rod adjustments
the key to trying different rod lengths is some honest testing.
as I posted last year, a little rod adjustment goes along ways.
When I built my first kit we were all running the older narrow skis and trail manners could be real poor/twitchy etc.
So part of trying to make the bike easier to trail ride was trying all kinds of rod adjustments.
So on the trail shortening the rod did shove the front of the rail down and lighten steering by having the skid pickup more of the weight.
HOWEVER, then the skid did not want to go through loose snow / deep snow, track angle was steeper than ideal and the track foot print / track weight was all on the front of the track so the bike wanted to dig and not climb up on the snow. Sometimes this negative effect was super bad, like stuck right now.
Throw in shock spring tension in your skid frame and you can turn your setup into a real slug..............been there.
I found leaving my suspension on the soft side and find the best compromise on rod length, and it turns out to be fairly obvious if you have had any time on your kit.
Then start jacking up rear skid spring pressure and approach it like setting rear bike sag. I bought several springs until I found a stiff spring I could run with little pre tension and my traction and deep snow performance got better and better.
Then I went from 1.75 to 2" to longer 2" then 2.4" 15 141 track. worked to shorten rod about 1/8" and stiffen rear skid spring even more and I doubt I have found the sweet spot yet. I can say there is some good room for improvements with some testing and tuning in different snow conditions.
build an adjustable rod and have fun
the key to trying different rod lengths is some honest testing.
as I posted last year, a little rod adjustment goes along ways.
When I built my first kit we were all running the older narrow skis and trail manners could be real poor/twitchy etc.
So part of trying to make the bike easier to trail ride was trying all kinds of rod adjustments.
So on the trail shortening the rod did shove the front of the rail down and lighten steering by having the skid pickup more of the weight.
HOWEVER, then the skid did not want to go through loose snow / deep snow, track angle was steeper than ideal and the track foot print / track weight was all on the front of the track so the bike wanted to dig and not climb up on the snow. Sometimes this negative effect was super bad, like stuck right now.
Throw in shock spring tension in your skid frame and you can turn your setup into a real slug..............been there.
I found leaving my suspension on the soft side and find the best compromise on rod length, and it turns out to be fairly obvious if you have had any time on your kit.
Then start jacking up rear skid spring pressure and approach it like setting rear bike sag. I bought several springs until I found a stiff spring I could run with little pre tension and my traction and deep snow performance got better and better.
Then I went from 1.75 to 2" to longer 2" then 2.4" 15 141 track. worked to shorten rod about 1/8" and stiffen rear skid spring even more and I doubt I have found the sweet spot yet. I can say there is some good room for improvements with some testing and tuning in different snow conditions.
build an adjustable rod and have fun