Khaos stock shock settings?

[Rob.G]

I already put Durapro rubbers in there.

I also got a Cooker Thing pipe (for the cooker), but it's louder than I like so I want to sell it and get a Diamond S version.

 

[RBalazs]

I already put Durapro rubbers in there.

I also got a Cooker Thing pipe (for the cooker), but it's louder than I like so I want to sell it and get a Diamond S version.

Won’t say durapro sucks, but… I’m sure Chad will chime in

Diamond S can is a great add. Put the cooker here like I did, since the titanium doesn’t transfer heat super well and it’s way hotter here.

 

[Cinno]

Thanks a ton for the info and the pics! That's great.

What I've experienced so far... keep in mind I had a very bad experience so this is gonna sound pretty negative... is that this thing handles more like the 2003 Ski-Doo Rev that was my very first sled (sold it after one season). That thing would either stay stuck to the flat ground or tip all the way over. There was no in-between. It was difficult to steer on flat ground (with the skis) and was just not at all fun. The M7 was the complete opposite.

This new thing... like I said, when on the trail, if I turn to go right it felt like it wanted to tip over to the left. Yeah, countersteering. BUT... when I'd get it on a hill and need to get it up on one ski, I would do like I did on the M7 -- standing centered, just apply a little bit of pressure on the floorboard and the M would come right up and be super easy to hold. This thing wouldn't budge AT ALL. If I got both feet on the board and gave it some counter steer and pulled HARD it'd come up a little. Very hard to keep on anything resembling edge. This is why I was asking about shock settings... maybe they were set too stiff.

On my M7, I had a 3" riser and a nice lefty. The thing worked GREAT. But now I'm told by everybody that the opposite is true. No more lefty, and you want the lowest bars possible. I've watched tons of sled videos.. Burandt, Kesterke, Turcotte, Muskoka Freerider, Next Level, etc, and it seems the "new thing" (to me anyway) is the whole opposite-foot-forward thing. It seems that the only way these things are gonna get on edge is if you do it that way. If I could get my bars up another 2-3" it'd make a world of difference for me... but I went to do that and discovered Polaris doesn't give you ANY free cable to play with. I have the mid bars on mine... I thought for sure you'd get the same length cables and wires that came on the high bar models in case you wanted to change. Nope.

My next problem... at 55, I desperately need to hit the gym, and my knees aren't what they used to be. So the opposite-foot-forward thing is gonna be a problem. My right knee is the worst one, and I have a feeling that I'm gonna start trying to ride like that and my knee is gonna fall out from under me. This makes this sled a complete no-go for me.

I'm going out again this coming weekend... I'll try it again, but to be honest... if it's not a significantly better experience, I'm just about ready to sell the thing and walk away.

Thanks for the advice, btw... I really do appreciate it. So much better than Facebook where you'll get 30 replies and 25 of them will be from jerks and five won't understand the question.

Remember you bought a mountain sled without a sway bar, which means it will sway more on the trail requiring more body lean in the direction of travel to compensate. It's always a compromise ! The stock riser is biased higher for easier leaning off-trail, in that you have more leverage. However that increased length is GOOD and BAD, in that higher is good for reducing the body force required for leaning (pulling) the sled over but worse for keeping you balanced on the center of the sled. i.e. when siding hilling left the sled initially falls right and the high bars pull your hands and body right and you're quickly off balance headed down, instead of across. In my early years I liked longer as it is far less energy intensive for meadow riding , as I got better and stronger, I liked shorter so I could attack the side hills. I had a 2010 M8 with adjustable height riser and I loved that!

One other thing to look out for is if the handle bar is tilted properly, the bars should be in-line with the steering post. Too far either direction is not good, in that it pulls your body off center when turning. A little farther forward is better than back IMO both for on-trail and off-trail.

Lastly when attempting a side-hill maneuver go slow to stay in control.

Cinno

 

[RBalazs]

Remember you bought a mountain sled without a sway bar, which means it will sway more on the trail requiring more body lean in the direction of travel to compensate. It's always a compromise ! The stock riser is biased higher for easier leaning off-trail, in that you have more leverage. However that increased length is GOOD and BAD, in that higher is good for reducing the body force required for leaning (pulling) the sled over but worse for keeping you balanced on the center of the sled. i.e. when siding hilling left the sled initially falls right and the high bars pull your hands and body right and you're quickly off balance headed down, instead of across. In my early years I liked longer as it is far less energy intensive for meadow riding , as I got better and stronger, I liked shorter so I could attack the side hills. I had a 2010 M8 with adjustable height riser and I loved that!

One other thing to look out for is if the handle bar is tilted properly, the bars should be in-line with the steering post. Too far either direction is not good, in that it pulls your body off center when turning. A little farther forward is better than back IMO both for on-trail and off-trail.

Lastly when attempting a side-hill maneuver go slow to stay in control.

Cinno

One correction, there is a sway bar on that sled.

 

[Rob.G]

The bars are set totally straight.. made sure of that.

Good points about bar height. I can see the advantage of going lower once I learn WTF I'm doing again. It's like starting all over again from scratch.

Here's a pic... loaded up for tomorrow. It looks so ridiculous sticking out so far, but it works just fine. Also looks very patriotic.

I would tow the sled trailer but I don't have a brake controller installed yet and it might be snowing and I prefer to avoid California's chain controls.

 

[RBalazs]

The bars are set totally straight.. made sure of that.

Good points about bar height. I can see the advantage of going lower once I learn WTF I'm doing again. It's like starting all over again from scratch.

Here's a pic... loaded up for tomorrow. It looks so ridiculous sticking out so far, but it works just fine. Also looks very patriotic.

I would tow the sled trailer but I don't have a brake controller installed yet and it might be snowing and I prefer to avoid California's chain controls.

Looks like a sweet set up and very patriotic You tow that big trailer with that jeep?

 

[Rob.G]

Not the one in the photo, no... that thing's huge and heavy. That gets towed behind my camper with a Dodge dually. I have a regular Haulmark snowmobile trailer that comes in around 4-5k so it's under the Gladiator's tow rating. My truck is in the shop likely needing a cylinder head among other things, so the JT is filling in nicely for the lighter-duty stuff.

 

[Over budget]

Cool man! Welcome to the new sled gang

You’ll definitely be frustrated in the beginning and probably be over riding the sled which is totally normal coming from an M7.

It’s gonna take some time on the sled and just remember they react super quick to counter steering and it really just comes down to being comfortable on the machine.

Your shock settings do matter, but at the end of the day it’s not gonna make that big of a difference. It’s more that you’re just having a bit of experience shock because of the new

Not the one in the photo, no... that thing's huge and heavy. That gets towed behind my camper with a Dodge dually. I have a regular Haulmark snowmobile trailer that comes in around 4-5k so it's under the Gladiator's tow rating. My truck is in the shop likely needing a cylinder head among other things, so the JT is filling in nicely for the lighter-duty stuff

Throw all your riding days of the M7 out the window. You have give it more then 1or2 rides to get the hang of the new sleds. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll think how did I ever ride that M7 it was such a pile ha ha.

 

[Rob.G]

That's what others have said about the M7 compared to the new sleds... so yeah I clearly just need to keep at it. It's so frustrating, but I'll sure try.

Downside is it kinda makes picking up a used M8 as a second sled (say, for my 17yo daughter to learn on) a bad idea.

 

[couch]

Also foot placement on the boards will make a huge difference...slight moves front to back will make it react differently

Sent from my motorola edge plus using Tapatalk

 

[BigAir]

I already put Durapro rubbers in there.

I also got a Cooker Thing pipe (for the cooker), but it's louder than I like so I want to sell it and get a Diamond S version.

I might be interested in your Thing Cooker can. How much?

 

[Rob.G]

@BigAir... I paid $360 for it... make me an offer? It has approx. 70 miles on it and the cooker pot itself has never been used.

Had an okay ride today.. will write more tomorrow and post some pix... plus I have more questions on how to ride this beast.