MAX flex-Stage II broken track

[BackCountryBob]

Two seasons ago I cut my track lugs back to 15" and retained the 16" belt per g-man's mod which gave my 04 REV more maneuverability in the boonies, increased track speed, less snow in the tunnel and 100 more rpm. No loss of traction or float.

Then DOO's flex track on the XM became available and the aftermarket guys figured a way to duplicate the flex so my original 151, being old and stiff, was a no cost candidate for an experiment so I broke the track last season by hand (no tool) and really liked the results with no delamination problems. This year I went "Broken track Stage II" by slicing the lugs from tip to rod with a sabre saw wood blade--now the sled lays over, side hills and counter steers like it should.

Two wheels, no boggies, post forward, Pol Grabber skis and Stage II--next is narrow A arms or T-mo if the aftermarket can build a direct T-mo add on.

BCB

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

increased track speed, less snow in the tunnel and 100 more rpm. No loss of traction

STOP, think, then reread that. so magically the same motor/track/clutching combo is making more power? no, that is the same. the only way for RPM to gain is less load. Traction=load. less load= less traction. higher RPM = less load. therefor, less traction = greater RPM. you cut paddle off, your gonna have less push. same reason bigger tracks go better and pull RPM down easier.

some neat ideas but some botched logic.

carry on.

 

[BackCountryBob]

The 15" wide lug pattern in a tunnel designed for 16" will reduce the internal windage/paracitic drag = less friction=freer running track. There is less snow/ice build up = less weight. The extra flex of the broken Stage II softens the track = less rolling resistance = more track speed and better acceleration. BTW, 100 rpm is only 1.2346% of 8,100 rpm

The objective of this post was to offer recommendations on how to add "flex" to the track for improved boondocking.

This is not logic but on the snow findings and I did not claim to have more HP, only 100 rpm more indicating something good was happening. It took two seasons experimenting in all snow conditions to find ways to make the old school REV easier and more fun to ride.


BCB

 

[swrev]

I broke the track on my wife's Rev also. It does work nice and is very noticeable on harder snow. I bought the tool from Between the Lines.

Did you drill into the rods like the Between the Lines tool suggest or use another method? Do you have any pics of the track laid over to see how much the cut opens up? May try that also. Thanks.

 

[BackCountryBob]

I broke the track on my wife's Rev also. It does work nice and is very noticeable on harder snow. I bought the tool from Between the Lines.

Did you drill into the rods like the Between the Lines tool suggest or use another method? Do you have any pics of the track laid over to see how much the cut opens up? May try that also. Thanks.

I did it on my trailer by hanging the track off the tail gate and supporting it up with a fence pole jack so I could rotate it by hand with enough overhang to hand drill 8-10 rods per turn.

I used a 3/16 drill bit going vertically down thru the smooth side of the track and could feel the bit go thru the rod. This mod has about 450 miles on it.

The Stage II slice was done from behind with a sabre saw with a fine tooth wood blade and took much longer to do as I could only cut 2-3 lugs on each side/turn. About 150 miles on Stage II.

I don't have a Stage II flexed lug pic handy but I can assure you it helps the sled lean over to the point that high speed trail riding is less stable and requires more body english in the turns. I don't worry about side hilling the REV any more

It is not necessary to do the g-man's mod as that was something I did before the "flex edge" was introduced and I'm not sure if it helps or hinders the broken track.

BCB

 

[wildcard28]

Looks good Bob, I have read Nothing but good about the Gmans 16-15 lug mod on about every sled sight I have ever been on, to me the added track speed would feel like a bit more power possibly cause, when the sled starts to bog down cause of steep climb or thick snow that loads the motor harder its more dificult for the engine to maintain RPM which when that usually happens to me I get pretty close to getting stuck or have to turnout. kinda like when you feel the motor load more you just set the clickers a bit higher to get the Rpm`s back so if the extra 100 rpm it to high would be easy to clicker back or add a touch more pin weight to bring it back. sure maybe less traction but I in my experience and how and where I ride have never been denaid to where these awesome longtrack moutain sled can take us. the bigger we go the more places we can more confidently go, I remember back when the 144 track was Huge and before that teh 76 Polaris Colt aircooled 340 and the Eltigre 530 was a poserhouse. lol and how great it would climb or take ya, Lol now 163 Wow awesome machines

Wildcard