One for you Yamaha mechanics. 95 Vmax ST.

[gunslinger770]

My daughter has a 95 Yamaha 600 ST Long Track. Our issue is this:

It is extremely hard to steer for me, much less putting her on it. I've been riding all brands for 29 years and never had one like this. Even with our weight shifted up front. A new shim kit was installed prior to us purchasing it last year. Then my daughter broke her leg and didnt' get a chance to ride it. I rode it yesterday and have never rode such a hard sled to steer. I know it hasn't always been this way but it is a safety issue. We have tried different track pressures with no improvement. There are no obstructions within the radius of the steering components. I'm sure it's something we are overlooking but we don't see it, something's not right.

Any ideas or anyone ever have this issue with the VMax 600 ST?!

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Joe

 

[tmk50]

Did you hit those greese zerks on the TSS with some fresh? Might have some water/rust in there?

 

[gunslinger770]

Yep, hit them both and pumped them full of new goo. There was alot of old grease in the TSS system but not an excesive amount of water that I could see. Seems to steer decently while the skis are in the air. I'll wait until the next snow and run it around the ranch a bit to see if that loosened it up a bit. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Thanks,

Joe

 

[#1Leaddog]

What exactly do you mean by steers hard. Can't turn the bars or the fact that the sled does not turn when you turn the bars? Also what skis are you running?

 

[gunslinger770]

Exactly! You got it right on the nose. Steers hard, meaning it's tough to turn the bars in the direction I want to go. Seems to turn fine with the skis off the ground....hmmm.....Thats why we went to the limiting straps on the skid to change the ski pressure, though it didn't seem to help much, if at all. I'm running USI skis currently but am considering a switch to something else as I'm not overly impressed with that particular combination. Any suggestions? I'm leaning towards a tri-keel design or something of that nature. My daughters about 5' 5" and 135 Lbs, and though she's fairly agressive in nature I am afraid the sled might win at this point. Which is also why I'm wondering if it's really too much sled for her at this point and I should go with a Phazer, Jag, small Summit, or a Trail for her.

Thanks!

 

[#1Leaddog]

Don't put the tri keel skis on. It will only steer harder. Those sleds where always hard to turn. The USI skis trun about as easy as any, don't turn the sled as good as some but work as good as any for your daughter. Just letting out the limiter straps will do nothing to make it steer easier unless under hard acceleration. You will need to stiffen up the front shockspring as much as possible. Then you will need to maybe shorten the limiter strap if it gets out of conrol. You could also drop the front arm down about an 1'' this also helps.

 

[gunslinger770]

Thanks #1Leaddog, I'll give those ideas a go!

We're supposed to get hit midweek with some more heavy snow and should be ridding again by next weekend so I've got to get this thing right for her.