TonyG]

Previous owner did this to Simmons Gen II's on my Apex Mtx.
When you turn out on a hill climb you can feel the sled lean into the hill like it wants to sidehill. TonyG

 

[trinitypowder]

Well that's one way to make the Gen II's lighterI've seen some Powder Pros with the outside edge trimmed and it looks interesting.

 

[AirForceSledder]

hmmm, interesting. so many little details that the average joe would never think of that would make a big difference.

 

[Fireman35]

Anybody take any other pics? sounds like a reasonable idea.

 

[vdo1948]

Here's a link to the originator; Carl's. http://www.carlscycle.com/eshopprod_cat_2438-19674_product_251393.Carls_Performance_Modified_Po.htm

 

[2XM3]

yup been doing it for years, cut on bandsaw,sand then clamp ski in vise and hit cut area with a torch just enough to melt the surface a tad to get the smooth shiney back so it looks like you never even cut it..( note practice on the hunk you cut off first as it takes a bit to get heat/angle of flow perfect) Great mod on simmons gen 2

 

[Frostbite]

I did the mod on my Powder Pros on my M8. I used a table saw for the straight portion of the cut and a hole saw for the curved portion of the cut. The porblem is, I did the mod before I tried the skis without the mod so I have no idea if they work better or not that the standard issue Powder Pro.

I did crack my left ski in Cooke City last winter when I hit a rock. The crack is going forward from the inside rounded edge of the Carl's Cycle cut. It's not huge but, it's an inch or so long. I should probably stop drill it.

 

[T-DAWG]

I did this to 2 pair of ski's. A set of powder pro's and a set of
pilot 6.9's. I just copied the Carls Mod. cut and ended up cutting
about 3" off the back of the 6.9's. I just used a cut off wheel and it only took about 15 min. They both work great. rolls over a lot easier and before the cut I was fighting with the ski wanting to go straight.
Now with the cut it allows the ski to slide a little and much easier on the arms.

 

[Freeride1]

In the spring I didn't like the cut powder pro so I just swapped my skis left to right. They act normal on edge but still stay nose up if I hit a soft spot.