Technical riding tips?

[polarisfornow]

I rode MX also and rode sleds in the flats for 20 years before I started mountian riding. Now after 7 years of mountain riding I'm finally 100% comfortable. As in no matter where I'm at or where I'm headed I know I can make the sidehill or turn or whatever. That said I still get stuck and still have to cut down trees on occasion.

I guess what I'm saying is don't be too hard on yourself. Its harder than it looks and my number 1 piece of advice is look where you want to go, not at what you are trying to avoid. Good luck.

 

[n16ht5]

thanks for the great advice. I went out again to the same spot and got stuck 0 times and hit 0 trees

pin it to win it

Turning while sidehilling and navigating downhill through terrain traps and trees is still proving difficult.
When sidehilling the sled seems to want to either go too far or fall downhill.. hard balance point

 

[summ8rmk]

thanks for the great advice. I went out again to the same spot and got stuck 0 times and hit 0 trees

pin it to win it

Turning while sidehilling and navigating downhill through terrain traps and trees is still proving difficult.
When sidehilling the sled seems to want to either go too far or fall downhill.. hard balance point

No offense but the REV chassis is the hardest chassis to sidehill. Especially if snow conditions are marginal. That chassis likes having both skis on the ground.
I know, I had one and thats why I went to arctic cat. The M series loves being on one ski.
Nice pics.

Riden the Yamacat

 

[bigjb]

Saw you guys for a minute on Saturday, we were on the two black cats that came up to where you were filming. All good points but no one really talked about setting your suspension. Only being 140lbs you will want your machine to be very complient to your commands. No sway bar, ski shocks as soft as you can go. Rear skid limiter strap loose so you can unload the front end using throttle and set the springs so they don't bottom out on the trail. That's a decent start and you can adjust from there. Hardest thing to learn is that you don't really steer a sled, more like riding a stand up jet ski. Lots to learn.

 

[n16ht5]

thanks for the tips. I have it set really soft, I'll check the limiting strap. sway bar is gone. I'm starting to get the hang of it, feel a lot more comfortable now. I found to steer with the throttle is the way to go . last weekend's ride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=encLcOvRf9E

 

[HBlakes]

The hardest thing for me was to learn how to control my breathing. If you start breathing to hard you can lose focus on you line and stop lookin ahead which can get you in trouble. The more you control your breathing, the better you can focus on putting the sled where you want it to go. Also, you don't tire as quickly.

 

[tek9tim]

I found to steer with the throttle is the way to go .

You got it. Here are some thoughts/explanations about the throttle that helped me visualize what I was doing when I started. The throttle helps your other inputs work. Take for example, in cascade concrete, you can be standing with both feet on one running board steady throttle and going straight. If you make no other changes but whack the throttle open, you will go right into a turn. In this case, one side of the track is weighted more than the other, and when you make the track dig by spinning it, it will dig way harder on the weighted side. Used that idea in converse more than once today to avoid hitting trees without having to switch sides of the sled; if you are on one side and hard on the throttle, letting off can make you straighten out a little, at least in cascade concrete. It's way less prevalent in powder.

Throttle also helps initiate laying up on 1 ski the same as cranking the bars and whacking the throttle on a 4wheeler on pavement will effectively lay it over, but you can actually do something useful with a sled on its side.

Also, the Rev isn't the most maneuverable sled out there, but the XP is a lot worse and you can see plenty of videos of good riders on both making them do what they want. I think at least one crazy SOB put tmotion into a Rev, and while it may be an odd upgrade for an old sled, it's cheaper than an XM. No matter what, don't let negative thoughts about your sled affect your confidence. A good rider can make any sled rip.

 

[n16ht5]

Thanks for the great tips Tim. I'm finding the throttle steer comes in really handy when climbing too.
I learned yesterday probably the best thing yet from my friend.. how to turn back uphill effectively when on a steep hill. When going down I turn away (from the direction I want to go) throw the sled on its side and whack the throttle, while shifting weight forward to get the sled to turn back uphill. I found I could stop on a lot of hills by doing this too.

Got a lot better at steering while sidehilling too