Dual Skag

[Rush44]

I just picked one up. Can't wait to try it out. Hopefully it's a bit better on hardpack also.

Hardpack is where the dual skag shines. One of the things I didn't like about the single carbide was the hard pack trails heading up that were also used by snowmobilers and their sled ski skag marks would leave a decent channel in the snow that the single snowbike skag would "fall into" and it would be hard to get out or cross with regular reliability. No problem at all anymore with the dual.

 

[1dn5up]

I wonder about on dirt I ate **** last spring trying to slowly go over a dirt patch on the trail down. and the bridge deck was inpossable to stear on in revy lol ah good time

 

[adamd1979]

Just rode the new skag doing some ditch banging with a friend of mine and the dual is far superior to the single carbide. Crossing paved roads was a simple matter compared to the nightmare it was with the older style, and I have had none of the darty feel at all on the trails.

 

[DieselTwitch]

I'm still recovering from that 6" ski!! And the one on my 2moto was the same. Your head was banging off the snow before you knew you fell over!!

This made me laugh!

As for the ski, I never rode the old ski but the new one seams ok on the trail It feels nervous on the trail. turning on trail takes time and some getting used to! depending on the amount of snow on the trail if and single track sled trails can be a little less fun then a groomed trail I always try to ride just off the edge of the trail.

The one major down side to the dual runner center is it doesn't unload very well off the truck! no just pulling back.

 

[up-high]

Shattered my femur on a bridge deck with the 6" ski last Feb. All my buddy's are telling me how great the new ski and dual skag are. Then they say "but you can't ride it"

 

[ENERGIZER]

Is the Flex arm upgrade worth the time and money?

The Dual Skag is definite improvement on hard pack with ruts, icy patches, and pavement.

Is it worth the time and money to add the flex arm upgrade? Or is almost all the improvement in trail handling attributable to the Dual Skag?

I rode the new ski with single skag about 10 days last spring after about 80 days on the old 6" ski. It made the difference on trails between high revs in third and low revs in forth gear (terror, berserk, bizarre, sphincter pain) to high revs. in fifth and medium revs in sixth gear (a pleasure). I could easily keep up with all but the mad dog sledders on wooped up and icy trails. Much better in the powder as well.
I didn't try the dual skag because I didn't get it until the trails had some dirt and gravel, and didn't want to wreck my virgin dual skag. I had also heard that the dual skag was worse on ruts dirt and gravel and was more prone to plugging the ski at thawing temperatures.
I have the dual skag on now and am eager to try it soon.
I would appreciate any feed back from other riders on the above issues.
Also does any one have experience riding the new skags with and with out the new flex arm.

 

[Rush44]

So far my experience with my recent flex arm upgrade is all positive EXCEPT for your first ride or two. The only reason I say this is if you have put significant time on a non flex arm kit it will take you a couple rides to get the trust level back in place with the upgrade. The bike leans noticeably more but it also keeps more track on the ground and provides more traction. On the trail the bike wants to act more like you have a tire behind you with a lot of grip. You can lean into corners and keep more traction as opposed to the edge-to-edge feel you get on a standard kit. Off trail the bike feels more nimble and "flickable" and also allows you to lean the bike while keeping more track surface area on the snow.

I let my buddy ride my LT SX-F this last weekend (he's on a 13 KX ST) and when he got off he said "Why does your bike feel more nimble and lighter? Man that thing just goes!" My bike is heavier than his but that flex arm just makes the bike feel more playful. The traction part also has a lot to do with the LT, but if anything it shouldn't feel as nimble as an ST. I credit that to the flex arm.

 

[jrusher]

I did over 100 km of trail this past weekend to get to alpine and ski worked great even over icy patches, for most part trail had good soft fresh snow on it so you traction was unreal and front stayed planted everywhere..
Where I did struggle was on tight windy switch backs single track trail that was hard packed through the trees with 2-3 foot banks on the sides, ski/bars were a bear to turn, usually id veer of trail for fresh stuff but didnt want to loose the sledders in group.. This is where the recluse clutch would come in handy

 

[JimBridger]

The Dual Skag is definite improvement on hard pack with ruts, icy patches, and pavement.

Is it worth the time and money to add the flex arm upgrade? Or is almost all the improvement in trail handling attributable to the Dual Skag?

I noticed it helped the most on slow tight trails. I was able to initiate and complete corners a ton better than without it. For guys that have to ride with sleds alot, I think it is well worth the money. I'd say the ski was a 100% improvement, and the flex arm was another 50%. Worth it to do both imo.

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

watch for rocks

two of us have pretty well worn out our dual runners riding marginal icy old roads getting to the hills this Dec. Handle good, just by design a little fragile.
Skimming a rock or two will break up the hard facing on the leading edge, then the hard facing has broken off and cracked. Too much ice riding with pebbles imbedded in the ice under the 3" of fluff, feels horrible as you feel the rocks dragging...........oh well the cost of fun.

 

[powdermuncher]

I can see the need to go carbide there. Have not looked at mine , but when I installed it that was the first thought I had -- this can not last long--may need to take the welder out and redo the hard surface weld to make the season.

 

[Rush44]

Agreed... I'm already on my 2nd carbide this season. All the early season riding I did with marginal road snow conditions (patches of gravel) annihilated my dual keel carbide. It was flat as a pancake on the 2nd week of December with a few chunks of metal missing. I also suspect that unloading the bike from the back of the truck to the shop floor may have resulted in some mushrooming on the front tip.

 

[the gman]

Nine mile machine here in spokane had some dual carbide center runners made up and I was fortunate enough to get one to try. I am still running it and my son, running the timbersled one is on his second one. The noticeable differance is on solid ice when the stock carbide slides out, the test one holds firm. I have made the mistake of switching bikes with other riders on ice and I am keeping the dual carbide.

 

[mnsnowhawk]

Hopefully timbersled is working on a redesign of the dual skag runner. It is unacceptable to sell a wear bar that can't last more than a few road crossings. They need to make one similar to the wear bars on a snow hawk ski. They are a narrow blade with a carbide blade embedded into the center. They last forever and stay sharp.

 

[Hooterville]

What is the spacing of the dual carbides on the centre keel? I assume they look similar to commercially available dual carbides such as the Woody's Dually.

 

[retired motoman]

Spacing is similar on the 9 mile dual skag

9 mile had a couple of ideas. One with the same spacing as Stud Boy and one with a wider center groove cut between the carbides.
After using both hundreds of miles, hands down the dual carbide with out the center groove is far superior on the icy roads and trails.
Both feel the same in hard pack conditions and neither works as well as the stock MH crescent skag off trail.

With 500 miles bare ground riding we have had this season, the 9 mile dual carbide is good to go another 500.
Costs less than $125 and holds up. Great for early and late season.