I know longtracking a sled is standard issue for riding in powder and off trail, but I'm curious how trail-riders like the longer tracks. I'm thinking about stretching to 136" for my ZR. But I have this notion that the longer track would not be good for the tight and twisty trails that I normally ride in WI and MI. Am I wrong here? I know I would benefit from a little better ride over the bumps. Would the extra 15" really affect my cornering abilities that much?

I will keep this short.....long tracks rule

my wife rides a 01 mountain cat 600 with 136" x 1.25 track and she
loves it. last weekend on the way home, out of no where she tells me
thats the only machine she wants to ride now. I have a 02 zr 600 cc
and she would rather be on hers. rode hers for 5-10 miles thru some real tight and twistes north out of larrys ski seven and never had a problem. sled is not studded, but have a woodys dual carbide set up on the front, it turns. my next sled will more than likley be a mountain cat for myself, very versital sled. Hooked hers up with elec start and reverse, now I don't have to hold her hand when ridding anymore. she rode with the guys she works with and they where supprized she needs no help at all, trailering, loading, riding, starting ect.ect

Jim I have to tell you doo it and dont look back. I noticed very little difference in pushing it through the corners unless of course you need new carbides :sarcasm: I find the real bumpy trails are not near as bad as all those bumps are made by 121's. Also the stopping is better than the stock .88 track. I am really happy with switching Jim and I wont go back. What I am thinking of dooing next year tho is putting a 1" and studs. I doo miss my studs. You may want to put on the 1 inch track on if you have low snow conditions as you have to "dip" alot wit6h the 1.25 or risk tearing lugs and/or overheating.

Jim, I'm going to put a 136" kit on mine this summer. Well, once I can get mine set up. I'll email you...

JIM STRETCH IT YOU WILL LOVE IT! I RIDE A 97 COUGAR WITH THE 121 INCH,MY GIRLFRIEND RIDES A 94 INDY TRAIL DELUXE WHICH IS ACTUALLY 133.5 INCHES ALL WE DO IS TRAIL RIDE AND SHE HAS NO PROBLEM KEEPING UP. MY NEXT ONE WILL BE A MINIMUM OF 136 HOPEFULLY BIGGER.SHE SAYS IT HANDLES GREAT AND I HAVE TO BELIEVE HER THIS IS HER FIRST YEAR WITH A SLED.SHE IS VERY HAPPY WHICH INTURN MAKES ME VERY HAPPY. JUST MY .02 :p :p :D

go for the long track. u will not notice much difference in the corners. plus u will get a better ride and when u do want to hit a little powder, u r set for the deep stuff too. i ride a short track but wish i had a long track, cause i have had one before and loved it.

are you guys trying to say that you could ride a mountain sled all winter in the trails if you wanted to ............... ??? and love it........... :inlove:

Go For it Jim,

I'm going to a 136X2 this summer.

DP

ya wont go wrong with long! I will never go back to a 121 again. That extra 15" of track only equals @8" extra actual length. All it takes is a little pateince getting the limiter strap in the right position so that the front to rear balance falls into place.....then you can absoluetly rock in the tight twisties. My last sled was a 121" FormZ670 and was just okay in the woods, but my Renegade eats the FZ alive in comparison......actually there is no comparison.

Todd

I rode a yammi moutan max out west last year, think it had a 140 something inch track (it was bigger than 136). it handled fine in the twistes. my buddy's got a 95 polaris 500 sks (136") with one inch lugs, and it will almost beat my 670 doo with over 200 picks out of the hole... the extra couple inches and bigger lugs help it grab SO much better. i would do it, i don't think you will be sorry.

- Jason

When your riding with an extended track do you notice the extra weight on the back when jumping? When you jump does the ### end always drop or does it still retain good balance?

Originally posted by powder@Feb 20 2003, 01:16 PM
are you guys trying to say that you could ride a mountain sled all winter in the trails if you wanted to ............... ??? and love it........... :inlove:
yes we are i have a long track on my gade and all i doo is ride trails, i have to stud it though.

Jim,
Found myself with 3 sleds this year, looking to see what works, and what don't. 00 XCR8/M-10, 02 XC8X, 00 SKS
w/136 Edge conversion. Been switching among them all season. Conclusions? Lots, but the one you might be interested in is that my riding buddies all agree I'm cruising 10 to 15 mph faster down the trails....on the smallest machine, the 700 SKS. I had not noticed until they said something. 'nuff said.

AL

My 144 is fine on the trail SO I guess a 136 would be fine also. but you will love it alot more when you hit the powder.

Originally posted by SD_Sledhead@Feb 20 2003, 02:33 PM
When your riding with an extended track do you notice the extra weight on the back when jumping? When you jump does the ### end always drop or does it still retain good balance?
Just use the brake and the throttle to adjust the sled's additude in the air.

You would notice a difference if you rode to sleds that were otherwise identical.

IE. a standard MXZ and a Renegade, the long track would be more sensitive to brake and throttle applications because the track has a greater reciprocating mass so it would react more noticeably.

DP

I love my longtracks! No problems in trails or jumping or whatever. I will tell you that if you want to race in the twisties you will notice the difference. Your buddies will be able to beat you (all else being equal). However, it is not enough to offset the relief you get in the bumps or the joy you get in the powder! You will also lose some track speed. So if your only goal is to race in the twisties or have top maximum speed on the lake, a long track may not be for you. If you want to cruise through the bumps much easier and have a great ride without losing much at all - go longtrack!

LOL. I know ill take heat for this but I love my 121.

I find the 121 will sway a lot less when running rail lines. They also corner harder and have better performance. In a drag race with proper suspention set up you can get a 121 to hook up as good as any track. Unless your in powder.

A 136 only works better when your going off the trails period.

136s take up more room in storage and suck if you have a inclosed trailer that can take 4 121s. :D

Doo it, just doo it! The fun factor is to high! Taking corners will scrub a tad off but not worth the gains like everyone else has said, well, except for Machzzzz1, he must have never rode a long track.
The swaying is totally elimated on high speed rail lines and not to many 121's will beat a 136 off the line.
As the rest said, you will lose some top end [about 10 mph] but, oh well!
Keep the lug height down to no more than 1 1/4, me and several of my friends have learned the hard way with broken lugs a missing clips.
Race your 121 buddy's across the fields and leave them in the next county.

started riding long tracks in the eighties when my son was young
when he got his own sled in 97 went back to 121.
didnt make the year love along track.

I don't see much reason to switch to a long track if you're riding in the trails, and even for off-trail I would just go with a 1.25X121 inck track.
I had a short track COugar with a 1.25 and it was great in the powder, and definatly handles better than a Cougar 2-up or Panther 550.

My buddy had a ZRT 136 that was later changer to a 121. He couldn't believe the difference. He said "it actually turns now".

Newer SKS' are different because they have the angled rails.

If you do decide to go with the 136, do not put anything bigger than a 1.25" lug on it. The advantages will never outweigh the disadvantages.

could i long track my 99 xc 500 without any problems? how much would it all cost total? and where do you get all the stuff to do it?

thanks :p

Well I got a 144 2"er and it is good on the trails. Up here the trails are wide mostly but when they do get twisty it is just fine. My sled is alittle tippy due to the 39" ski stance but I got use to it. You don't have to worrie about that. The off trail rides and the big increase in the fun factor is way worth it. :D

well, except for Machzzzz1, he must have never rode a long track.

Two years buddy, Two years. :D 2000 and 2001 it was nothing but 136 for me.

I still remember how bad I lost in top end to 121s with the same set up.

Ill never go back. Im having way more fun on the 121. :p

But thats just my prefrence. Ive got nothing against 136. If i rode in powder i would have one in a miniute.

I'd doo it in a heartbeat.

Love my 136. Breaking trail to my cottage is easy, when all the 121's get burried.

for just trail riding, I don't see the need, other than they are better on the stutter bumps, but if you do any off trail, you won't regret it.

Thanks for all the input so far guys....a lot of good points of view. I've been to the UP two years in a row now, and obviously encountered a lot of powder up there when we decided to get off trail. I have the stock "predator" track with the .8?" finger-like stubs, and it absolutely sucks in any kind of powder at all. I'm feeling like I'm turning WAY too many RPM's when in the powder. I'm sure I will be going to the UP (or Canada) once a season now AND going to Wisconsin once a year. While I hate giving up power as much as anyone else, I have enough mods :sarcasm: so that losing a little won't hurt me too much...besides, it's not like I'm racing for $$ every weekend. So I think I would be willing to give up a little to feel more confident in the deep stuff.

I think my mind is made up....NOW, deciding where to get the parts..............

Jim, there is another drawback to longtracking that I remedied this year to mine and that is a heat problem [mine anyways]. If you notice, factory longtracks have the heat exchangers moved all the way back. Some models have longer exchangers and some are short for a 121 like a reneagade just moved back.
Only time you should have a heat problem is when going under 20 mph which can be a big problem. I made a exchanger extention out of 1/2" copper tubing in a back and fourth design and the problem was solved.
I used 50" of pipe in just a 8"x16" area. Just something to think about.

I've been riding longtracks for the last 5 years and will never go back. I like the longtrack so much that I put one on my 03 Legend SDI. The only drawback that I've run across is just as Mikadoo stated. In certain conditions, the sled may run hot. A longer snow flap usually does the trick.

Jim you know my opinon on this. I will never own a another 121. Except for top end IMO they are superior in everyway

Permafrost after seeing that clip of you i could see why you love longtracks...that was sick and the powder was insane I can only dream of that...I ride all trails and I wouldnt ever want a long track after riding my friends the other day..I love sliding my sled around corners and being able to shift my weight to corner and when i rode his sled this was lost..but if i rode deep powder it would be awesome im sure

. But I have this notion that the longer track would not be good for the tight and twisty trails that I normally ride in WI and MI. Am I wrong here?

I find my 136" X 1.25" to be FASTER in tight/twisty trails than my studded 121" X .88" track. Better acceleration and braking. I can lose guys now that I could barely keep up to before I long-tracked my sled.

The top-end is about 10 mph lower if that means anything to you - not me.

As just about everyone mentioned above -- DO IT!

Thanks again for the info guys. Mikadoo, thanks for the cooling tip...would hate to have found that out the hard way. This will definately be a summer project. This is going to be so much fun...can't wait!!! :p :D

Jim,

Summer projects....

Longtrack your sled
Longtrack my sled
clean up and wax my new enclosed trailer :D

we can do all three at my house if you want.

Sounds good Joel...then we can go for some grass runs in the field. :D :p

I really like the long track. A little more push in the corners which takes a little more effort but not enough to make it a pain. The 121's are fun to throw around for sure but it's long tracks all the way! They really shine when you can get off the trail and on to some fresh stuff, then you can say goodbye to the 121's.

Here is my solution after riding off trail through Ironwood this past weekend. Keep my big bore cat for days of trail dogging and lake running! For boondocking and ditch banging, I am getting me a 144 with 1" with studs! 2000 Indy 500 XC for sale!

I have a SKS 500 which is a crossover sled, made for trail and powder use... it has a 136" track with 1.25" lugs. I love it for the trails, when they start getting beat up you dont, it skips along the tops of the bumps, where as a short track dips into everyone. The long track is deffinetly the way to go in my opinion. You will lose some speed in the tight corners but nothing to cry about :)