March 2012 Ask the Experts

Graphics, ice scratchers, skis?... we’ve got you covered!

By AmSnow staff

Published: March 5, 2012

Fusion Steering help
Q: I have a 2006 Polaris Fusion 600. What would be the cheapest fix to make this sled steer a little easier? Would there be a runner on the market that would fix this? - bubs

A: I don’t know of a runner that will necessarily make your sled steer easier. However, the stock ski and spindle design are the biggest culprits in this sleds hard steering. You can install something like a set of SLP Straight Line Tracking skis and steering effort will be reduced while improving the sled’s steering performance. The Fusion will bite better in the corners because of the ski’s design and won’t dart or hunt for ruts in the trail. To reduce steering effort further, you could change the spindles. I believe Zbroz Racing www.zbrozracing.com still makes a spindle for that sled that has less trail than stock to reduce the arm effort required to turn the sled. However, the ski would be the first thing I would change because it will reduce the steering effort as well as bite better in the corners for a more precise feel and the best initial bang for your buck. – Jerry Mathews, Starting Line Products

Electric start for 2012 Cat 800
Q: Is there an electric start kit for the 2012 Arctic Cat 800 H.O. sleds? I know the sleds are not available this year from the factory with electric start, but was wondering if Cat made an option you could install? - sledmore

A: You are correct, for 2012 none of the Cat 800-powered sleds came with electric start, and it was not offered as an option. You cannot buy an electric starter after the fact from Cat either. The decision not to make ES available was done for reliability purposes as the initial tests of the starters did not pass Cat’s quality standards. Another thing you will want to note is that on some of the 2012 Cat 800s, the recoil is difficult to pull when the sled is cold and does not always extend all the way out on the first pull. After pulling once and not getting a full pull in, we suggest you wait 5 seconds before you pull the cord again. Remember, this sled is a BIG twin and compression is high, but your Cat should start on the second or third pull every time if you just wait a few seconds between pulls. The folks at Cat have said that they will have electric start available for every 800 in the 2013 model year either standard or as an option or accessory. – AmSnow Experts

Do’s and don’ts of mixing fuel
Q: I own a 2009 F1000 fuel injected Cat. I have a timing key installed and a D&D Y-pipe. According to my mechanic, I need to use super unleaded gas in this sled. I have access to 89 octane unleaded without ethanol in it and 110 octane leaded Sunoco race gas. Would I damage any sensors or anything else by mixing one gallon of the 110 octane leaded gas with 5 gallons of the 89 octane unleaded to raise the octane to a super unleaded level? – cat man 65

A: With the D&D Y-pipe we recommend 91 octane non-ethanol fuel. However, you could use a Boondocker fuel box and add 5-7% of fuel in the mid-range and at top end. Using 110 octane gas also would be fine and would not harm the pipe temp sensor. We have done what you are discussing in several applications with no trouble. We have not done it in an ’09 Arctic Cat F1000 specifically, but have in numerous other sleds and all was good. - Dale Roes, D&D racing and Jamie Bellman, Bellman Oil

RXL Indy electrical issues
Q: My headlight and all of my auxiliary components flicker on my ’92 Polaris RXL Indy EFI. I unplugged the harness coming out from my engine, put a test light on it and the test light flickered too. I have concluded that my lighting coil is bad. I was wondering if you knew where to just get the coil or if I am on the right track here? – ohiosled

A: I am attaching a copy of the RXL stator values (See it online at AmSnow.com) from a Polaris service manual of that era. You can test your stator with an ohm meter and compare the values to the ones specified on the chart to determine if your stator is good or bad. I would consider it normal for a test light to flash when you probe into a lighting circuit on a harness that has been unplugged at the engine when cranking it over by hand or with an electric start motor. The stator generates AC power, which pulsates as it alternates from positive to negative. When the engine is turned over slowly (very low rpm) you can see this pulsation as a flash of a light bulb. At higher rpm (anytime the engine is running), this pulsation would not be detectable with a test light (the light would appear to be on solid because the pulsation happens so quickly). Once this AC power leaves the stator, it will then be run through a regulator to limit the voltage output to 12 volts. On some models it also will be run through a rectifier circuit to convert the AC power to DC power. With some minor troubleshooting with an ohm meter, I’m sure you will be able to verify if the stator is good or not. These parts have been discontinued by Polaris, so you will either have to find a good used one or have yours rebuilt. If you choose to have your stator rebuilt, either Stator Corp. (866-478-5712) or Rick’s Motorsport Electrics (800-521-0277 or 603-329-9901) can rebuild your stator for you. – Jerry Mathews, Starting Line Products

Extend your hyfax life
Q: I recently bought a Ski-Doo 800R Renegade Backcountry and love it! I was wondering if ice scratchers would help with hyfax life as I have the larger 1.75 lug track and the snow where I ride isn’t always the best. – skidoopete

A: Adding ice scratchers is a great idea to extend your hyfax’s life. For mountain riders, ice scratchers have almost become standard issue, but with the increasing popularity of crossover sleds, more and more people are using them. Your sled is a perfect candidate for ice scratchers as the larger lugged track will need more snow kicked up into it. Several different companies make scratchers, that are relatively inexpensive ($30 to $60), and most scratchers are universal for use on different sled makes. A few makers of scratchers include Stacool, RSR or Slidekicks and most can be found in parts catalogues such as DennisKirk.com and Shadetreepowersports.com. - Experts

Graphics Wrap Install Tips
When installing a wrap a few tools are 100% necessary. You should have soap and water mixed to spray on the area that you plan to put the sticker wrap on. The soap and water will allow you to slide the sticker into the right spot, so you can move the wrap piece if it is not exactly right when you first place it on the sled. Make sure you have a small plastic squeegee (a bit bigger than a credit card) to squeeze the soapy water out from behind the wrap. Also, a heat gun (or a good hair dryer) will help get the old stickers off and help you adhere the new ones. Above is our Racewerx wrap being installed on our 2012 project sled.

Yamaha Gauge Pod Tech tip

The gauge on Yamaha’s Nytro, Phazer, and Venture Lite models will change distance readouts from miles to kilometers by holding the select button for 10 seconds while in odometer mode. There also are low oil, fuel, and coolant lights in addition to the standard gauges.