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Switchback Ski Stance/Width

40K views 49 replies 26 participants last post by  Sparrowracer  
#1 ·
I stopped at my dealer today to take a look at my sled and I noticed that there are spacers on each ski mount that allow you to adjust the width of the skis. Looks like 1" spacers, so we can adjust our skis 2" wider.

Question is I looked in the owners manual on line and there's nothing in it regarding this adjustment. I pick my sled up on Wednesday. For those of you that have picked up your Switch is there a supplement to the owners manual pertaining to this?

Also I see I see Polaris replaced the nice STEEL rear shock adjustment tool with a piece of cardboard, thanks Poo!!
 
#3 ·
I need to look at mine again tonight, but I think those spacers are to accommodate the new spindle design?

George - no additional literature that I received with my sled. It's the same old, same old ... an owner's manual with the same copy/paste information in it from previous years. And yeah - that shock adjustment tool is a high quality piece!! LOL I hope it stays dry!
 
#5 ·
Well I just looked at the Rush, RMK, and Assault, owners manual and there's nothing about adjusting the ski stance/width by moving those spacers from the outside to the inside. You would think if they were designed to be adjustable it would be in the RMK or Assault manual, wider stance = better flotation. :dunno:
 
#6 ·
I remember now George ... those bushings are pressed into the spindle. They're not adjustable at all. When we were studding a few of the sleds the past few weekends, Smoke, Hub, and I were looking at that. I need to look again for myself, but now that I think about it ... that's what we saw.
 
#21 ·
$40 for a spring gauge? Ride it - all the spring gauge does is give you a handy starting point for set up - something the dealer should have done anyway IMO. I doubt I'll ever use mine again - I guess if you let a lot of people ride your sled and want it to be its best for them ... then I could see the value.
 
#23 ·
For what it's worth, I don't think the spacer is pressed into the spindle. If you look at the post 'Here it is!! by tinman27' you'll see his sled in the process of being setup and there is no sign of the spacer in the spindle.
It looks obvious to me that there is a spacer pressed into the spindle. I think it is the 3rd picture down on the thread you are talking about. jmo
 
#26 ·
If the spacer can't be used on the other side due to the hole in the spindle only allowing it to mount on one side you could cut the spacer off flush with the spindle and then be able to use it on either side. The IQR although wider to begin with than the consumer models has the moveable spacer like the rmk's.
 
#28 ·
Bontz, what kind of luck have you had with the usi triple threats? Had them on my 09 assault and I wasn't overly impressed with them, lot of money I thought for the quality of the skis interchangeable fins were kind of cool but the aluminum mounting brackets were very weak, bent several of them in the 3 years that I had them. Best of luck. Bontz P.S. my new switch looks just about like yours - got to love the orange madness! :bc:
 
#29 ·
I've had good luck with all three sets of the USI skis I've owned (knock on wood!! LOL) The mounts have held up fine for me, but I'm not a huge off trail rider so I'm not exposed to some of the issues you guys are if you're out boondocking.

I mentioned in another post, I should just run the Polaris skis with a good set of carbides to see how they work. My guess is, they're just fine. But I've been buying aftermarket skis since my '03 F7 because Cat's stock skis suck. When I bought my D8, I bought the USI X2's (in white) because I liked the look & had good luck with my previous USI's.

Knock on wood - they'll work well with my Switchback too :bc:
 
#37 ·
When the race version of these spindles were originally designed they were meant to be adjustable. By converting the spindles to be adjustable the ski stance can be widened by 2". Doing this the ski stance would be "illegal" in some states but the sled would surely handle better being wider. I just widened my IQR to 45.5" center to center, can't wait to try it out this season.
 
#41 ·
This is an old thread but I also was curious about this. The '14 spindles have the bushing pressed in half way - I can spin the bushing with vice grips however. I may get a new set machined and use some smaller width bushings so that I can increment it instead of the full width change. Has anyone done this yet or am I the guinea pig? (I'm ok with that tho LOL)
 
#42 ·
I just took a cutoff blade and sawed off the bushing then moved it to the other side and it works fine. Also shimmed back of rubber support with 1/8 piece of steel to change ski angle. No more wearing out front of carbide. Don't see much difference by widening it out but had it pretty much dialed in with springs tight on IFS, and rear track shock adjustment. Like how ski rides down trail better tho, seems to steer even easier
 
#43 ·
I thought about that too Marc, but the two sleds side by side when I do have to trailer them anywhwere would be too wide for my deck; they just sit tight ski to ski now. Yeah I could change them at the drop off point once the initial bushing change was done, but I hate doing any wrenching prior to and after a ride before/after trailering.