Limiter strap lift?? No idea how this works. - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

sofTAp · 12-07-2012, 08:19 AM

Hey guys, I know that there is a bunch of information on this, but to be honest, it was taking forever to get Exactly the right information that I am looking for.

I have a 2003 REV with an 800 in it.
I would like to loosen the front limiter strap on the track. What would be the advantage of this? I assume it will lift up the front skiis easier to do walks? Are there any other advantages???

More importantly, I do a bunch of trail riding, so would it make the sled handle like crap? Does it affect the handling of the sled in the twisties?

I constantly slide in an through corners because as I chase the guy in front of me(and can always catch him) but cannot handle as well. So will loosening the straps make this worse or better?

My track is NOT studded, and to be honest, I really do not want to put the extra strain on the machine by doing this. Plus, I will be putting on a long track next year perhaps so this new track will be put on my other sled.

ANY THOUGHTS on this would be Greatly appreciated!!

jordandakota · 12-07-2012, 08:33 AM

Loosening the front limiter strap will make it pretty easy for a sled (especially your 800) to pick the skis up when you get on the throttle coming out of a corner. If you want that characteristic of handling, go for it. In a straight line I guess it's fun, but to me it's not worth it for the riding I do.

meburdick · 12-07-2012, 08:52 AM

The first thing that jumps out at me here is the way you seem to be approaching this. You've seemingly decided that you want to take a particular course of action but have no "real" understanding of what the implications of that are. Is it just me, or does this approach seem sort of backwards?

I think that a better approach would be for you to think about the way you ride and maybe decide on what you want to accomplish. That will ultimately drive the course of action you take.

As stated - loosening the limiter strap will shift the weight more onto the track under acceleration and reduce ski pressure. This decreases handling.

sofTAp · 12-07-2012, 10:30 AM

Well, here's the thing.
We trail ride quite a bit ... but I look for any chance to ride off path.
Any powder I can get into, or ditch banging.

I am a heavy guy at about 265 lbs. I can throw the sled around alot easier than my smaller buddies. Hence the 800.

I like to jump (not huge, but enough) and wish the suspension was set up better for that. I also like to lift the skis a bit higher in my buddies fields, well cause that is just a blast. I really have to pin it and throw my whole body back to get it to go up.

I would really just like it to "pop" up in the front end a little easier and handle the bumps and jumps better. I would also like to increase my cornering ability as I always lose my buddy in the twisties. I just dont know if that is because the 800 is that much heavier, or because I have PRECISION skiis.

I have NEVER played around with the suspension much at all, just making the front shocks stiffer or softer.

I would like to get this sled set up the best for my riding, as well as being able to let that 800 lose when I want.

I appreciate the help here guys.

**BC_Dan** · 12-07-2012, 10:39 AM

Lifting the skis is exactly opposite of cornering ability. It's hard to have both. When you set up the sled to transfer the weight to the rear suspension, the weight isn't over the front suspension. With little ski pressure, you won't corner well at all. It's a trade off. Only you can decide which is more important.

Change the strap and test. It's not permanent, if you don't like it, you can always change back. When you start changing suspension components in search of a particular result, only change one thing at a time. If you change multiple things, you won't know which thing helped and which thing hurt. JMHO.

**RJ Gleason** · 12-07-2012, 11:20 AM

Have you ever had the shocks serviced?
When you do, have them valved for your weight and riding style.
These guys know how to do this very well as they do a lot for racers too.

HYGEAR High Performance Suspension Gear

I had mine done specifically for me and I can tell you that there is a world of difference in the handling of before and after.

Phaze · 12-07-2012, 11:55 AM

I've always set up my sleds to be light on the ski's. There is a sweet spot as to be not too light and lose control of the front end. My engine brakes pretty hard going into corners, I've read that's normal for my sled, so the skis tend to plant themselves going in.. However, coming out of the corner I have to work the throttle to finish the turn. It likes to raise those skis in a heartbeat. It's a setup I like. I use Precision too.

I can tell, tho, you're riding harder than I am.

I would think by adding a long track, your issue will be multiplied. Sleds like short tracks in the twisties......

I'm with Dan, make some changes with the strap and see how the sled reacts.....

rgoers · 12-07-2012, 12:21 PM

That will help you float better on top of deep snow, but it will trash your steering ability on the trails. People who only ride in the deep stuff, turn by carving - not steering, so losing "trail manners" is not a big deal for us.

sofTAp · 12-07-2012, 01:17 PM

Ok, gotcha.

Would 1 hole down affect the ride that much??

Also, how do I set up the sled to make it handle jumps a little better??

sofTAp · 12-07-2012, 01:52 PM

With regards to trail riding, I can make up the difference on the straights, but I lose momentum when I have to go slower through the twisties. The problem is that I would have to enter the turns with a higher rate of speed which I do not like doing. I can ALWAYS catch the guy in front of me, but I just want to keep up.

Would switching from the precision skis to Pilot skis make a HUGE difference?

On a side note, I always find that the pressure in my front skis is too much and makes the ride much worse and more rough. I try to have them a bit softer so I dont get rattled around too much. I obviously jack them up when playing around in the powder.

meburdick · 12-07-2012, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sofTAp

With regards to trail riding, I can make up the difference on the straights, but I lose momentum when I have to go slower through the twisties. The problem is that I would have to enter the turns with a higher rate of speed which I do not like doing. I can ALWAYS catch the guy in front of me, but I just want to keep up.

Would switching from the precision skis to Pilot skis make a HUGE difference?

On a side note, I always find that the pressure in my front skis is too much and makes the ride much worse and more rough. I try to have them a bit softer so I dont get rattled around too much. I obviously jack them up when playing around in the powder.

Personally, I would try to first drop the pre-load on the skis to lighten their feel (eliminating the jackhammer feeling). Then, I would try loosening / tightening the strap to determine the kind of performance you're looking for. If you don't like sailing into the corners and then getting on it hard coming out to "catch up", you're probably going to want to TIGHTEN the limiter a little to get more pressure on the skis (this is not the same as adjusting the pre-load on the shocks) so that you have better cornering.

Again to the personal side - if it were me, I would focus on performance and sacrifice the "play" aspect. I would get everything dialed in to ride the trails hard with great handling and would let go of the need to lift the skis on the field straights. If you REALLY want the lift, pick the track.

**kccats** · 12-07-2012, 04:08 PM

When makeing suspension changes be sure to only do 1 thing at a time!