Mad Powersports
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Well since I had a day off due to snow I decided to do a comparison test.
When I took the 97 SX700 out the last time I was somewhat satisified with the ride and handling. This morning for sheets and grins I removed the rear shock as I was curious as to what was in there and what the settings were. It's an aluminium shock with a threaded collar and no numbers. I set the spring to the soft setting of 12-1/2" and the full rate adjuster to C or hard. The front I left alone cause it looked to be a PIA.
I fired her up and left for a ride around the trails around town here. The trails consisted of 20 miles. Some rail bed, some over the hill and through the dale, some swamp, some fast twisties. Basically the whole gamut.
This sled did not impress me at all. It sits lower than my 95, (ground clearance) and is uncomfortable as for handlebar position goes. (I know they can be adjusted) fishtailed with any moderate throttle. Rode like my old 95 before the Xtra-10 swap. It was terrible in the moguls. The steering pushed into every corner. I'll tell ya the suspension form the same year Polaris and the proaction are two totally different animals. Nope not impressed at all. Now I know I need to tune this suspension to my liking but, Yikes.
BUT, one thing that did impress me was the mill!!!! That Hauck BB is one sweet powerplant. Power up the wazoo. it was around 22-26 degrees today and I did notice some burbbling at different throttle positions, nothing serious though and mostly off idle to midrange. No bog issues or anything just a bit on the rich side I think. Clutching is very close as far as I can tell with the lack of traction. Tach seemd to top out @ 8,000 but I was looking for a more overall asessment of the sled. When it does hook up it's a rocket. I over shot two turns. One was just plain speed and the other was a combination of pushing into the turn and speed. I had the dream meter over a buck on the rail bed and had a lot more throttle to go. I pinched it at 70 and it actually amazed me the way it wanted to accelerate more. There was a lot of speed left. I'm thinking the po has this setup for lake running. But low end is awesome too. :2dontknow
As for the traction issue is has to be one of/or combination of a few things. First the 1-1/4" Ripsaw isn't suited for what I want it to do, Secondly it's a POS or it needs to be studded (heard that's not a bright idea). Thirdly the rear suspension needs adjustment (I know it does as I can spin the sled in circles on my garage floor easily, pivots on the front of the skid) OR...... I just have TOO MUCH POWER. :653:
btw that hyd brake is the cats a$$.
I got home and looked at the 600 under the cover and thought to myself..... Self, take that one now and compare. Away I went. It immediately felt like taking off a new pair of shoes and putting your old favorites. Rides smoother, hooks up better, turns on a dime, I actually had more fun on the 600. You know the feeling, coming out of 90 degree corner with a nice straight in front of you, grab a handful. tach pegs, inside ski comes up and she hooks up and your just barely touchin' on the other ski to keep ya on track and you're outta there. Thats what it's all about !
Now If I can figure out how to get all those ponies to the snow on the BB I definately will be a happy camper. :4fzfpi:
Daman, You were right. That incident last week was a sign. I'll have to be real hard up to get rid of the 600. I got two years wrenchin' on her to get it setup the way I like. Kinda like a woman. Get bored with it, sick of it, wanna dump it. But go without it for a while and the ride in the saddle again is so sweet.
When I took the 97 SX700 out the last time I was somewhat satisified with the ride and handling. This morning for sheets and grins I removed the rear shock as I was curious as to what was in there and what the settings were. It's an aluminium shock with a threaded collar and no numbers. I set the spring to the soft setting of 12-1/2" and the full rate adjuster to C or hard. The front I left alone cause it looked to be a PIA.
I fired her up and left for a ride around the trails around town here. The trails consisted of 20 miles. Some rail bed, some over the hill and through the dale, some swamp, some fast twisties. Basically the whole gamut.
This sled did not impress me at all. It sits lower than my 95, (ground clearance) and is uncomfortable as for handlebar position goes. (I know they can be adjusted) fishtailed with any moderate throttle. Rode like my old 95 before the Xtra-10 swap. It was terrible in the moguls. The steering pushed into every corner. I'll tell ya the suspension form the same year Polaris and the proaction are two totally different animals. Nope not impressed at all. Now I know I need to tune this suspension to my liking but, Yikes.
BUT, one thing that did impress me was the mill!!!! That Hauck BB is one sweet powerplant. Power up the wazoo. it was around 22-26 degrees today and I did notice some burbbling at different throttle positions, nothing serious though and mostly off idle to midrange. No bog issues or anything just a bit on the rich side I think. Clutching is very close as far as I can tell with the lack of traction. Tach seemd to top out @ 8,000 but I was looking for a more overall asessment of the sled. When it does hook up it's a rocket. I over shot two turns. One was just plain speed and the other was a combination of pushing into the turn and speed. I had the dream meter over a buck on the rail bed and had a lot more throttle to go. I pinched it at 70 and it actually amazed me the way it wanted to accelerate more. There was a lot of speed left. I'm thinking the po has this setup for lake running. But low end is awesome too. :2dontknow
As for the traction issue is has to be one of/or combination of a few things. First the 1-1/4" Ripsaw isn't suited for what I want it to do, Secondly it's a POS or it needs to be studded (heard that's not a bright idea). Thirdly the rear suspension needs adjustment (I know it does as I can spin the sled in circles on my garage floor easily, pivots on the front of the skid) OR...... I just have TOO MUCH POWER. :653:
btw that hyd brake is the cats a$$.
I got home and looked at the 600 under the cover and thought to myself..... Self, take that one now and compare. Away I went. It immediately felt like taking off a new pair of shoes and putting your old favorites. Rides smoother, hooks up better, turns on a dime, I actually had more fun on the 600. You know the feeling, coming out of 90 degree corner with a nice straight in front of you, grab a handful. tach pegs, inside ski comes up and she hooks up and your just barely touchin' on the other ski to keep ya on track and you're outta there. Thats what it's all about !
Now If I can figure out how to get all those ponies to the snow on the BB I definately will be a happy camper. :4fzfpi:
Daman, You were right. That incident last week was a sign. I'll have to be real hard up to get rid of the 600. I got two years wrenchin' on her to get it setup the way I like. Kinda like a woman. Get bored with it, sick of it, wanna dump it. But go without it for a while and the ride in the saddle again is so sweet.
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