I find the steering quite heavy on my sled and would also like a bit more traction in powder.
Correct me if I'm wrong... but would lengthening the limiter strap a hole and adding a bit of spring pressure acheive both goals? (less ski pressure-lighter steering, and more track pressure-more traction and weight transfer)

DiscoDan. yes and no. dropping the limiter and increasing the spring preload on the front track shock will lighten the steering effort and give you more transfer. but, too much preload will cause you to trench more. its kind of a give and take. personally i am running the strap all the way out with as much preload as i can get (by hand) with weight on the suspension. this is the setup i have found best for trails, it reduces bottoming and allows the rear to return to where its supposed to when at rest, instead of the typical rmk/switchback sag. the function of the rear torsion springs primarily control the ammount of transfer you will get based on the preload setting. just picture the front track shock/spring as a teeter taughter (fulcrum) with the rear torsion spring resisting the weight transfer from front to back.

hope this helps

Tightening up the front track shock preload should get rid of my huge amount of sag?
Good to know, I am heading down to the garage to do that right now!!

I am at about 255-265#s all geared up for riding, And I noticed I have little transfer (It won't pull the ski's)

I have my stock torsion springs set to the heaviest.

So, tighten the preload up front, let out the limiter all the way, and back down on the torsion springs,
and that should get this thing to stand up?

This whole uncoupled skid deal still has me guessing. I only had 1 week to ride it last season so I never got to experiment, Thanks Wicked

I'm probably 275 loaded and I went with the "fat guy" springs. I run them on the lightest setting. I also tightened up a bit on the front track shock. Mine rebounds to the fully extended position 100% of the time.
Like you said, the steering is heavy. I straightened the handlebars quite a bit which made them wider. That seemed to help a little. Still need to do some tweaking on the steering effort.
If anybody has played with the position of the tie rod ends to gain more mechanical advantage, I like to hear about the results.

from what i understand, polaris used a different mounting position of the ski's for 2007 to counter the hard steering people had reported.

they are about 1-1.5 inches farther back, some people have re-drilled the holes, (I would not chance that personally)

But a set of take-off's from a 2007 model might just fix you up. keep an eye on eBay, or this site in the classifeds.
I was considereing the "fat-boy" springs myself too, i had to do that On my 1997 XC, that damn thing sagged 6 inches with nothing on it, and the dealership continued to rebuild shocks and swap the arms, but never thought of springs to fix it. I got them from Erlandson for a good price back then.

What price were the fat-boys? I might need to do that after I get the clutching, and luggage situation squared away?

Thanx for the info

Carls Cycle and slp have the rising rate rear suspension blocks, I'm 260 and have the stock springs set at the lowest position and no sag in the suspension. They help alot, you'll have to do some grinding to make it fit because they are for the older extra lite suspensions but worth it to me. They are $160 and slp part number 31-204.

Thanx wickedswitch, gives me a bit to think about. I am definately trying to get a bit more of an off-trail setup on my Switch. I'll experiment with a bit more track pressure and see how it goes. Will report back on results.

Hey guys... ok, since my last post I have done a little adjusting and testing.

Firstly I began my Switch's weight loss program, MBRP "standard" can (claiming a 19lb saving over stock) next to come is an SLP air box kit, and the resulting removal of the rad. I can't say I can feel the loss yet... will post after I get the new stuff in.

Next I went into the track suspension. I weigh about 180lb (dry weight lmao) felt the sag was ideal for me so I decided only front end adjustment was neccesary. I started by dropping the limiter strap to the bottom hole, and added just a little bit of pre-load the the front shock spring (aprox 3 turns).
I noted that before the adjustment... if I picked up the rear of the sled, the front of the track was definately coming off the floor of the garage before the rear. After adjusting... the front and rear of the track lift off the ground in unison. I don't know if this has any bearing on performance but it's a visual cue of what I had done.

I can't tell you about hardpack performance yet because as I was making these changes the snow started falling and before I got out on the machine yesterday we had a 5 - 8" blanket of fresh powder.
What I can tell you is that the steering definately feels lighter in general, and deep snow handling has improved... it's hard to say if I am getting more hookup in the deep, but it certainly handles better overall off-trail.
The front up comes up a little bit easier, the whole machine just reacts to input like a smaller lighter sled. I still notice some tendancy to nose dive off-throttle if you slow down too much... I think some new skis, and at least 2" of riser would help... I need to get the rider select back to #4 but the bars are a bit too low for me at that setting (I'm almost always on #5)
So far I am happy with the results, but as I say... I haven't spent much time on pack.
From what I understand installing risers on the Switch means ditching the rider select...??? any truth to this?

I also found the Switch decals to be a bit loud for my taste... so I removed most of them. I really like the clean look. Here's some pics, my apologies for the poor quality.

Posting second pic in a new post so the thread isn't 100' wide lol

You don't need to remove the rider select to add handlebar risers. I'm putting on a 3.5" rise and it fits fine (just need to lengthen the throttle cable). I also have a friend with a 900RMK with a 2" riser and he had no problems at all.

If you remove the rider select system, you supposedly get better steering response from less "wiggle" at the bars. I can't easily do this with an FST Switch (different steering post) than a regular Switch or RMK. There are many places that make the rider select removal brackets for your sled.

I've also dropped the limiter straps and noticed a big improvement in the deep snow handling. I currently have the rear springs on the fat setting, well, 'cuz I'm big boned. I will be putting on the heavy spring for the front rear shock this weekend and lightening up the rear preload a little. I've got trenching issues. The rising rate spring blocks from SLP are intriguing. I may have to get a set of those if they help as much as everyone is claiming. I also wonder if narrowing the stance would help as that should help the skis to pack a little more snow under the track in the fluffy stuff. At least that sounds good in theory.

Well I have my eye's on the '07 RMK's Gipper skis, and I think the narrower stance's main advantage is it becomes easier to carve & side-hill in the deep.
What are your trenching issues? are you getting stuck at low speeds?

Thats good news about the rider select, but as I mentioned... I rarely adjust it, so I think that if I can get the bars at the corect height/height for me, ditching the rider select wouldn't bother me.

I don't get stuck at low speeds at all. At least under normal conditions. I can still get stuck at low speed, but where I get stuck, so does everyone else that I ride with. But no one can follow me due to the trench I leave behind. It could be the nature of the four stroke motor (all of the torque), but I don't think so. The main guy I ride with is on a modded '05 900 RMK with a 166 (Series IV). I've got a 159 (Series V with holes punched in it). We have the exact same suspension setup (springs, preload, limiter straps, etc...) and his digs far less than mine. I know he has a little more flotation than I do, but his sled also has more power that hits a lot harder. I also ride with two Vertical Escapes with 159" tracks and they don't dig as far as I do either.

I'm just wondering about the ski stance, as my other sled does the same thing in the powder. It is an '01 Cat race sled with a 151. It has a wide stance as well, and tried to dig its way to China all the time. My Sno-Pro has coupled rear suspension with super stiff suspension. The uncoupled suspension with the much softer springs and shocks on the Switch should be an improvement in the powder.

My previous sled to both of these was a '95 Powder Special. It had a narrow 37" stance and just never seemed to have a problem with its 136x2 track. Of course, I probably wasn't trying to do as much dumb @#$% as I am doing now.

The trenching isn't really an issue to me. But it is to everyone I ride with. Especially when I am the one breaking trail. They can get fairly upset.

I am also in the market for some Gripper skis. I am just waiting for them to become "available" to me.

I'm going to try letting out the limiter strap and tightening up the front track shock preload. I've got the powder pros installed, I think you guys would like them alot. They are awesome in the powder and still handle great on the trail but went with the ten inch carbides and they dig to hard now but hopefully with the new adjustments it will be better. You can get them for around $300.

I'm hoping that one of the three people I know that bought new Dragon RMKs put on Powder Pro skis. Then I can get their takeoff Gripper skis for cheap.

I have a couple of friends with the Powder Pros and they love 'em, but I think I like the wider Gripper better to balance out both my sled's and my personal weight problem.

SO IF I LET MY LIMITER OUT A NOTCH AND ADD SOME MORE PRELOAD ON THE FRONT I SHOUDNT HAVE TO MANHANDLE THE THING ON THE TRAIL AT LOWER SPEEDS AND IT WILL BE BETTER IN THE POWDER?

Thanks for the great thread all. I got my replacement tank and will install this weekend to take care of the filler cracking issue. (The dealer was great about this and sent me the tank under warranty). Then we are heading West (Grand Lake Co. area) and I will be able to do some tuning on my suspension after a day of motor, belt, and suspension break-in. I will try dropping the limiter and adding some pre-load as well. AND also record all the current settings so I know where I'm starting from. This is the first sled that I have owned that is not coupled. I need a fairly good handling trail sled set-up for Mi riding and also a good off-trail set-up for riding ut West.

Yes.

It will want to transfer weight faster, so if you punch the throttle in the corner it will tend to "push" more than it used to.

Thats is what happened for me yes... of course it all depends on your weight and riding style... it's a minor adjustment that is easily reversable so it's worth a try.