So, you're going to Haydays for the 1st time and you have some cash in your pocket or room on your credit card. What do you do? And you're hanging with your buddies and one of the guys in your group is 19 years old, but knows everything has done this or his sisters next door step brother 500cc sled rips with XX done to it and beats turbos… Yes, every group has one of those guys.
Like many, you're looking for some performance mods. Pipe, can, boost, big bore etc or you looking for light weight anything, cans, Ti, bumpers etc. Maybe you're looking for suspension/drivetrain mods, shocks, skids, tracks, drivers, belt drives, narrow front ends etc.
Ill be honest, each one of these can add to your sleds characteristics. But if you don't use the right combination you could end up with worse than you have now. What do I mean? How do I know? Well, I'm not the best rider out there by far, but Ive been building mod sleds for over 30 years and I’m still far from an expert.
I cant tell you everything you need to know here so buyer beware. Ask one of the guys in your group that has a similar sled and what worked or didn't for them. “Try” not to mix different brand stuff unless you know its compatible for example don't buy a used pipe brand “X” at the swap meet and buy brand “Y” can/muffler if you don't know if they will work together, you might actually lose power. Unless you just like experimenting, then go for it.
Haydays has a “huge” collection of experienced riders, builders, aftermarket manufactures and tuners. Seek them out, ask tough questions. Skill and experience is what your looking for. Some are very proud of the hours of R&D that went into thier product. Don't always look for the best price. $20 saving on something stinks in Jan when your broke down. Not everyone is a scammer, some of these builders truly build off their reputation. BM Fab for example, these are real sledders out ripping and building some great bumpers and running boards. Their welders will be there, ask them questions. Look for sleds like mine with scratches dings and dents then you will see how things held up after getting used not a trailer queen parking lot poser.
Do you really need boost? Are you always riding in elevation in deep snow? Go for it. I ride high and low elevation so its hard to justify. If you know your keeping the sled for a few years build it up as you can afford it like stage tune kits. Start with a can, pipe and clutching for example. Ask how their pipe has held up, how many returns? Do you need a tuner?
Yes, to much to list here, thats why you seek out the experts. Not just the factory sponsored pros that need to push their stuff.
Most Important question. Can you ride your current sled to its full potential? The truth is actually interesting. I ride with a lot of different people. Good, bad, great, Pros and the guy that is always stuck or broke down more than everyone. Very Very few can ride their sled its full potential even pros. So, do you even need any of these mods or do you just need some lessons? Don't discount this. Last winter for example I rode with Chris Burandt, not as a paid class but as some guys going out to rip. There were other professionals in the group as well. Chris beat us all so bad with his light weight mod sled it wasn't even close. So, then we heard stuff like “I could do that if I had a $30k sled, with blah blah blah”. So, this is where the truth hurts. The next day, same guys, but Chris brought out a bone stock sled other than a hot dogger. Same fresh, deep snow….Chris beat all of us…it still wasn't even close. Why? Some of the guys had full on sponsored race sleds with big $$ everything. The difference was skill and experience. You could spend thousands or tens of thousands on a mod sled that your going to sell in a year or so. Or you could suck up your manhood and go ride with a number of different pros that can teach you skills that will last and last. Also ask around on them, some will teach, others just take to out. Haydays is awesome! Have fun and good luck!
Im sure there will be other helpful tips here soon.
Like many, you're looking for some performance mods. Pipe, can, boost, big bore etc or you looking for light weight anything, cans, Ti, bumpers etc. Maybe you're looking for suspension/drivetrain mods, shocks, skids, tracks, drivers, belt drives, narrow front ends etc.
Ill be honest, each one of these can add to your sleds characteristics. But if you don't use the right combination you could end up with worse than you have now. What do I mean? How do I know? Well, I'm not the best rider out there by far, but Ive been building mod sleds for over 30 years and I’m still far from an expert.
I cant tell you everything you need to know here so buyer beware. Ask one of the guys in your group that has a similar sled and what worked or didn't for them. “Try” not to mix different brand stuff unless you know its compatible for example don't buy a used pipe brand “X” at the swap meet and buy brand “Y” can/muffler if you don't know if they will work together, you might actually lose power. Unless you just like experimenting, then go for it.
Haydays has a “huge” collection of experienced riders, builders, aftermarket manufactures and tuners. Seek them out, ask tough questions. Skill and experience is what your looking for. Some are very proud of the hours of R&D that went into thier product. Don't always look for the best price. $20 saving on something stinks in Jan when your broke down. Not everyone is a scammer, some of these builders truly build off their reputation. BM Fab for example, these are real sledders out ripping and building some great bumpers and running boards. Their welders will be there, ask them questions. Look for sleds like mine with scratches dings and dents then you will see how things held up after getting used not a trailer queen parking lot poser.
Do you really need boost? Are you always riding in elevation in deep snow? Go for it. I ride high and low elevation so its hard to justify. If you know your keeping the sled for a few years build it up as you can afford it like stage tune kits. Start with a can, pipe and clutching for example. Ask how their pipe has held up, how many returns? Do you need a tuner?
Yes, to much to list here, thats why you seek out the experts. Not just the factory sponsored pros that need to push their stuff.
Most Important question. Can you ride your current sled to its full potential? The truth is actually interesting. I ride with a lot of different people. Good, bad, great, Pros and the guy that is always stuck or broke down more than everyone. Very Very few can ride their sled its full potential even pros. So, do you even need any of these mods or do you just need some lessons? Don't discount this. Last winter for example I rode with Chris Burandt, not as a paid class but as some guys going out to rip. There were other professionals in the group as well. Chris beat us all so bad with his light weight mod sled it wasn't even close. So, then we heard stuff like “I could do that if I had a $30k sled, with blah blah blah”. So, this is where the truth hurts. The next day, same guys, but Chris brought out a bone stock sled other than a hot dogger. Same fresh, deep snow….Chris beat all of us…it still wasn't even close. Why? Some of the guys had full on sponsored race sleds with big $$ everything. The difference was skill and experience. You could spend thousands or tens of thousands on a mod sled that your going to sell in a year or so. Or you could suck up your manhood and go ride with a number of different pros that can teach you skills that will last and last. Also ask around on them, some will teach, others just take to out. Haydays is awesome! Have fun and good luck!
Im sure there will be other helpful tips here soon.
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