this was my third ride of the year, sorry to say was also the worst snow
the assault track was defiantley hooking up today, you could easily feel the difference in traction. could also feel it wasn't as smooth as the ce or 5.1 tracks. was hard to compare the ce cause it was on a 10 with a 146. i would say in the conditions we rode, about 2-3 feet with a foot of pow, the assault track was by far getting the best traction. but my buddie is a dealer and has some time last season on the 155 11 assault and he said when the pow gets bottomless the track is a trenching machine. so i would say in the harder setup stuff the assault track can't be beat, those huge lugs just hook up and haul the mail. in the pow, maybe not so much
i thought with those huge shocks the assault would be a stiffer ride but not so. even with the sway bar out on the pro the assault was still easier to roll, i would love to get a set of the assault front shocks for my pro!!! but with a little more tuning i'm sure i can get the pro just where i want it.
pulled my sway bar for the first time and am very impressed with the result. i'm a roll and go kind of rider, can't seem to make my sled stay on 2 skis for more than 10 feet at a time. try not to leave a straight line anywhere i go! without the bar sled rolls sooooooooo much better and quicker. is about perfect rolling left, just some foot pressure and a little bar pull and its up on one ski so sweet, going right is still too stiff. i attribute part of this to the centrifical effect of the clutches, seems all sleds roll a little harder to the right. but now that it goes soooo much better left must improve the carve to the right. read a post where someone had moved the right ski to the inside position to help, gonna try that next ride
did hurt the trail handleing, thing is a rail for a mt. sled on the trail with it in, but thats a trade off i'm willing to make. i live for the trees and thats where i want my sled to handle its best, spending a whole day off trail takes a lot more energy. need my sled setup to perform its best in these conditions and i'm looking for a sled that takes the least amount of energy to carve. so no swaybar for me, without the windshield and bar i've got to be getting close to 429 pounds
did have one incident, got about 5 miles from the truck and my sled all of a sudden feels like i'm hitting the rev limiter, stopped the sled and my first thought was that it was getting hot and the ecm was retarding the timing. thought that was funny cause had been watching my temp gauge and had been running a steady 125. looked down at my gauge and i've got a rpm reading but just -------- where the temp reading should be, went to shut it off and nothing. turned of the the key, hit the kill switch sled kept on running. figured must have lost a ground somewhere, opened up the sidepanels and the wiring connection to the ecu had come off. it plugs in right on the inside of the oil bottle. the clip that holds the connector together has to pushed on very hard to get it to "click" together. took me 2 or 3 trys to get it to "click", so you guys might want to give yours a tug and see if it comes apart. also my dealer was doing a track swap on an 11 and said the speedo cover on the driveshaft was almost dry when they took it apart, so i'd hit that with a few extra pumps of grease just to be on the safe side.
2 rides in on the new sled and am still very impressed, love the lightweight. love the way you can push and manipulate the rear end so easily. that rear skid just plain works, very smooth and keeps the front down on the ground. very responsive to rider input, sled reacts quickly and has a very solid feel. have never rode a sled that is as quick to get up on the snow and stay there. installs confidence that you can depend on it performing the same time and time again. the motor, can you say smooth??? am tickled about how this thing runs, power comes on so evenly and quickly. awesome bottom and mid, haven't got enough time yet to get a full topend pull but can't wait.
